Adverbs
Open the Adverbs hub from the Adverbs tile on the Self Study screen. The Spanish catalogue has over 230 adverbs of three kinds:
- Derived: built from an adjective with -mente: rápidamente, fácilmente.
- Irregular: built from an adjective, but not by the rule: bien (from bueno) and mal (from malo).
- Lexical: not built from an adjective. These include place words (aquÃ, allÃ, cerca), time words (ahora, ayer, siempre, nunca, ya), degree words (muy, casi, bastante) and words like también and tampoco.
The derived adverbs in the catalogue are a chosen list. The app does not make an adverb from every adjective, because many adjectives have none (see Adverb grammar below).
The badge under the title shows how many adverbs your selected kinds contain within your level. The topics in Select word scope do not narrow it.
The hub has these screens:
- Select groups (Practice) — opens Select adverb groups: tick the kinds you want. Tap ⓘ on a kind for an explanation and a list of its adverbs. Tap an adverb to open its page.
- Adverb grammar (Theory): the rule, its limits, the adverbs of their own, and comparison.
- Reference (Study) — opens Adverb reference: the selected adverbs.
- Meaning (Practice) — opens Adverb meaning: flashcards for the meaning of each adverb. See Word meaning for how the flashcards work.
There is no form drill for adverbs. Once you know the rule, derived adverbs are predictable, so the drill tests meaning only.
Adverb grammar
Adverb grammar has five cards that open and close when you tap their heading:
- Adding -mente — add -mente to the feminine singular of the adjective: rápida → rápidamente, cuidadosa → cuidadosamente. An adjective with one form for both genders uses that form: fácil → fácilmente, triste → tristemente. The adjective keeps its written accent. With two adverbs in a row, only the last one takes -mente: lenta y cuidadosamente.
- Two irregulars — bueno → bien, malo → mal.
- Adjectives without -mente — adjectives that classify have no -mente form: colours (no rojamente), nationality (no españolamente; say a la española), states such as muerto or casado, and categories such as ferroviario (railway). A test: if muy fits the adjective, there is usually an adverb.
- Adverbs of their own — adverbs that do not come from an adjective: time (ahora, siempre), place (aquÃ), amount (muy) and manner (asÃ).
- Comparison — adverbs are compared like adjectives: más rápidamente que, tan rápidamente como. Bien and mal become mejor and peor. Mucho and poco take -Ãsimo: muchÃsimo, poquÃsimo.
Adverb reference
The selected adverbs in three sections, Derived, Irregular and Lexical. Only the first section is open when you arrive. Tap a heading to open or close it. A search opens all sections. Irregular adverbs carry an irr. badge and lexical adverbs a lex. badge. The search matches the start of the adverb (so rapid finds rápidamente) or any part of its translation.
Tap an adverb to open its page. It shows the kind (Derived (regular), Derived (irregular) or Lexical) and, for a derived adverb, the adjective it comes from.
Recommended workflow
- Run Meaning on the Lexical adverbs first. These are the ones you have to memorise.
- For the derived adverbs, learn the rule in Adverb grammar rather than drilling each one.