Som e Adve r bs Fr om Fe m in in e Adj e ct ive s Gr ow

I n English, we form som e adverbs by adding t he suffix ly t o t he adj ect ive form :
slow

slowly

sad

sadly

bit t er

bit t erly

I n Spanish, adverbs wit h - m ent e ( derivat ive adverbs) are form ed from t he
fem inine adj ect ive:
claro

clara

claram ent e

perfect o

perfect a

perfect am ent e

I f t he original adj ect ive had a writ t en st ress m ark, it is ret ained in t he result ing
adverb.

cm odo

cm oda

cm oda m ent e rpido

rpida

rpida m ent e

The adverbs form ed by t he addit ion of m e n t e are pronounced as t wo words,

each part ret aining it s original st ress, bot h writ t en and spoken.

Rem em ber, som e adj ect ives have t he sam e form for t he m asculine and t he
fem inine:

t rist e

t rist em ent e

fcil

fcilm ent e

I f t here are t wo or m ore adverbs wit h m ent e used consecut ively, only t he very
last one wit h have t he suffix.

El chico habl lent a y t ranquilam ent e.

Rules for t he placem ent of adverbs are not absolut e.

The norm al order,

however, is before t he adj ect ive or ot her adverb and aft er t he verb. As in English,
variat ion is possible.

Som et im es, Spanish will use a preposit ional phrase ( con + t he noun) as a
subst it ut e for t he longer form ending in m ent e:
con cuidado for cuidadosam ent e

con facilidad for fcilm ent e

Pr ct ica : W r it e a dve r bs for t he follow in g a dj e ct ive s.

1. lent o

6. difcil

2. m ist erioso

7. t rist e

3. sencillo

8. fuert e

4. lt im o

9. frecuent e

5. perezoso

10. posible