Forming regular adverbs ending in -mente in Spanish
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Look at these sentences using adverbs:
Ellas son lentas: caminan lentamente.They are slow: they walk slowly.
Los coches son rápidos: van rápidamente.Cars are fast: they go quickly.
Ellos duermen plácidamente.They sleep placidly.
Regular adverbs in Spanish
In English you add -ly. Here's how you form regular adverbs in Spanish:
- Take the feminine form of the adjective.
- Add -mente at the end
- Add -mente at the end
Note that sometimes the masculine and feminine forms of the adjective are the same. This is the case, for example, with adjectives ending in -e, such as fuerte (strong) and amable (friendly), and many adjectives ending in a consonant, such as fácil (easy), difícil (difficult), and feliz (happy). In these cases, simply add -mente to the adjective:
Finalmente voy a ser médico.I'm finally going to be a doctor.
Puedes hacer los ejercicios fácilmente.You can do the exercises easily.
Nos atienden amablemente.They serve us kindly.
Debes atar los cordones fuertemente.You must tie your laces tightly.
Ustedes deben tirar suavemente.You must pull gently.
Me saluda amablemente. He/She greets me kindly.
Mi abuela camina difícilmente.My gran walks with difficulty.
Important note on accents in regular adverbs in Spanish:
If the adjective has a written accent, when forming the regular adverb ending in -mente, you need to keep the written accent.
For example:
rápido - rápidamente
quick - quickly
fácil - fácilmente
easy - easily
cómodo - cómodamente
comfortable - comfortably
See also:
Forming the singular masculine and feminine of regular adjectives in Spanish
Forming the singular masculine and feminine of adjectives ending -e and -a in Spanish
Forming the singular of masculine and feminine adjectives ending in -z and -l
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