Adverbs of manner in Spanish (bien, mal...)
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Sign up for freeAdverbs of manner (adverbios de modo) describe how an action is being performed.
They give an answer to questions starting with "how?" or "in what way?".
Examples:
- ¡No hables tan alto! El niño está durmiendo. (Don't speak so loudly! The child is sleeping.)
- Alicia habla muy bien el inglés. (Alicia speaks English very well.)
Lesson outline
HideVerb-modifier
Adverbs of manner generally modify the verb they refer to.
Example:
Como me duele la rodilla, camino muy despacio. (Since my knee is hurting, I walk very slowly.)
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Placement
Adverbs of manner are placed after the verb they modify.
Example:
Marta canta mejor que tú. (Marta sings better than you.)
Since they modify a verb, they do not change according to the gender and number.
Adverb formation
Some adverbs of manner are formed by adding the suffix -mente to the adjective.
Example:
- El contracto estable claramente las condiciones de trabajo. (The contract clearly states the working conditions.)
- Estoy felizmente enamorada. (I am happily in love.)
To have a more in-depth explanation, have a look at Formation of adverbs (-mente) in Spanish subpage.
List of adverbs of manner English-Spanish
| Spanish adverb | English translation | Example |
|---|---|---|
| alto | loudly | Pídele que hable más alto. (Ask him to speak more loudly.) |
| así | like this like that this way | Esta cremallera se cierra así. (This zip closes like this.) |
| bajo | quietly | Hablaba tan bajo que no me enteré de nada. (He was speaking so quietly that I did not understand anything.) |
| bien | well | Amparo pinta muy bien. (Amparo paints very well.) |
| claramente | clearly surely | Se trata claramente de un caso de discriminación de género. (This is surely a case of gender discrimination.) |
| coscientemente | consciously | Lo hizo coscientemente. (He did it consciously.) |
| deprisa | quickly to be in a hurry | ¿Estás deprisa? (Are you in a hurry?) |
| despacio | slowly | Te lo digo bien despacio. (I tell it to you very slowly.) |
| difícilmente | with difficulty | Tus objetivos son difícilmente alcanzables. (Your objectives are difficult to achieve.) |
| especialmente | especially particularly | Hoy te ves especialmente bonita. (You look particularly pretty today.) |
| estupendamente | wonderfully | Los trenes funcionan estupendamente en Suecia. (Trains work wonderfully in Sweden.) |
| fácilmente | easily | Rafael saltó la cerca fácilmente. (Rafael jumped over the gate easily.) |
| felizmente | happily | Está felizmente casada con un chico de Valencia. (She is happily married to a guy from Valencia.) |
| fuerte | loudly | Habla fuerte que no te eschucho. (Speak loudly; I cannot hear you.) |
lento lentamente | slowly | Camina lento hacia atrás. (Walk slowly backwards.) |
| mal | badly | Juan habla muy mal el francés. (Juan speaks French very badly.) |
| mejor | better | Javier toca la guitarra mejor que su hermana. (Javier plays the guitar better than his sister.) |
| peor | worse | Carlos toca el piano peor que Juan. (Carlos plays the piano worse than Juan.) |
| profundamente | deeply | Tus palabras me hirieron profundamente. (Your words hurt me deeply.) |
rápido rápidamente | quickly fast | ¡Corre tan rápido como puedas! (Run as fast as you can!) |
| silenciosamente | silently | Dejó silenciosamente la oficina. (He silently left the office.) |
| suavemente | softly gently | Me besó suavemente. (He softly kissed me.) |
| tristemente | sadly | Me miró tristemente. (He sadly looked at me.) |