Adverbs
Mosaicos, p. 138
Adverbs ≠ Adjectives

Adjectives give information about a noun and they agree
in gender and number with the noun they modify.
example:
Las mesas son rojas
(The tables are big)

Adverbs, on the other hand, give information about a verb,
an adjective, or another adverb, and do not agree in
gender or number with any word.
example:
Antonio y Juan corren rápido
(Antonio runs fast)
Adverb or Adjective?
Depending on the context, a word could be either an adverb
or an adjective.
Examples:
Ana es rápida
In this case “rápida” agrees in gender and number with Ana;
therefore it’s an adjective.
Ana corre rápido
In this other case, “rápido” does not in gender or number
with Ana; therefore, it’s an adverb.
Adverbs ending in -mente
Spanish also uses adverbs ending in -mente, which
corresponds to the English –ly, to qualify how things are
done.
To form these adverbs, add –mente to the femenine form of
the adjective: to form the adverb of “fast” (rápido/os/a/as),
take the femenine form, rápida, and add –mente:
rápidamente.
If the adjective doesn’t have a femenine form, simply add
-mente: to form the adverb for difficult (difícil): difícilmente.
More on Adverbs

Adverbs add information about manner, quantity, frequency, time or
place.
MANNER
QUANTITY
FREQUENCY
TIME
PLACE
Bien (well)
Mucho (a lot)
A veces
(sometimes)
Hoy (today)
Detrás
(behind)
Mal (poorly)
Poco (few,
little)
Frecuente
(often)
Mañana
(tomorrow)
Debajo (under)
Mejor (better)
Demasiado
(too much)
Siempre
(always)
Ayer
(yesterday)
Aquí (here)
Peor (worse)
Muy (very)
Nunca (never)
Ahora (now)
Allí (there)
Muy mal (very
bad)
-
-
Temprano
(soon)
Allá (over
there)
Regular
(average)
-
-
Tarde (late)
-
-
-
-
Después
(after)
-
Placement of Adverbs

There are some rules regarding the placement of
the adverb within a sentence:

When the adverb is modifying a verb, we will place it
after that verb.
example: Ellas corren rápido

When the adverb is modifying an adjective or other
adverb, we will place it in front of the word that is
modifying.
example: Ellas corren muy rápido
Práctica (cont.)
Are the words in red adjectives or adverbs?
a) Los libros son pequeños.
b) Alicia come muy rápido.
c) Alicia come muy rápido.
c) La familia va al cine
frecuentemente.
Práctica (cont.)
Are the words in red adjectives or adverbs?
a) Los libros son pequeños.
ADJECTIVE (agreement)
b) Alicia come muy rápido.
ADVERB (no agreement)
c) Alicia come muy rápido.
ADVERB (modifies “rápido”)
d) La familia va al cine
frecuentemente.
ADVERB (ends in –mente)
Práctica (cont.)
Convert the following adjectives into adverbs:
a) Lento
(slow)
b) Simple
(simple)
c) General
(general)
d) Tranquilo
(calm)
Práctica
Convert the following adjectives into adverbs:
a) Lento
(slow)
Lentamente
b) Simple
(simple)
Simplemente
c) General
(general)
Generalmente
d) Tranquilo
(calm)
Tranquilamente
¡Buen trabajo!
Hoy hemos aprendido a usar los adverbios.