Explanation

Quick Answer

Adverbs are words used to modify or describe verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs. An adverb can give information about time, place, manner, or number and answer questions such as:

How?

How long?

How often?

When?

Where?

Unlike Spanish adjectives, Spanish adverbs are invariable, which is a fancy way to say they do not change according to the gender or number. This is because adverbs modify verbs, adjectives and adverbs, not nouns.

Adverb Placement

An adverb usually comes after the verb it modifies.

examples
Cantas bien. You sing well.

An adverb always comes before the adjective it modifies.

examples
Eres muy alto. You're very tall.

An adverb always comes before the adverb it modifies.

examples
Hablas demasiado rápido. You speak too quickly.

Types of Adverbs

Adverbs can be categorized into several types, including adverbs of place, adverbs of time, adverbs of quantity, and adverbs of manner.

Adverbs of Place

Adverbs of place answer questions like Where? and give information on location.

List of Adverbs of Place

Spanish	English	Spanish	English
aquí	here	acá	here
allí	there	allá	there
cerca	near	lejos	far
delante	in front	detrás	behind
encima	on top	debajo	underneath
dentro	inside	fuera	outside
adelante	ahead	atrás	behind
arriba	up, above	abajo	down, below
adentro	inside	afuera	outside

Examples with Adverbs of Place

examples
El templo está allá. The temple is over there.
Aquí hay muchas flores. There are lots of flowers here.

Adverbs of Time

Adverbs of time answer questions like When? and How often? and are used to give information on time, duration, and frequency.

List of Adverbs of Time

Spanish	English	Spanish	English
hoy	today	ahora	now
mañana	tomorrow	ayer	yesterday
anoche	last night	anteayer	the day before yesterday
anteanoche	the night before last	previamente	previously
recientemente	recently	actualmente	currently
brevemente	briefly	permanentemente	permanently
diariamente	daily	frecuentemente	frequently
todavía	still	ya	already
nunca	never	siempre	always
ocasionalmente	occasionally	semanalmente	weekly

Examples with Adverbs of Time

examples
Llegaste tarde a clase. You arrived to class late.
Todavía no ha comido sus guisantes. He still hasn't eaten his peas.

Adverbs of Quantity or Degree

Adverbs of quantity or degree answer questions like How much?, or To what extent? and are used to give information on quantity, number, and degree.

List of Adverbs of Quantity or Degree

Spanish	English	Spanish	English
muy	very	demasiado	too much
mucho	a lot	poco	a little
menos	less	más	more
tanto	so much	bastante	enough
algo	somewhat	nada	not at all

Examples with Adverbs of Quantity or Degree

examples
Comí demasiado anoche. I ate too much last night.
Estoy muy cansada. I am very tired.

Adverbs of Manner

Adverbs of manner answer questions like How?, or In what way? and are used to give information on the way something is done.

List of Adverbs of Manner

Spanish	English	Spanish	English
bien	well	mal	badly
mejor	better	peor	worse
rápido	fast, quickly	despacio	slowly
claramente	clearly	inteligentemente	intelligently
bonito	beautifully	cuidadosamente	carefully
alto	loudly	quieto	quietly
dulcemente	sweetly	estupendamente	stupendously
seriamente	seriously	voluntariamente	voluntarily
así	like this, this way	fácilmente	easily

Examples with Adverbs of Manner

examples
Lo siento, pero así soy yo. I'm sorry, that's the way I am.
Estoy bien, gracias. I'm well, thank you.

Forming Adverbs

Simple Adverbs

Many adverbs can also be formed with adjectives by using the following formula.

feminine singular adjective + -mente (the Spanish equivalent of the English -ly)

lenta + -mente = lentamente(slowly)

examples
Caminaba lentamente. He was walking slowly.

fácil + -mente = fácilmente(easily)

examples
Contesté las preguntas fácilmente. I answered the questions easily.

rápida + -mente = rápidamente(quickly)

examples
Corrí rápidamente para escaparme de los perros. I ran quickly to escape from the dogs.

More on Manner

Manner can frequently be expressed using adverbial expressions that use the following formulas.

de manera + adjective

de modo + adjective

con + noun

examples
Me besó de manera dulce. He kissed me sweetly.
Hice el examen de manera fácil. I completed the exam easily.
Corrí de modo rápido para escaparme de los perros. I ran quickly to escape from the dogs.
Escribe de modo romántico para ganar su corazón. Write romantically to win her heart.
Me besó con dulzura. He kissed me sweetly.
Hice el examen con facilidad. I completed the exam easily.

Adverbial Expressions

Below you will find some more common Spanish adverbial expressions.

Spanish	English	Spanish	English
a ciegas	blindly	a veces	sometimes
al final	in the end	a tiempo	on time
de día	during the day	de noche	at night
de verdad	really, truly	por fin	finally
sin cuidado	carelessly	con cuidado	carefully
a la perfección	perfectly	a la vez	at the same time
al principio	in the beginning	de una vez por todas	once and for all
a diario	daily	a menudo	often
de inmediato	immediately	de nuevo	once again
en serio	really, seriously	en realidad	really
a diestra y siniestra	all over the place	a escondidas	secretly
al anochecer	at dusk, at sunset	al amanecer	at dawn
a oscuras	in the dark	a la moda	fashionably
en casa	at home	con frecuencia	frequently
con alegría	happily	con tristeza	sadly
de buena gana	willingly	de mala gana	unwillingly
de pronto	suddenly	de repente	suddenly
por desgracia	unfortunately	por suerte	luckily
de memoria	by heart	de prisa	quickly