Beginner Friendly Guide To Spanish Adverbs

Spanish adverbs can be described simply as words that we use to modify or intensify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs.

 

Unlike adjectives, Spanish adverbs are invariable, meaning they aren’t influenced by gender or number.

Let’s take the adverb frecuentemente (frequently), which as you can see below doesn’t change in accordance with the relative gender or number (singular vs plural).

• He comes here frequently – Él viene aquí frecuentemente
• She comes here frequently – Ella viene aquí frecuentemente
• They come here frequently – Ellos vienen aquí frecuentemente
• They come here frequently – Ellas vienen aquí frecuentemente

What Is The Difference: Adverbs Vs Adjectives

Although adverbs may look similar to adjectives, both have different uses.

Spanish Adjectives help us describe the world around us, be it characteristics of people, animals, places, things or facts. They also allow us to modify and quantify nouns and pronouns, while respecting the gender and number of the noun (something adverbs don’t do).

• The children feel good – Los niños se sienten bien

In the above sentence, “bien” is an adjective that describes how the kids are feeling.

• It’s a bad movie – Es una película mala

In the above sentence, “mala” is an adjective, not only because it respects the feminine gender of the word “película”, but it also describes how the movie is.

(You can read our full guide to Spanish adjectives here)

On the other hand….

Spanish Adverbs are used to modify and intensify the meaning of a verb, adjective or another adverb.

An adverb can indicate the manner, place and cause of an action, as well as how it is being executed.

Adverbs, as we mentioned before, do not change according to gender or number, as they are invariable.

• The choreography went very well – La coreografía salió muy bien

• The film is very badly made – La película está muy mal hecha

In the earlier example, we saw how adjectives, “bien” and “mal” were used to describe how a person was feeling.

In this case, “bien” and “mal”  work as adverbs, because they describe how something was executed – not how it looks.

Now that we have clarified the main differences, we can discover exactly to use Spanish adverbs.

How Spanish Adverbs Are Used

A Spanish adverb can be used to modify the following:

1. A verb:  

• I didn’t go to work yesterday – Ayer no fuí a trabajar

• He dances well – El baila bien

In this case, the adverbs “ayer” and “bien” add more information about how the verb “fuí” and “baila” is being done. 

2. An adjective:

• He was very fat – Él estaba muy gordo

• The city is too big – La ciudad es demasiado grande

Here, the adverbs “muy” and “demasiado” intensify the adjective, in this case “gordo” and “grande “

3. Another adverb:

• She is pretty bad – Ella está bastante mal

• My house is very  far – Mi casa está muy lejos

In the second example, “mal” and “lejos“, are adverbs. Adding other adverbs before them, like  “bastante” and “muy” intensify the meaning of the adverb (e.g. far vs. very far).

Adverbs can also change the meaning of a sentence.

For example:

• I arrived at school – Llegué a la escuela

• I arrived late at school – Llegué tarde a la escuela

• I arrived at school very late yesterday – Llegué muy tarde a la escuela ayer

How Are Spanish Adverbs Classified?

All Spanish adverbs can be categorized, depending on what type of information they add to a sentence.

Adverbs	Examples
Modo (Manner)	bien, mal, mejor, peor, despacio, fácilmente, rápido, especialmente, así.
Cantidad (Quantity)	mucho,muy, poco, demasiado, más, menos, casi, todo, tan, tanto, nada, suficiente,solamente,algo.
Lugar (Place, location)	aquí, allá, allí, al lado, arriba,abajo, debajo, delante, derecha, detrás, encima, afuera, adentro, lejos, cerca.
Tiempo (Time)	Ayer, mañana, hoy, antes, después, más tarde, nunca, siempre, mientras, pronto, temprano, tarde, ahora, ya, todavía.
Duda (Doubt)	Quizás, tal vez, probablemente, puede ser.
Afirmación (Affirmation)	Si, también, ciertamente, claro, efectivamente, exacto,cierto, exactamente, obviamente, seguramente, verdaderamente.
Negación (Denial)	No, nunca, jamás, tampoco, negativamente.

In the following section, we will explore how each class of adverb is used.

1. Adverbs of manner (Adverbios de modo)

These Spanish adverbs indicate how an action occurs within a sentence (good, bad, well, slow, faster, better, etc).

You need to ask “how?” to know if it is an adverb of manner.

Most common adverbs of manner	English equivalent
Bien, mejor.	Good / Well, Better
Mal, peor	Bad, Worse
Despacio,  rápido	Slowly, Fast
Así	Like this / that, This is
Similar	Similar

• I Feel better – Me siento mejor

• The meeting was good – La reunión estuvo bien

• I can’t understand you if you don’t speak to me slowly. – No puedo entenderte si no me hablas despacio

• Bolt runs very fast – Bolt corre muy rápido

• I didn’t do well in the exam – Me fué mal en el exámen

• This was the worst soccer game – Este fué el peor juego de fútbol

• This is how she wants the decoration – Así es como ella quiere la decoración

• We have to do it in a similar way – Tenemos que hacerlo de forma similar

In addition to this, some adverbs of manner, can be formed by adding the suffix -mente (similar to -ly English)

For example:

Spanish adverb	English equivalent	Spanish adverb -mente	English equivalent
Perfecto	Perfect	Perfectamente	Perfectly
Fácil	Easy	Fácilmente	Easily
Rápido	Fast	Rápidamente	Quickly
Difícil	Hard	Difícilmente	Hardly
Apasionado	Passionate	Apasionadamente	Passionately
Especial	Special	Specially	Especialmente

• I understood perfectly – Entendí perfectamente

• You could easily fall from the tree – Fácilmente pudiste caer del árbol

• He fell down skating, but quickly got up – Se cayó patinando, pero rápidamente se levantó

• You can hardly travel without a passport. – Difícilmente podrás viajar sin pasaporte

• The couple kissed passionately – La pareja se besó apasionadamente

• He likes to exercise, especially at night – A el le gusta ejercitarse, especialmente en la noche

2. Adverbs of quantity (Adverbios de cantidad)

The adverbs of quantity, as its name indicates, tells us the amount with which something happens.

In other words, it helps us answer the question “how much?”.

Most common adverbs of quantity	English equivalent
Mucho,muy, más	Much, very, more
Poco, menos, nada	Little, less, nothing
Suficiente, demasiado	Enough, Too much
Tan, tanto	So, so much
Casi, todo	Almost, all
Algo	Some
Solamente	Only

• I like you so much – Me gustas mucho

• It is very nice to see you again – Es muy lindo verte otra vez

• Use more soap – Utiliza más jabón

• You don’t need to use too much oil to cook – No necesitas utilizar demasiado aceite para cocinar

• That is enough makeup. – Eso es suficiente maquillaje

• Your baby is so pretty – Tu bebé es tan bonito

• Don’t feed the  dog too much – No alimentes tanto al perro

• I almost finished the homework – Casi termino la tarea

• I have everything ready to travel. – Tengo todo listo para viajar

• I feel something’s missing – Siento que algo me hace falta

• I will eat only a little bit of fruit – Comeré solamente un poco de fruta

You’ll also come across adverbs of quantity which use the suffix -mente (-ly), similar to what we saw in the last section.

Spanish adverb	English equivalent	Spanish adverb -mente	English equivalent
Extremo	Extrem	Extremadamente	Extremely
Fuerte	Strong	Fuertemente	Hardly, heavily
Sumo	At most	Sumamente	Extremly
Suficiente	Enough	Suficientemente	Sufficiently
Infinito	Infinite	Infinitamente	Infinitely

• The hotel is extremely expensive – El hotel es extremadamente costoso

• He spoke loudly to the audience- Él habló fuertemente ante el público

• It is extremely important that you follow the instructions – Es sumamente importante que sigas las instrucciones

• We are busy enough – Estamos lo suficientemente ocupados

• We are infinitely grateful to you – Estamos infinitamente agradecidos con ustedes

3. Adverbs of place (Adverbios de lugar)

As you can probably guess, these adverbs are used to answer a question about “where” an action happens.

Most common adverbs of place	English equivalent
Aquí/ Acá , Allá / Ahí	Here, There
Arriba, Abajo	Up, Down
Debajo, Encima	Below, Above
Detrás, Delante, Al frente	Behind, In front of
Afuera, Adentro / Dentro	Outside, Inside
Lejos, Cerca	Far, Near
Al lado, En medio, Alrededor	Next to, In the middle of, Around

• Here it is what you asked for – Aquí está lo que pediste

• There’s the wine – Ahí está el vino

• The cat is on the table – El gato está arriba de la mesa

• My son is playing downstairs with his grandfather – Mi hijo está jugando abajo con su abuelo

• Your shoes are under the bed – Tus zapatos están debajo de la cama

• Put the market bags on the table – Pon las bolsas de mercado encima de la mesa

• Close the window behind you – Cierra la ventana que está detrás de tí

• In front of me, there’s a very beautiful car – Delante de mí, hay un carro muy hermoso

• The dog is outside in the garden – El perro está afuera en el jardín

• The keys are inside the bag – Las llaves están dentro del bolso

• I’m very far from your office right now – Estoy muy lejos de tu oficina ahora

• My friend’s house is near to the Italian restaurant that you like. – La casa de mi amiga, está cerca del restaurante italiano que te gusta

• There is a good Spanish restaurant next to my work – Al lado de mi trabajo hay un buen restaurante español

• I felt lost, like in the middle of the sea – Me sentía perdida, como en medio del mar

• We were walking around the park when we saw it – Estábamos caminando alrededor del parque cuando lo vimos

4. Adverbs of time (Adverbios de tiempo)

The adverbs of time indicate when something happens, and helps us answer questions like: when?, how long?, or how often?.

Most common adverbs of time	English equivalent
Hoy, Ayer, Mañana	Today, Yesterday, Tomorrow
Antier/Anteayer, pasado mañana	The day before yesterday, The day after tomorrow
Antes, Después	Before, After
Temprano, Tarde, Más tarde	Early, Late, Later
Siempre, Nunca	Always, Never
Ahora, Ya, luego	Now, Right now, Later
Pronto	Soon
Mientras	While
Todavía	Still

• I’m going to the pool today – Hoy voy a la piscina

• I didn’t drink coffee yesterday – Ayer no tomé café

• I’m going to the gym tomorrow – Mañana voy al gimnasio

• I visited my mom the day before yesterday – Anteayer visité a mi mamá

• The day after tomorrow are the inscriptions. – Pasado mañana son las inscripciones

• I used to get sick a lot – Antes yo me enfermaba mucho

• First I will clean, and then I will go out. – Primero voy a limpiar, y después voy a salir

• I have to go to the doctor early – Tengo que ir temprano al médico

• It’s too late to call her – Es muy tarde para llamarla

• We can go to the movies later – Más tarde podemos ir al cine

• I always watch the news in Spanish to practice – Siempre veo noticias en español para practicar

• I never watch the beauty contests. – Yo nunca veo los concursos de belleza

• Now I am studying Spanish. – Ahora estoy estudiando español

• Dinner is now ready – La cena ya está lista

• I have to go, talk to you later. – Luego hablamos, tengo que salir

• The movie will start soon, hurry up – La película empezará pronto, apúrate

• While I am studying, I also listen some music – Mientras estudio, yo también oigo algo de música

• I’m still taking Spanish classes – Todavía estoy tomando clases de español

5. Adverbs of doubt (Adverbios de duda)

The adverbs of doubt, express insecurity or doubt about an action.

They do not give any certainty, which means they neither affirm nor deny an answer.

Adverbs	English equivalent
Quizá, Quizás	Maybe
Probablemente	Probably
Posiblemente	Possibly

• Maybe I sign up for Zumba classes – Quizás me inscriba en clases de Zumba

• We will probably go to the party on Saturday – Probablemente vayamos a la fiesta el sábado

• Possibly they come to pick us up in their car – Posiblemente ellos vengan a buscarnos en su carro.

6. Adverbs of affirmation (Adverbios de afirmación)

In comparison, adverbs of affirmation express a certainty about an action and when we use them, we do so to reinforce a statement.

Adverbs	English equivalent
Si	Yes
Cierto, Ciertamente	Right, certainly
Claro, Claramente	Of course, clearly
Efectivamente	Effectively, indeed
Obviamente	Obviously
Seguramente	Surely
También	As well
Exactamente	Exactly

• Do you think I can go with you to the trip? Yes, Of course – ¿Crees que pueda ir con ustedes al viaje? Claro que sí

• Is it true that they are dating? – ¿Es cierto que están saliendo juntos?

• Certainly they didn’t know that this project was for today – Ciertamente ellos no sabían que ese proyecto era para hoy

• Of course you can eat more cake – Claro que puedes comer más pastel

• Clearly he is not understanding what we are saying – Claramente no está entendiendo lo que decimos

• Indeed, I will buy a new oven. Indeed –  Efectivamente, compraré un horno nuevo

• Obviously he is hiding – Obviamente él está escondiéndose

• If you explain to your boss, he will surely understand the situation – Si le explicas a tu jefe, seguramente entenderá la situación

• You could also travel by plane – También podrías viajar en avión

• This is what I should do? Yes, exactly – Esto es lo que debería hacer.  Si, exactamente

7. Adverbs of denial (Adverbios de negación)

These adverbs are used to deny an action.

The most common ones are:

Most common adverbs of denial	English equivalent
No	No
Nunca	Never
Jamás	Ever
Tampoco	Neither
Nada	Nothing

• Can I eat more cake? No, you can’t eat more. – ¿Puedo comer mas torta? No, no puedes comer más

• They never sleep early – Ellos nunca duermen temprano

• The students have never caused problems – Los estudiantes jamás han causado problemas.

• I didn’t get to class in time either. – Yo tampoco llegué a tiempo a la clase

• There is nothing to do – No hay nada que hacer

 

Spanish Adverbs: Exercises

And now it’s time to test how well you understand Spanish adverbs.

Simply fill in the blank space with the correct adverb.

(scroll to the bottom for the answers)

1. Ella lo hizo ___ de lo que pensé

(She did better than I thought)

2. Por favor maneja más ______

(Please drive more slowly)

3. Este ejercicio está ______

(This exercise is good)

4. Me siento ______ por eso

(I feel bad about it)

5. El ______ verano que hemos tenido

(The worst summer we have had)

6. Él aprobó ______ la prueba de manejo

(He easily passed the driving test)

7. ______ te graduarás si no asistes a clases

(You will hardly graduate if you do not attend classes)

8. Esto es ______ para tí

(This is specially for you)

9. Hace ______ calor aquí

(It is very hot in here)

10. No deberíamos llevar ______ cosas

(We shouldn’t bring more things)

11. Creo que he comido ______

(I think I’ve eaten enough)

12. ¿Hay ______ que pueda hacer por ti?

(There’s something I can do for you?)

13. Fuimos a un lugar ________ hermoso

(We went to an extremely beautiful place)

14. ______ están tus llaves

(Your keys are here)

15. El carro está ______ del garaje

(The car is in the garage)

16. ______ tenemos clases de español

(Today we have Spanish classes)

17. Yo ______ te recuerdo

(I always remember you)

18. ______ tengo dolor de cabeza

(I still have a headache)

19. ______ he manejado un auto

(I’ve never drive a car)

20. Yo ______ tengo tiempo para acompañarte al supermercado

(I don’t have time to go to the supermarket either)

Answers

1. lla lo hizo mejor de lo que pensé

2. Por favor maneja más despacio

3. Este ejercicio está bien

4. Me siento mal por eso

5. El peor verano que hemos tenido

6. El aprobó fácilmente la prueba de manejo

7. Difícilmente te graduarás si no asistes a clases

8. Esto es especialmente para tí

9. Hace mucho calor aquí

10. No deberíamos llevar más cosas

11. Creo que he comido suficiente

12. ¿Hay algo  que pueda hacer por ti?

13. Fuimos a un lugar extremadamente hermoso

14. Aquí están tus llaves

15. El carro está dentro del garaje

16. Hoy tenemos clases de español

17. Yo siempre te recuerdo

18. Todavía tengo dolor de cabeza

19. Jamás he manejado un auto

20. Yo tampoco tengo tiempo para acompañarte al supermercado