How To Turn Spanish Adjectives Into Adverbs

How To Turn Spanish Adjectives Into Adverbs In English, it is common to create an adverb by adding the suffix -ly to the end of an adjective. In Spanish, we can do something almost as easy- create an adverb by adding the suffix -mente to a certain form of the adjective. How to Use -Mente The -mente is added to the singular feminine form of the adjective. For example, the singular feminine form of ruidoso (noisy) is ruidosa, so the adverb form is ruidosamente (noisily). The adjectives with separate masculine and feminine forms are those whose dictionary listings end in -o, such as quieto (quiet). To create the corresponding adverb, change the ending to -a, in this case quieta, and then add -mente. Thus the corresponding adverb for quieto is quietamente (quietly). Since many adjectives have no separate masculine or feminine forms, the suffix is often simply added to the singular. So the adjective triste (sad) can be turned into the adverb tristemente, and feliz (happy) can easily be turned into felizmente (happily). Examples of Adjectives With Corresponding Adverbs Here are some of the most common Spanish adjectives that have corresponding -mente adverbs along with possible translations. Note that in a few cases the meanings of the Spanish adverbs are different than what you might expect simply from adding -ly to the English equivalent adjective. abierto (open), abiertamente (openly, obviously)aburrido (boring), aburridamente (in a boring manner)alto (tall, high), altamente (highly)cansado (tired), cansadamente (wearily, tediously)comà ºn (common), comà ºnmente (commonly, normally)dà ©bil (weak), dà ©bilmente (weakly)dulce (sweet, kind), dulcemente (sweetly, gently)equivocado (mistaken), equivocadamente (mistakenly)feo (ugly, dreary), feamente (horribly, badly)grande (large, great), grandemente (extremely, greatly; largely can often be translated using en gran parte or principalmente)inteligente (intelligent), inteligentemente (intelligently)justo (fair, just, exact), justamente (fairly, justly, exactly)lento (slowly), lentamente (slowly)limpio (clean), limpiamente (cleanly, with integrity or honesty)lindo (pretty, beautiful), lindamente (beautifully, elegantly)llana (flat, level, unpretentious, modest), llanamente (plainly, frankly, straightforwardly)loco (crazy), locamente (with lack of prudence or moderation)nuevo (new ), nuevamente (anew, again; a common way of saying newly is recientemente) pobre (poor), pobremente (poorly)rpido (quick, fast), rpidamente (quickly, rapidly)repugnante (repugnant), repugnantemente (repugnantly)raro (rare), raramente (rarely)rico (rich), ricamente (richly, very well, abundantly)sano (healthy), sanamente (healthily, healthfully)seco (dry), secamente  (coldly when referring to behavior; curtly)simple (simple, easy), simplemente (simply, straightforwardly)sucio (dirty), suciamente (in a dirty or filthy way, meanly)tonto (stupid, foolish), tontamente (stupidly, foolishly)tranquilo (quiet, calm), tranquilamente (quietly, calmly) Avoiding Overuse of -Mente Adverbs Even though a -mente adverb may exist doesnt always mean its the only or even the preferred way of expressing something. First, in Spanish, more so than English, it is common to use an adverbial phrase even though a single-word adverb may exist. For example, while baratamente can be used to indicate that something was bought or made cheaply, it is more common to say a precio bajo (at a low cost) or even de forma barata (in a cheap way). Second, there are a few adjectives that are often used as adverbs even though separate adverbial forms exist. Among the more common are rpido and lento, which can mean not just fast and slow, respectively, but also rapidly and slowly. Spelling and Pronunciation of -Mente Adverbs As in the above examples of dà ©bil and rpido, if an adjective has an accent mark, the corresponding -mente adverb retains the accent mark, even though the spoken emphasis likely will be on the next-to-last syllable. Adverbs in a Series When two or more s: Habla lenta y claramente. (She speaks slowly and clearly.)Anda cuidada, dolorosa y pacientemente. (He walks carefully, painfully and patiently.)Creo que ests equivocado: triste, absoluta y totalmente equivocado. (I think youre mistaken - sadly, absolutely and totally mistaken.)