B1 · Adjectives
Adverbs in -mente
Feminine form plus -mente, but only one per run.
At a glance
- Remember
- The adjective describes the thing, the adverb the doing — and «well» is bien.
- Form
- lento → lentamentein -o
- Signal words
- -mente
- con + Nomen
- de manera
- bien
- mal
- Trap
- Wrong:Mi hermana canta muy bueno.Right:Mi hermana canta muy bien.
Your turn
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The form
From the base form to the new form
Each row first says what the form expresses, then shows it in Spanish: the base form before the arrow, the result after it.
| in -o | lento → lentamente |
| otherwise | fácil → fácilmente |
| with an accent | rápido → rápidamente |
| in a run | clara y lentamente |
| alternative | con cuidado = cuidadosamente |
| unchanged | bien, mal, mejor, peor |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is about
The feminine form plus -mente gives the adverb.
Lo hizo perfectamente.He did it perfectly.
The adjective's accent stays put.
Contestó rápidamente.He answered quickly.
In a run only the last one carries the ending.
Habla lenta y claramente.He speaks slowly and clearly.
bien and mal are adverbs already and take no ending.
Canta muy bien.She sings very well.
Example sentences
Habla perfectamente el francés.He speaks French perfectly.
Lo explicó claramente.He explained it clearly.
Conduce con cuidado.Drive carefully.
Trabajan lenta pero cuidadosamente.They work slowly but carefully.
6 more example sentences
Explícamelo claramente.Explain it to me clearly.
Lo hizo de manera muy profesional.He did it in a very professional way.
Camina despacio.He walks slowly.
Actuaron rápida y eficazmente.They acted quickly and effectively.
Todo salió mal.Everything went wrong.
Habla más alto, no te oigo.Speak up, I cannot hear you.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
The adjective gets used instead of the adverb: Canta bueno. English keeps «good» and «well» apart, so the distinction is familiar — it is the Spanish words that have to be learnt: bueno describes a thing, bien a doing, exactly like «a good singer» against «sings well».
The full explanation
Read it all · about 1 min
The adverb comes from the feminine form of the adjective plus -mente: rápida → rápidamente, lenta → lentamente. If the adjective does not end in -o it stays as it is: fácil → fácilmente. It is the exact counterpart of the English -ly.
The adjective's accent stays even though the stress now falls on -mente: rápidamente. It is the one place in Spanish where a word has two stressed syllables.
When several adverbs stand together, only the last carries the ending: Habla clara y lentamente. The others stay in the feminine adjective form.
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The verbs on this page, in every form: hablar · hacer · explicar · trabajar · contestar · cuidar · conducir