Adverbs - Learn Spanish

Zaragoza

In this lesson you'll learn how to use adverbs in the Spanish language. You'll also learn many useful Spanish adverbs along with examples of how to use them.

Online flashcards are included at the end of the lesson to help you learn the Spanish adverbs in this lesson.

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Spanish Grammar

Adverbs are words that modify a verb, adjective or other adverb. Examples of common adverbs in English are here, there, very, too, almost, only. Being familiar with the common Spanish adverbs will help to improve your Spanish speaking skills.

In this lesson you'll learn the common Spanish adverbs. You'll also learn how to make comparisons in Spanish using adverbs. Examples of how to use adverbs in Spanish are included, as well as flashcards to help you learn the adverbs included in this lesson.

In Spanish many adverbs are formed by adding the suffix mente to an adjective. These adverbs generally follow the verb they are associated with.

adjective adverb
lento, lenta lentamente slowly
serio, seria seriamente seriously
triste tristemente sadly
fácil fácilmente easily
feliz felizmente happily

Examples

Caminan lentamente. They walk slowly.
Ella trabaja felizmente en el jardín. She works happily in the garden.

Adverbs of Place

These adverbs indicate location.

aquí here
allí there
fuera, afuera outside, out
lejos far away
algun lado somewhere
en ninguna parte nowhere

Adverbs of Quantity

These adverbs indicate the quantity of an item or concept.

demasiado too, too much
mucho much, a lot
poco little, not much
más more
menos less
tanto so much, so long

Examples

Voy poco por allí. I rarely go there.
No vienen mucho por aquí. They don't come here often.
Estoy demasiado cansado. I am too tired.
Espero tanto. I waited so long.
Hay más de cuatro. There are more than four.

Adverbs of Frequency

These adverbs and adverbial phrases are used to tell how often something happens.

siempre always
cada día every day
nunca never
de vez en cuando occasionally
a menudo often
rara vez rarely
a veces sometimes
generalmente usually
varias veces several times
una vez once
dos veces twice

Adverbs of Time

These adverbs and adverbial phrases are used to tell when something happens.

ya already
inmediatamente immediately
luego later
ahora now
dentro de poco shortly
pronto soon

Comparison of Adverbs

Adverbs are compared using the words más, menos, and tan.

Examples

Él camina más lentamente que yo. He walks more slowly than I.
Él camina menos lentamente que yo. He walks less slowly than I.
Él camina tan lentamente como yo. He walks as slowly as I.

Spanish Vocabulary

Here are some more very common Spanish adverbs.

con cuidado carefully
completamente completely
despacio slowly
aún even, still, yet
bien well
enojadamente angrily
entonces then
luego then
mal badly
mejor better
muy very
peor worse
tan so
todavía still, yet

Examples

Ya voy. I'll be right there.
No, todavía no. No, not yet.
¿Es muy lejos? Is it very far?
El café es tan bueno. The coffee is so good.
¿Podemos ir ahora? Can we go now?
Ya sé que él está aquí. I already know that he is here.
La ventana siempre está abierta. The window is always open.

Adverb Flashcards

Here are some flashcards to help you learn the Spanish adverbs introduced in this lesson. Since these are very common words, it's worth taking the time to memorize them.

Practice

For each question, write out the sentence using the Spanish word(s) for the adverb in parentheses.

Leí el libro ___. (several times)

Necesitas abrirlo ___. (carefully)

El viento es ___ frío. (very)

Tenemos que irnos ___. (now)

___ tomo café en la mañana. (always)

Eso cuesta ___ dinero. (too much)

___ llega tarde. (never)

Alejandro ___ está en el restaurante. (already)