Adverbios ~ Spanish Adverbs

An adverb is an invariable word that modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb. Adverbs can provide additional information about manner, quantity, frequency, time, or place. Adverbs explain when, how, where, how often, or to what degree something is done.

Some common Spanish adverbs:

*Nearly every Spanish word that ends in -mente is an adverb, usually of manner. Its English equivalent ends in -ly:

• rápidamente - rapidly

• posiblemente - possibly

• tristemente - sadly

The placement of Spanish adverbs can be difficult. Whereas in English their placement is sometimes arbitrary (they might be found before or after the verb, or even at the beginning or end of the sentence), the placement rules for Spanish adverbs are much stricter.

1. When a Spanish adverb is modifying a verb, it is placed after the verb.

2. An adverb cannot be placed in between two verbs or between an auxiliary verb and main verb; it is placed after both of them.

3. When an adverb is modifying an adjective or another adverb, is is placed in front of the word it is modifying.

There are more rules to the placement and uses of Spanish adjectives, but these three apply to the majority of situations. An upcoming lesson will have more details.

Spanish Grammar     Spanish for Beginners

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