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A look at some adverbs that are derived from adjectives but which don't end in -mente. Looking at other adverbs that don't end in -mente which can be used as either adverbs or adjectives. |
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Making comparisons using comparative and superlative adverbs. Comparing how regular comparative and superlative adverbs are formed and used in English. Looking at some irregular forms. (Compare with comparative & superlative adjectives.) |
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Looking at other ways of making comparisons and looking at some of the most common adverbs that begin with a preposition. |
| What you can learn from this lesson | |
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To build knowledge of the most common adverbs that can also be used as adjectives. Being able to distinguish between adverbs and adjectives that have the same spelling by the way they are used in conversation. |
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Knowing which adverbs derived from adjectives are irregular, how they compare to the same adverbs in English and how they are used in conversation. |
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Understanding the difference between comparative and superlative adverbs and how they compare to the formation of comparative and superlative adjectives. |
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To understand how the words 'más' (more/most) and 'menos' (less/least) are used in Spanish to form regular comparative and superlative adverbs. Knowing which irregular adverbs to not take these forms. |
Affiliates |
SYNERGY SPANISH |
 |
TEACH ME MORE SPANISH |
 |
PART 1
The first part of this lesson looks at certain Spanish adverbs that are formed by changing an adjective but not by adding -mente to the end of it. It also looks at certain adverbs that take the same form as adjectives. In these cases -mente is neither added to the end of the adjective nor is the adjective altered in any other way.
Irregular adverbs formed from adjectives that don’t end
in -mente
Usually if an adjective is changed to form an adverb, it will be the feminine form of the adjective that will have -mente added to the end of it. Many adverbs are not formed by changing adjectives. These verbs do not end in -mente and are looked at in lesson 21.
The following are examples of adverbs that are formed from adjectives but which do not end in -mente.
| adjective | translation | adverb | translation |
| bueno/a | good | bien | well |
| malo/a | bad | mal | badly / poorly |
| mal | wrong - morally |
La película fue
buena. - The movie was good.
(Adjective used.)
Ella puede cantar
bien. - She can sing well. (Adverb
used.)
La comida fue
mala. - The food
was bad. (Adjective used.)
Ellos jugaron
mal. - They played badly. (Adverb
used.)
Adverbs formed from adjectives that don’t change
It can be confusing when adverbs are formed in exactly the same way as some adjectives. Usually the meaning of the word changes depending on whether it is being used as an adjective or an adverb.
Telling the difference between an adjective or an adverb
You can usually tell if a word is being used as an adjective rather than an adverb because it will be used to add information about a noun. Adverbs usually add more information about a verb or another adverb.
If the word you want to define comes directly after a verb you need to decide if the word is adding information about that verb or about the subject of the verb. If it adds information about the verb then the word is most likely an adverb if it adds information about the subject of the verb it is most likely an adjective.
Usually if the word to be defined comes after ‘ser’ or ‘estar’ it will be an adjective.
| La situación es peor. | The situation is worse. |
The word peor (worse), here, adds information about the word situación (situation) and it follows the verb es (ser). It is therefore an adjective.
| La situación parece peor. | The situation seems worse. |
The word peor (worse), here, adds information
about the verb parece (it seems) and is therefore an
adverb.
Adverbs which are also adjectives can be split into two types as follows:
1) Adverbs that take the same form as singular masculine adjectives.
| adverb meaning | adjective meaning | |
| alto | loudly, high up | tall, high, loud |
| bajo | softly, quietly | low |
| barato | cheaply | cheap |
| claro (also claramente) | clearly | clear, light |
| demasiado | too | too much, too many |
| derecho | straight | right, upright |
| harto | enough, sufficiently | full, fed up |
| lento (also lentamente) | slowly | slow |
| mucho | a lot | a lot of, lots of |
| rápido (also rápidamente) | quickly | quick |
| recio | hard | strong, sturdy |
| tanto | so, as much, many | so much, so often |
| duro | hard | hard |
| poco | not much, little, not very | not much, not many, few |
Mi hermano es alto. - By
brother is tall. (Adjective used.)
La vaca mugió
alto. - The
cow mooed loudly. (Adverb used.)
El huevo es duro. - The
egg is hard.
(Adjective used.)
(Yo) trabaje muy duro. - I worked really hard. (Adverb used.)
2) Adverbs that are the same as adjectives that take the same masculine and feminine endings.
| adverb meaning | adjective meaning | |
| bastante | quite, enough, very | enough, quite a lot |
| fuerte | loudly, hard | strong, serious, severe |
| mejor | better | better |
| peor | worse | worse |
Elefantes son fuertes. - Elephants are strong. (Adjective used.)
Me gritaron fuerte. - They
shouted at me loudly. (Adverb used.)
La situación podría ser peor. - The situation could be worse. (Adjective used.)
Me duele peor que
nunca. - It hurts me worse than
ever. (Adverb
used.)
PART 2
The second part of this lesson looks at comparative and superlative adverbs.
What is a comparative adverb?
In English a comparative adverb is one that ends in -er or -ier or which has the words ‘more’ or ‘less’ placed in front of it. In Spanish the normal form of the adverb is placed between the words ‘más’ (more) or ‘menos’ (less) and the word ‘que’ as follows:
| Más..(lento / fácil)..que | More..(slow / easy)..than OR (slower / easier)
|
| Menos..(lento / fácil)..que | Less..(slow / easy)..than. |
Ella maneja menos
peligrosamente que tú. - She drives less dangerously
than you.
Usted mira más
cerca que la mayoría. - You look more closely than most.
Comparative adverbs are formed in the same way that comparative adjectives are formed. The only difference is that an adjective would be used in the formation described above instead of an adverb. For more information on comparative and superlative adjectives take a look at the separate lesson.
What is a superlative adverb?
In English a superlative adverb is one that ends in -est or -iest or which has the words ‘most’ or ‘least’ placed in front of it. In Spanish the normal form of the adverb is placed after the words ‘más’ (most) or ‘menos’ (least. They are formed differently than comparative adverbs because the word ‘que’ (than), is not used in the sentence.
It will be clear in sentences if ‘más’
is intended to mean ‘most’ instead of ‘more’ by the nature of the sentence.
This is also true of ‘menos’ meaning either ‘less’ or
‘least’.
| más..(lento / fácil) | most (slow / easy) OR (slowest / easiest) |
| menos..(lento / fácil) | least.. (slow / easy) |
Mi avión voló más
rápido.
My plane flew
fasted (or the fastest).
Siempre soy él
que gano más.
I
always win most (or the most).
Cuando pierdo me quejo
menos.
When I lose I complain least (or the
least).
Irregular comparative and superlative adverbs
Some comparative and superlative adverbs are irregular. The words ‘más’ (most) and ‘menos’ (least) are not used with these type of adverbs. This is also true of the same types of sentences in English. In English the adverbs so not end in -est or -iest. Here are some examples:
| adverb | translation | comparative adverb | translation | superlative adverb | translation |
| bien | well | mejor | better | mejor | the best |
| mal | badly / poorly | peor | worse | peor | the worst |
| mucho | a lot | más | more | más | the most |
| poco | not much / little / not very | menos | least | menos | the least |
Él se sintió peor que ayer . - He felt worse than yesterday .
NOT
Él se sintió más peor que ayer . - He felt more worse than yesterday .
PART 3
The final part of the lesson looks at other ways of making comparisons with adverbs and at adverbs that begin with a preposition. To see ways of making comparisons with adjectives take a look at the separate lesson on comparative and superlative adjectives.
Other ways of making comparisons
The following are two other ways that comparisons can be made with adverbs. To see other ways of making comparisons with adjectives take a look at the separate lesson on comparative and superlative adjectives.
| tan….como | as….as |
| tanto como | as much as / as many as |
| más de / menos ….de (used mainly with numbers) |
more
|
(Yo) comí tanto como pude. - I ate as many as I could.
Hay más de cincuenta todavía. - There’s
more than fifty still.
Adverbs that begin with a preposition
Below is a list of some of the most common.
a hurtadillas
|
secretly
|
a la derecha
|
to the
right
|
a la izquierda
|
to the
left
|
a lo menos
|
at least
|
a lo sumo
|
at most
|
a menudo
|
frequently
|
a todo correr
|
at full
speed
|
a veces
|
sometimes
|
al anochecer
|
tonight
|
al revés
|
upside
down, opposite
|
al toque
|
instantly
|
de abajo
|
downstairs
|
de acuerdo
|
in
agreement
|
de ahora en adelante
|
from here on
|
de cierto
|
certainly,
sure
|
de dónde
|
from
where
|
de golpe
|
suddenly, quickly
|
de la noche a la mañana
|
overnight
|
de prisa
|
fast
|
de pronto
|
suddenly
|
de repente
|
suddenly
|
de todo
|
all
|
de verdad
|
really
|
de vez en cuando
|
from time
to time
|
en alguna parte
|
somewhere
|
en balde
|
in vain
|
en casa
|
at home
|
en cualquier parte
|
anywhere
|
en fin
|
at last,
finally
|
en ninguna parte
|
nowhere
|
en otra parte
|
elsewhere
|
en punto
|
exactly
|
en seguida
|
immediately
|
en todas partes
|
everywhere
|
por allá
|
over
there
|
por aquí
|
this way
|
por cierto
|
certainly,
doubtlessly
|
por desgracia
|
unfortunately
|
por fin
|
finally
|
por lo visto
|
apparently,
seemingly
|
por supuesto
|
of course
|
sin duda
|
undoubtedly
|
sobre todo
|
above
all, especially
|
Here are some example sentences using some of the adverbs in the above list.
(Yo) comproo a lo menos dos
botellas. - I
buy at least
two bottles.
Nosotros no
estamos de acuerdo en venderlo. - We don’t agree to sell it.
Por desgracia ellos han salido. - Unfortunately they have left.
That concludes this lesson on the adverbs part 2. If you
have not done so already watch the actual video for this lesson and then try
one of the associated quizzes to test your understanding.
