Adverbs - Part 2 - (Other Forms / Making Comparisons)
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Video Lesson
Summary of Lesson
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.
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.)
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
   
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.
Knowing which adverbs derived from adjectives are irregular, how they compare to the same adverbs in English and how they are used in conversation.
Understanding the difference between comparative and superlative adverbs and how they compare to the formation of comparative and superlative adjectives.
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.
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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.

 

Él camina más lento que tú.  - He walks slower than you.

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 than / less than

 

¿Puedes hacerlo tan pronto como antes? - Can you do it as soon as possible?

(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.

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Adverbs - Part 2 - (Other Forms / Making Comparisons)
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