A. GENERAL USE
Adverbs provide more information about verbs or adjectives by describing how an action is performed, how often it is done, how intense a quality is, etc.:
Habla bien. No estudiamos demasiado. Es bastante difícil. |
She speaks well. We do not study too much. It is quite difficult. |
• Adverbs have no feminine or plural forms, and are placed as close to the verb as possible:
Son bastante difíciles. Las peras están demasiado viejas. Me gustan mucho las fiestas. |
They’re quite difficult. The pears are too old. I like parties a lot. |
Some adverbs, however, are also adjectives. As all other adjectives, thus, these must agree with the noun in number and gender: Tiene muchos problemas, bastantes preocupaciones y demasiadas deudas.
PRÁCTICA 16A. Complete the following sentences with the correct endings, and mark the instances in which the completed words are adverbs.
B. FORMATION OF ADVERBS FROM ADJECTIVES
• To form an adverb add -mente to the feminine form of an adjective:
lento → lentamente rápido → rápidamente |
feliz → felizmente difícil → difícilmente |
When used in a series, only the last adjective will add the suffix -mente:
Trabaja rápida y eficazmente.He works quickly and efficiently.
• The suffix -mente is rarely used with adjectives ending in -nte. Use adverbial phrases instead:
interestingly frequently intelligently elegantly more importantly |
de manera interesante con frecuencia con inteligencia, de forma inteligente con elegancia lo que es más importante |
• The common adjectives bueno and malo have their own corresponding adverbial forms:
(good) bueno → bien (well) | (bad) malo → mal (badly) |
Ella habla bien el italiano, pero canta mal. |
Practice
Write the needed ending.
1. Estudio much__, pero tengo poc__ clases. Soy una persona demasiad__ ocupada. |
2. Mis clases son bastant__ difíciles, pero hay much__ gente que me ayuda. |
3. Much__ de mis profesores dicen que me preocupo demasiad__. |
4. Quiero aprender much__ y ser bastant__ profesional en mi trabajo. |
5. Como soy estudiante, tengo poc__ dinero, pero tengo bastant__ amigos. |
6. Tampoco tengo demasiad__ problemas ni gasto much__. Tengo bastant__ suerte. |
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