Adverbs
A1–A2Adjectives and adverbs 9 min
Adverbs say how, when, where and how much: rápidamente, siempre, aquí, muy; many end in -mente. Before an adjective comes muy, and after a verb, mucho: Es muy caro. Trabajo mucho.
No information at the current level. This view starts at A1: choose A1 or a higher level.
No information at the current level. This view starts at A1: choose A1 or a higher level.
CheatsheetA1–A2
| Point | Rule | Example | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| bien / mal | the adverbs of bueno and malo | Hablas bien español. | You speak Spanish well. |
| muy | before an adjective or an adverb | Es muy simpática. | She's very nice. |
| mucho | after a verb; as an adverb it never changes | Trabajo mucho. | I work a lot. |
| Place | aquí / ahí / allí: here, there, over there | El libro está aquí. | The book is here. |
| acá / allá | very frequent in Latin America, above all in Mexico and the Southern Cone, beside aquí and allí | Vivo acá. | I live here. |
| Time | hoy / mañana / ahora / después | Mañana tengo clase. | Tomorrow I have class. |
| Frequency | siempre / normalmente / todos los días / a veces | Siempre desayuno en casa. | I always have breakfast at home. |
| A2nunca | before the verb, or after it with no in front | Nunca bebo café. / No bebo café nunca. | I never drink coffee. / I never drink coffee. |
| también / tampoco | también agrees with a positive, tampoco with a negative | No tengo hambre. — Yo tampoco. | I'm not hungry. — Me neither. |
| A2-mente | feminine adjective + -mente | lenta → lentamente / fácil → fácilmente | |
| A2ya / todavía | ya: already; todavía: still; todavía no: not yet | Todavía vivo con mis padres. | I still live with my parents. |
| A2Trap | the adjective keeps its written accent before -mente | rápida → rápidamente |
Use: how and how muchA1–A2
| Adverb | Use | Example | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| bien | well: the adverb of bueno | Cocinas muy bien. | You cook very well. |
| mal | badly: the adverb of malo | Duermo mal. | I sleep badly. |
| muy | very, before an adjective or an adverb | Estoy muy cansado. | I'm very tired. |
| mucho | a lot, after a verb | Llueve mucho. | It rains a lot. |
| poco | not much, after a verb | Como poco. | I don't eat much. |
| bastante | quite, fairly | Es bastante caro. | It's quite expensive. |
| A2demasiado | too, too much | Hablas demasiado. | You talk too much. |
- muy goes before an adjective or an adverb, and mucho after a verb: Es muy rico. / Me gusta mucho. — It's very tasty. / I like it a lot.
- mucho after a verb never changes; before a noun it agrees with the noun: Leo mucho. / Leo muchos libros. — I read a lot. / I read many books.
- A2mejor and peor are also the comparatives of bien and mal: Hoy me siento mejor. — Today I feel better.
Form: -menteA2
- Add -mente to the feminine form of the adjective: lenta → lentamente / tranquila → tranquilamente
- An adjective with one form for both genders adds -mente as it is: fácil → fácilmente / feliz → felizmente
- The adjective keeps its written accent: rápida → rápidamente
- With two such adverbs in a row, only the last takes -mente: Habla clara y lentamente. — She speaks clearly and slowly.
- In everyday speech, some adjectives work as adverbs too: rápido, claro, alto. Habla más rápido. — Speak faster.
Use: place and timeA1–A2
| Adverb | Meaning | Example | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| aquí | here | Vivo aquí. | I live here. |
| ahí | there, near you | Deja el libro ahí. | Leave the book there. |
| allí | over there | Allí está el museo. | The museum is over there. |
| acá | here | Mi casa está acá. | My house is here. |
| allá | over there | Allá está el museo. | The museum is over there. |
| hoy | today | Hoy es lunes. | Today is Monday. |
| mañana | tomorrow | Mañana voy al médico. | Tomorrow I'm going to the doctor. |
| ahora | now | Ahora no puedo. | I can't now. |
| después | later, afterwards | Te llamo después. | I'll call you later. |
| A2ayer | yesterday | Ayer fui al cine. | Yesterday I went to the cinema. |
| A2anoche | last night | ¿Saliste anoche? | Did you go out last night? |
| A2anteayer | the day before yesterday | Anteayer llovió mucho. | It rained a lot the day before yesterday. |
| A2ya | already | Ya es tarde. | It's already late. |
| A2todavía | still | Todavía vivo con mis padres. | I still live with my parents. |
| A2todavía no | not yet | Todavía no lo sé. | I don't know yet. |
- aquí is near the speaker, ahí near the listener, and allí far from both.
- mañana is tomorrow; la mañana is the morning: Mañana por la mañana trabajo. — Tomorrow morning I work.
- A2desde gives the point where something started: Vivo aquí desde 2020. / Te espero desde ayer. — I've lived here since 2020. / I've been waiting for you since yesterday.
- A2desde hace gives how long something has lasted; the verb stays in the present, where English uses the present perfect: Estudio español desde hace dos años. — I've been studying Spanish for two years.
- A2The same idea with hace first: hace + length of time + que + present: Hace dos años que estudio español. — I've been studying Spanish for two years.
- A2hace with a length of time and a past verb means “ago”: Llegué hace una semana. — I arrived a week ago.
Frequency and positionA1–A2
| Adverb | Meaning | Example | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| siempre | always | Siempre desayuno en casa. | I always have breakfast at home. |
| normalmente | usually | Normalmente ceno a las ocho. | I usually have dinner at eight. |
| todos los días | every day | Todos los días camino al trabajo. | I walk to work every day. |
| a veces | sometimes | A veces cocino. | Sometimes I cook. |
| A2nunca | never | Nunca como carne. | I never eat meat. |
- A2nunca goes before the verb, or after it with no before the verb: Nunca como carne. / No como carne nunca. — I never eat meat. / I never eat meat.
- Adverbs of manner usually go right after the verb: Habla bien inglés. — She speaks English well.
- también agrees with a positive statement: Tengo hambre. — Yo también. — I'm hungry. — Me too.
- tampoco agrees with a negative statement: No tengo hambre. — Yo tampoco. — I'm not hungry. — Me neither.
Typical errorsA1–A2
| ✗ | ✓ | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Es mucho caro. | Es muy caro. | muy goes before an adjective |
| Me gusta muy. | Me gusta mucho. | mucho goes after a verb |
| Habla español bueno. | Habla español bien. | the adverb is bien |
| A2Nunca no como carne. | Nunca como carne. | nunca before the verb takes no no |
| Yo también no. | Yo tampoco. | agreeing with a negative takes tampoco |
| A2rápidomente | rápidamente | -mente joins the feminine form |
| A2rapidamente | rápidamente | the adjective keeps its accent |