Adverbs are used to define verbs, adjectives and other adverbs:
Caminan lentamente. — They walk slowly (not in a hurry).
Estoy leyendo una novela muy interesante. — I’m reading a very interesting novel.
Vivo bastante lejos de la ciudad. — I live quite far from the city.
Adverbs are divided in terms of meaning into
- adverbs of time: ayer - yesterday, ahora - now, luego - later, nunca - never, siempre - always, jamás - never, pronto - soon;
- adverbs of place: arriba - up, abajo - down, enfrente - opposite, detrás - behind, delante - in front, fuera - outside;
— adverbs of manner: bien - good, mal - bad, mejor - better, peor - worse, tan - so (strongly), así - so (in this way);
— adverbs of quantity: demasiado - too much, mucho - a lot, menos - less, casi - almost, nada - nothing, bastante - enough;
— adverbs of affirmation, negation: sin embargo - nevertheless, no obstante - despite;
— adverbs of opposition, consequence: claro - of course, también - also yes, tampoco - also no, quizá(s) - maybe.
In Spanish, adverbs differ in form into simple and derivative (adverbs in - mente). Adverbs do not change.
Simple adverbs include such common ones as: más - more, ya - narrower.
Ahora están ocupados. - They are busy now.
Derivative adverbs are formed by adding -mente to the feminine form of an adjective, for example,
Perfecto - perfecta - perfectamente - excellent
Adjectives ending in a consonant or -e:
Veloz - velozmente - quickly
If an adverb is formed from an adjective with asento, asento is preserved in the adverb, but the actual (main) falls on -mente:
Rápido - rápidamente
Cortés - cortésmente
If a sentence uses two (or more) adverbs referring to the same word, only the last one has the ending -mente, another adverb acts as an adjective in the feminine form, for example,
Los niños dibujaron lenta y pacientemente. — The children drew slowly and patiently.
If an adverb modifies a verb, it is placed after the verb:
Comieron demasiado. - They ate too much.
If an adverb modifies an adjective or other adverb, it is placed before them:
Su abuela está bastante enferma. — Her grandmother is very unwell.
Miguel vive muy lejos del centro. — Miguel lives very far from the center.
If it is necessary to emphasize an adverb and the information it conveys, the adverb is placed at the beginning of the sentence.
Pronto viajaremos a España. — We'll go to Spain soon.
Adverbs that express doubt are placed before the verb:
Probablemente está en casa. - He's probably at home.
Features of using muy/mucho, tan/tanto
Muy is used before adjectives or adverbs. Mucho is used with verbs. Although there are exceptions: comparative adjectives mejor, peor, menor, mayor and adverbs más, menos, antes and después.
Penélope es muy bonita. — Penelope is very beautiful.
Tengo mucha sed. - I want to drink very much.
Tan is placed before an adjective or adverb. Tanto is used with a verb.
¡Estoy tan preocupada! - I'm so worried!
¡No fumes tanto! - Don't smoke so much!
Degrees of comparison of adverbs
Adverbs have a comparative degree of equality (tan + adverb + como), superiority (más + adverb + que), deficiency (menos + adverb + que).
Pablo corre tan rapido como Antonio. — Pablo runs as fast as Antonio.
Pablo corre más rapido que Antonio. — Pablo runs faster than Antonio.
Pablo corre menos rapido que Antonio. — Pablo runs slower than Antonio.
Irregular forms of comparative adverbs:
Bien - mejor (good - better)
Mal - peor (bad - worse)
Poco - menos (little - less)
Mucho - más (much - more)
The superlative absolute degree of comparison is formed by adding -ísimamente to the base of the adjective.
Escriben lentísimamente. — They write extremely slowly.
However, instead of this form, the construction muy + adverb ending in -mente is more often used.
Escriben muy lentamente.
Adverbs in Spanish are used very widely both in spoken Spanish and in written language. Adverbs in the Spanish language are quite heterogeneous both in function and in structure and method of formation, so we will consider this part of speech in more detail.
An adverb in Spanish is a part of speech that denotes an action and characterizes a verb, adjective or other adverb.
All adverbs in the Spanish language are divided into 3 large groups according to their functions: qualitative, adverbial and modal. According to the structure, adverbs in Spanish are divided into simple (consisting of one word) and complex (consisting of several words).
Qualitative adverbs in Spanish
Qualitative adverbs in Spanish include adverbs of manner (most large group adverbs) and quantitative adverbs.
Adverbs of manner of action characterize the action itself in terms of quality and method of its implementation:
Don Corleone sabía perfectamente quiénes eran – Don Corleone knew perfectly well who they were
The most common adverbs of manner in Spanish: alto – high, loud
bajo – low, quiet
bien - good
mal – bad
despacio – slowly
pronto - quickly
In addition to the above adverbs in Spanish, this group includes many stable phrases, which we will consider below.
Quantitative adverbs in Spanish characterize the degree of action and answer the question “how much?”, “how much?”. The most commonly used quantitative adverbs in Spanish are:
algo - a little
casi - almost
bastante - enough
demasiado - too much
más - more
menos - less
muy - very
mucho - a lot
tan - so much
Adverbs in Spanish
The main function of adverbial adverbs in Spanish is inherent in the name itself - they express the circumstances under which an action occurs. This group includes all adverbs of place and time in Spanish.
Adverbs of place in Spanish indicate the place or direction of action and answer the question “where?”, “where to?”, “from where?”
Basic adverbs of place in Spanish:
abajo - below
arriba - above
delante - before
detrás - behind
cerca – around, near
lejos - far away
aqui - here
dentro - inside
fuera - outside, outside
enfrente - opposite
Adverbs of time in Spanish indicate the time during which the action takes place and answer the questions “when?”, “since when?” and “until when?”
The most common adverbs of time in Spanish are:
ahora - now
antes - before
luego - then, then
después - after
ayer - yesterday
hoy - today
mañana - tomorrow
en fin - finally
por fin - finally
en seguida - now
mientras - meanwhile
temprano - early
tarde - late
siempre - always
todavía - more
Modal adverbs in Spanish
Modal adverbs in Spanish express the possibility or likelihood of an action. In addition, these Spanish adverbs can affirm or deny an action.
The main modal adverbs in Spanish are as follows:
quizá (quizás) – maybe
tal vez – perhaps
acaso - perhaps
al seguro - true
ciertamente - of course
también - also
nunca - never
jamas - never
tampoco – also no
Note: the use of a combination of 2 negative adverbs nunca and jamás strengthens the negation:
Nunca jamás lo hare - I will never do this in my life
Methods of forming adverbs in Spanish
There are several ways to form adverbs in Spanish:
Direct conversion (transition from another part of speech without change):
alto, bajo, etc. Since in this case the form of the adverb and adjective are the same, they must be distinguished by function: an adverb characterizes a verb, adjective or other adverb, while an adjective of similar spelling characterizes a noun and agrees with it in gender and number.
Forming an adverb from another adverb using an affix:
debajo, anteayer, etc.;
Formation of adverbs in Spanish from adjectives using the suffix –mente: tranquilamente - calmly, efectivamente - really, etc. Quite a lot of adverbs in the Spanish language are formed in this way, but among them there are no adverbs of place and time;
Formation of complex adverbs in Spanish. Complex adverbs include stable adverbial phrases consisting of a preposition and another part of speech:
a diestro y siniestro – disorderly
de prisa - hastily
de repente - suddenly
de pronto - suddenly
en effecto - really
por desgracia – unfortunately, etc.
Degrees of comparison of adverbs in Spanish
Qualitative adverbs in Spanish can form 3 degrees of comparison: positive, comparative and superlative (similar to the degrees of comparison of adjectives in Spanish).
1. Positive degree of comparison– this is the basic form of the adverb from which other degrees of adverbs are formed.
2. comparative Adverbs in Spanish are formed using the quantitative adverb más, menos or tan and the main adverb:
mas tranquilamente - more calm
menos claramente - less clear
In most cases, que or como is added to this construction:
El vive tan pobremente como los otros - he lives as poorly as others
Some adverbs in Spanish have their own comparative forms:
bien – good, mejor – better
mal – bad, peor – worse
mucho – a lot, más – more
poco – few, menos – less
3. Superlative degree of comparison Adverbs in Spanish have several ways of formation:
Adverb muy + main adverb: muy bien
Main adverb + ísimo: mucho – muchísimo
Neuter article lo + comparative degree of adverb: lo mas alto
Note: this way of education superlatives Comparisons in Spanish are more often used with the adjective posible:
lo mas pronto posible – as quickly as possible
Exceptions: The adverbs in Spanish bien and mal have the superlative forms óptimamente and pésimamente, respectively.
According to their meaning, adverbs are divided into five groups: adverbs of place, adverbs of time, adverbs of manner, quantitative adverbs and modal adverbs, which can be divided into three subgroups: adverbs of affirmation, negation and doubt.
Adverbs of place
Adverbs of place adverbios de lugar. Point out where the action is taking place and answer the question. What? Where? with verbs of location. Adverbs on -mente do not belong to this type of adverbs.
- abajo at the bottom
- adelante ahead
- ahi here there
- aquí Here
- alli there
- arriba upstairs
- cerca close
- dentro inside
- detrás behind
- donde Where
- de donde where
- encima above
- lejos far
- atras behind, behind
- debajo below, under
- fuera outside
- junto near
- enfrente against and etc.
- El muchacho que va detrás, es mi amigo. - The young man walking behind is my friend.
- Los vecinos que viven arriba siempre hacen mucho ruido y me molestan. - The neighbors who live upstairs are always very noisy and disturb me.
Some adverbial phrases with the meaning of adverbs of place:
- a la derecha right
- a la izquierda left
- en todas partes everywhere
- en ninguna parte nowhere and etc.
- El estanco está a la derecha, tiene usted que doblar la esquina. - The kiosk is on the right, you need to turn the corner.
- En ninguna parte puedo encontrar libro que necesito mucho. - I can't find the book I really need anywhere.
Adverbs aquí, ahí, allí have a certain lexical connection with demonstrative pronouns (see “ Demonstrative pronouns”):
- aquí Here points to a place next to the speaker: en este lugar
- ahi here there points to a place closer to the interlocutor: en ese lugar
- alli there indicates a place distant from both speakers: en aquel lugar
- Aquellas sillas están allí, en el jardín, aquí está solo está. - Those chairs are there in the garden, only this chair is here.
Adverbs of time
Adverbs of time Adverbios de tiempo. Indicate when an action occurred and answer questions What? When? ¿desde cuándo? From what time? What's wrong? until what time? Adverbs on -mente are very rare in this group.
The most common simple adverbs of this group are:
- Ahora Now
- antaño before
- antes earlier
- aun more
- ayer yesterday
- cuando When
- después/luego Then
- hogaño currently
- hoy Today
- mañana Tomorrow
- mientras meanwhile
- nunca never
- recien just now
- siempre Always
- tarde late
- temprano early
- todavia more
- ya already and etc.
- El entrenador de nuestro equipo es siempre muy estricto con sus discípulos. - The coach of our team is always very strict with his players.
- ¿Hasta cuándo vas a estar en Valencia? - Hasta mañana. - Until what day will you be in Valencia? - Till tomorrow.
- Vive cerca de su oficina y por eso se levanta por la mañana bastante tarde. - He lives close to his office and therefore gets up quite late in the morning.
Adverb recien used in Spanish only with the past participle:
- Los recién llegados pueden sentarse. - Those who just arrived can sit down.
Some adverbial phrases and expressions with the meaning of adverbs of time:
- a menudo often
- de día during the day
- de noche at night
- de vez en cuando/a veces Sometimes
- en seguida now
- pasado mañana day after tomorrow and etc.
- Me gusta trabajar de noche. - I love working at night.
- ¿Vas al teatro a menudo? - No, de vez en cuando, si tengo tiempo. - Do you often go to the theater? - No, sometimes, if I have time.
Adverbial turn en seguida now enseguida
- Te prepararé el desayuno enseguida. - I'll cook breakfast for you right away.
- El camarero dice que nos servirá enseguida. - The waiter says he will serve us right away.
Adverbs of manner
Adverbs of manner Adverbios de modo. They indicate how the action occurred, what its quality is and answer the question What? How? These include all adverbs in -mente.
The most commonly used simple adverbs are:
- adrade on purpose
- alto loud
- asi So
- bien Fine
- bajo quiet, low
- despacio slowly
- duro hard, with difficulty
- claro It's clear
- como/cual How
- mal Badly
- pronto/rapido soon, quickly
- salvo except, except
All adverbial phrases indicated at the end of the page “Formation of adverbs” refer to adverbs of manner of action.
- ¿Por qué hablas tan alto? Te oigo muy bien. - Why are you talking so loud? I can hear you very well.
- Lo ha hecho a propósito, para burlarse de mí. - He did this on purpose to make fun of me.
- De repente se oyó un ruido extraño. - Suddenly a strange noise was heard.
- ¿Por qué nos acompañas de mala gana? - Why are you so reluctant to come with us?
- Miraba a su amigo atentamente (con atención). - He looked at his friend carefully.
Some grammarians classify the word as an adverb of manner tal such(see “Demonstrative pronouns” for more details). It indicates quality, can only be combined with nouns, and has a plural form. tales:
- Tales novelas como “Cien años de soledad” de Gabriel García Marquéz enriquecen la literatura universal. - Novels such as One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez enrich world literature.
Adverbial turn de prize fast can be written either separately or together. Nowadays there is a trend of continuous writing - deprisa. However, in the literature there is often a separate spelling of this adverb:
- Iba caminando muy deprisa, no podía alcanzarle. - He walked very fast, I could not catch up with him.
- Vámonos más deprisa, el espectáculo empieza pronto. - Let's go quickly, the performance will start soon.
Quantitative adverbs
Quantitative adverbs adverbios de cantidad indicate the scope of action, the degree of its quality and answer the question What about? How many? Adverbs on -mente are rare in this category of adverbs.
The most commonly used quantitative adverbs are:
- algo a little, a few
- apenas barely
- case almost
- cuanto How many
- bastante enough
- demasiado too much
- harto enough
- poco few
- más more
- menos less
- mucho a lot of
- muy Very
- solo only
- tanto/tan so much, so much, so much
- todo All
- Nos queda poco tiempo. - We have little time left.
- ¡Cuántos monumentos interesantes se puеde ver en ese país! - How many beautiful ancient monuments can be seen in this country!
- Trabajas demasiado. No es necesario que trabajes tanto. - You work too much. You don't need to work so much.
- Regresó a casa bastante tarde. - He returned home quite late.
- Solo tú puedes entenderme. - Only you can understand me.
Adverb muy used only before adjectives and adverbs:
- La dependente es muy amable. - The saleswoman is very kind.
- Ya es muy tarde. - It's already very late.
Adverb mucho a lot of combined with adverbs major better, peor worse, más more, menos less has the meaning much:
- El enfermo se siente mucho mejor. - The patient feels much better.
- Hiciste mucho más de lo que yo esperaba. - You did much more than I expected.
Adverb tanto so much, so much defines verb:
- ¿Por qué hablas tanto? - Why are you talking so much?
This adverb is also used as an adjective, combining with a noun and agreeing with it in gender and number:
- María tiene tantos libros, que no le queda tiempo para leerlos. - Maria has so many books that she has no time to read them.
Adverb tan so, so defines adjectives and adverbs, indicates the degree of quality or quantity:
- Esta novela es tan buena, que quiero volver a leerla. - This novel is so good that I want to reread it.
- ¡Prometes tanto y haces tan poco! - You promise so much and deliver so little!
Modal adverbs (adverbios modales)
Adverbs of assertion
Adverbs of assertion adverbios de afirmación:
- si Yes
- también yeah too
- cierto right
- effectivamente really
- claro Certainly
- exactly exactly
- obvio obviously
- verdaderamente Truth
- A lo cual ellos iban contestando que sí, que sí y que sí. - To which they replied that yes, yes and yes.
- También soy hincha del equipo "Real Madrid". - I am also a fan of the Real Madrid team.
- Efectivamente compramos un coche grande y potente. - We really bought a big and powerful car.
Adverbs of negation
Adverbs of negation adverbios de negación:
- no No
- jamas never
- tampoco also no
- nunca never
- negativity negative
- de ningún modo in no case
Modal adverbs with negative meaning nunca, jamas, tampoco can come before the verb, then the negative particle no not installed. If they come after the verb, the negative particle must come before the verb. Between a verb and a negative adverb there can only be a personal pronoun in the accusative or dative case:
- Nunca me dices en lo que piensas. = No me dices nunca en lo que piensas. - You never tell me what you're thinking.
- Tampoco estuvimos en este país. = No estuvimos tampoco en este país. - We have never been to this country either.
- Más vale tarde que nunca./refran/ - Better late than never./proverb/
Adverbs of doubt
Adverbs of doubt adverbios de duda:
- quiz(s) May be
- acaso/tal vez perhaps, probably
- probablemente/posiblemente Maybe
- puede/puede ser May be
- a lo major more likely
- Quien Sabe who knows
- Quizás me diga la verdad. - Maybe he'll tell me the truth.
- Acaso se haya olvidado de ustedes. - Maybe she has forgotten you.
- A lo mejor tienes razón. - Most likely you're right.
- Tal vez ella conozca a Juan. - Perhaps she knows Juan.
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In Spanish, prepositions express cases. In addition, many verbs are used only in combination with certain prepositions.
Basic prepositions:
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V; on (when indicating the direction of movement, answering the question: where?) |
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with (who? what?) |
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indicates the ownership of an object or person, answering the questions: whose? whose? from - when designating a place as the starting point of movement; o - when designating a person, object, phenomenon that represents the object of conversation, reflection (to talk about something - hablar de algo) |
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s, from... (when indicating time and distance) |
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in, on (to indicate a place, answering the question: where?) |
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until (to indicate a limit of time or space) |
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for (who? what?) |
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by, through |
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on (who? what?) |
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after; behind (what? who?) |
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Merging articles and prepositions In the Spanish language there is such a thing as the merging of masculine definite articles and prepositions. This rule is correct only for definite articles and for prepositions a And de: definite article el+ preposition A = al Definite article el+ preposition de = del Vuelven al trabajo a la una de la tarde. - They return to work at one o'clock in the afternoon. |
The preposition a is translated into Russian as “in, at, to, for, by” depending on the sentence and is used:
- After verbs of motion:
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go, go somewhere |
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to come, to arrive somewhere |
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to come, to arrive somewhere |
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travel somewhere |
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go, go somewhere |
Hoy vamos al cine. – Today we are going to the cinema.
Cada año viajo a Spain. – Every year I travel to Spain.
Vengo a Casa a las 11 de la mañana. – I come home at 11 am.
- When indicating time: when, what time:
Cada jueves cenamos a las 22 de la noche. – Every Thursday we have dinner at 10 pm.
Tengo clase a las 15 de la tarde. – I have classes at 3 pm.
- Placed before animate nouns when answering the question “Who?”, “To whom?”:
¿Invito a los chicos? – Should I invite the guys?
Veo a Pili todos los días. – I meet Pili every day.
¿Le doy el libro a Maria? – I give the book to Maria.
Debo contestar a Todos los usuarios. – I must respond to all users.
- When answering the questions “For what?”, “For what purpose?”:
Vengo a hablar de tu comportamiento. - I come (for what?) to talk about your behavior.
- In stable combinations that answer the question “How?”:
No soporto las citas a ciegas. – I can’t stand blind dates.
¿Vamos a casa a pie? - Shall we walk home?
Este chisme está hecho al tuntun. – This thing was made at random (at random).
The preposition de is translated into Russian as “from, with, in, from, about, by, because of” depending on the sentence and is used:
- When answering the questions “Who?”, “What?”, “Whose?”:
Tengo la guitarra de Pedro. – I have a guitar (who?) Pedro.
Son las cosas de Juan. – These are the things of (who?) Juan.
- When you want to indicate that a thing is made of something:
He comprado una nueva mesa de madera. – I bought a new wooden table (a table made of wood).
¿Me puedes dar aquella caja de plastic? -Can you give me that plastic box over there?
- Designation of the starting point of movement ("from", "where from?"):
Venimos de casa. - We come from home.
Salgo de Moscú manana. – I’m leaving Moscow tomorrow.
And with other verbs meaning “from”:
Soy de Madrid. - I'm from Madrid.
- The preposition de is often translated into Russian as “o”, i.e. talk about something, etc.:
Hablamos de nuestras aventuras. – We are talking about our adventures.
Estoy leyendo un libro de filosofía. – I’m reading a book about philosophy.
The preposition con is usually translated into Russian as “with”:
Vivo con mis amigos. – I live with my friends.
Hablamos con el director. - We are talking with the director.
Traigame, por favor, un café con helado. – Bring me some coffee and ice cream, please.
In phrases answering the question “How?”, “In what way?”, “With what?”:
Te ayudaré con placer. - I will help you with pleasure.
¿Siempre comes con apetito? – Do you always eat with appetite?
The preposition en is translated as “in, on, by, at” and is used:
1. When designating a place:
Mi amigo trabaja en la oficina. – My friend works in an office.
Quedamos en la cafetería de al lado. – We’ll meet at a cafe nearby.
2. When indicating time:
En dos horas estamos en casa. - We'll be home in two hours.
En agosto me voy a Italia a ver a mi novio. – In August I will go to Italy to visit my boyfriend.
3. When designating a vehicle:
Siempre viajo en avión porque los trenes me dan miedo. – I always travel by plane because I am afraid of trains.
¿Vamos en coche? - Shall we go by car?
The preposition hacia is translated as “to, around” and indicates approaching some place or time:
Siempre sale y va hacia el centro. “He always comes out and walks towards the center.
¿Nos vemos hacia las tres? – Meet around three?
The preposition sin is translated into Russian as “without”:
¿Esperamos un poco o vamos sin tus amigos? – Shall we wait a little or go without your friends?
Parece que viene sin ganas. “It seems like he came reluctantly.”
In phrases with an infinitive it is translated into Russian as a negative participial phrase:
Trabajo todo el día sin comer. – I work all day without eating.
Se ha ido sin mirarme siquiera. “He left without even looking at me.”
The preposition sobre translates as “on, above, about, about.”
1. Indicates the location - on or above any surface:
Las llaves están sobre la mesa. - The keys are on the table.
Estamos volando sobre Spain. - We are flying over Spain.
2. Indicates an approximate number, quantity, measure of something:
Tellamo sobre las 7 de la tarde, ¿vale? – I’ll call you around 7 pm, okay?
Ghana sobre dos mil euros al mes. – He receives about 2 thousand euros a month.
3. Indicates what or regarding what we are talking about and is equal to the Russian “o”:
¿Me compras algún libro sobre economy? – Will you buy me some book about economics?
Cuentame algo sobre tu vida. – Tell me something about your life.
Translated as “until some place or time”:
La tienda está abierta hasta las 21 de la tarde. – The store is open until 9 pm.
¿Caminemos hasta la plaza? - Let's walk to the square?
Takes on the role of an intensifying particle and is translated into Russian by the word “even”:
Hasta Yo no aguanto tanta presión. “Even I can’t stand that kind of pressure.”
Hasta El Corte Inglés está cerrado hoy. – Even el Corte Inglés is closed today.
The preposition desde is translated as “from, from, with.”
1. Indicates the circumstance of the place:
Me saluda desde el train. – He greets me from the train.
Desde la ventana se ve el arcoiris. - You can see a rainbow from the window.
2. Used in combination with the preposition hasta and indicates a time period or distance:
Desde las 8 de la mañana hasta las 3 de la tarde estoy en la oficina. – From 8 am to 3 pm I am in the office.
Desde El mar hasta las montañas no hay nada. - There is nothing from the sea to the mountains.
3. In combination, desde hace indicates the duration of an action:
Vivo aquí desde hace un año. - I've been living here for a year.
Trabajo en esta empresa desde hace dos años. – I have been working in this company for 2 years.
The preposition ante translates as “before, opposite” and indicates the location of something in front of something or someone:
Debes comparer ante tu jefe. “You must appear before your superior.”
Estamos ante la puerta. - We are in front of the door (opposite the door).
