Let’s talk about adverbs. Adverbs are very important in Spanish grammar and many of them are closely connected to adjectives. In fact, there are a good number of adverbs that can be easily formed if we are familiar with the original adjective. In this lesson, we will see how to use adjectives in order to form Spanish adverbs with the suffix -mente.

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Some examples of Spanish adverbs with -mente

Let’s take a look at these very used adverbs in Spanish.

...pero principalmente cubanos que llegaron a este país hace cuarenta años.

...but mainly Cubans who arrived to this country forty years ago.

Caption 6, La Calle 8 - Un recorrido fascinante

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Además, este año hay una zona dedicada especialmente a la gastronomía.

Additionally, this year there is an area dedicated especially to gastronomy.

Caption 28, Fuengirola - Feria Internacional de los Pueblos

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Nos criamos completamente ciegos, sordos, mudos con respecto al dinero.

We grew up completely blind, deaf, dumb with respect to money.

Caption 70, Cuentas claras - Sobreviviendo enero

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As you can see, the suffix mente corresponds to the English suffix ‘ly’. But how do you form Spanish adverbs with -mente? Let’s take a look.

How to form Spanish adverbs with -mente

In order to build Spanish adverbs with -mente, you just have to follow this very simple formula:

Feminine form of the adjective + mente

For example, if we want to form an adverb with the adjective último (last), we just need to take the feminine form of that adjective (última) and add the suffix -mente, like this:

última  + mente = últimamente (lastly).

Let’s look at some more examples:

Claro (clear): clara + mente = claramente (clearly)

Lento (slow): lenta + mente = lentamente (slowly)

Honesto (honest): honesta + mente = honestamente (honestly)

However, if an adjective doesn’t end in ‘o’, it means that it has one form that is used for both masculine and feminine. In that case, you just need to add the suffix -mente to the adjective in order to get the adverb. Let’s see some examples:

Alegre (happy):  alegre + mente = alegremente (happily)

Triste (sad): triste + mente = tristemente (sadly)

Frecuente (frequent): frecuente + mente = frecuentemente (frequently)

Normal (normal): normal + mente = normalmente (normally)

It is also important to mention that if you have a sentence with two adverbs in a series, only the last one will have the suffix -mente at the end. The first one will keep the feminime form of the adjective:

Él camina rápida y alegremente

He walks quickly and happily

Ellos hablaron clara y concisamente

They spoke clearly and concisely

Finally, something important to keep in mind: If the original adjective has a graphic accent on it (tilde), the adverb will also have that accent. Some examples:

Creo que mi mamá comprendió su equivocación rápidamente.

I think that my mom understood her mistake quickly.

Caption 1, Los Años Maravillosos - Capítulo 2

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Con un poco de práctica, podremos aprender estas reglas muy fácilmente.

With a bit of practice, we will be able to learn these rules very easily.

Caption 54, Carlos explica - Acentuación Cap. 3: La división en sílabas

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That's it for this lesson. Now, here is your homework: Take 10 adjectives and try to form the corresponding adverbs using the suffix -mente. Can you write some sentences too? Have fun and don’t forget to send us your feedback and suggestions.