Spanish Adverbs

An adverb is a word that complements or can modify a verb, an adjective or even other adverbs. Adverbs are divided according to the change they perform in a sentence. In the following lesson, you will learn about the different types of adverbs in Spanish and how to use them properly.

In previous lessons you learned how to describe people, places and things through the use of descriptive words called adjectives. These include words like bonito "pretty," lento "slow," and gordo "fat."

You can also describe actions in a similar way. Instead of adjectives, you will use adverbs. Examples of adverbs include rápidamente (quickly), lentamente (slowly), suavemente (softly), et cetera. These words describe how an action is taking place and may refer to a variety of characteristics.

The majority of adverbs in English end in –ly. Think of words like loudly, roughly, carefully, completely, or hastily.

Fortunately, Spanish has an equivalent of the –ly ending in English:

mente

It is easier to use adverbs than adjectives in Spanish. Why? Well, while adjectives change according to the gender and quantity of the noun they describe, adverbs don’t change at all. The same adverb form applies to all verbs, indiscriminately!

You can form an adverb from almost any adjective in Spanish. All you have to do is take the feminine form of the adjective and add –mente to the end. Here are some examples.

Adjective	Feminine form	add -mente = adverb
absoluto "absolute"	absoluta	absolutamente "absolutely"
lento "slow"	lenta	lentamente "slowly"
rápido "fast"	rápida	rápidamente "quickly"
suave "soft"	suave (no change)	suavemente "softly"

Adverbs that Describe How an Action Occurs

You will find some adverbs in Spanish that don’t look much like their English equivalents, but are used quite frequently. You should memorize the following adverbs, because you will hear them often.

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a escondidas

secretly

de memoria

by memory

a oscuras

in the dark

de repente

suddenly

sobre todo

above all

Important! Remember What You Learn

You'll put a lot of time into learning Spanish, so we make sure you can remember it all by including fun and engaging activities at the bottom of every lesson.

Me lo sé de memoria.

I know it by memory.

El terremoto sucedió de golpe.

The earthquake happened suddenly.

Carmen se puso la camiseta al revés.

Carmen put her t-shirt on backwards.

Lo hicimos a escondidas.

(We) did it secretly.

De repente sonó la alarma.

Suddenly, the alarm rang out.

Adverbs that Describe When an Action Occurs

If you wish to describe how often or when an action occurs, you may wish to use one of the following adverbs:

a menudo - often
al final - in the end
a tiempo - on time
de día - during daytime
a veces - sometimes
de noche - during nighttime
al anochecer - at dusk
de vez en cuando - once in a while

Por ejemplo:

Comemos carne de vez en cuando.

(We) eat meat once in a while.

A veces vamos a la playa después de estudiar.

Sometimes (we) go to the beach after studying.

Al fin podía entrar en la universidad.

At last, (I) was able to enter the university.

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Adverbs that Describe Where an Action Occurs

If you wish to describe where an action occurs, you may wish to use one of the following adverbs:

a la derecha - to the right
en ninguna parte - nowhere
a la izquierda - to the left
en otra parte - elsewhere, somewhere else
de arriba a bajo - from top to bottom
en todas partes - everywhere
en casa - at home
por aquí - around here, this way

Por ejemplo:

Hay bancos en todas partes.

There are banks everywhere.

No se encuentran tantas cascadas en ninguna otra parte.

So many waterfalls can't be found anywhere else.

Check out Spanish grammarfor more useful info! Here are some recommended lessons:

This lesson breaks down Spanish nouns for you!
What are Spanish definite and indefinite articles? This lessons all about them.

Mauricio Evlampieff: Rocket Spanish

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Spanish Adverbs

Spanish Adverbs

Adverbs that Describe How an Action Occurs

Important! Perfect Your Pronunciation With Rocket Record

Important! Remember What You Learn

Adverbs that Describe When an Action Occurs

Ready to Start Learning Spanish?

Adverbs that Describe Where an Action Occurs

Make Your Spanish Stick With The Rocket Activities

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