Adverbs of frequency Flashcards
Where do adverbs go?
There’s a general rule that says Spanish adverbs always go either before or after the word they modify. This rule gives us examples like these:
- Antonio come mucho. (Antonio eats a lot.)
- María es muy guapa. (María is very pretty.)
- Corres demasiado rápido. (You’re running too fast.)
Adverbs modifying verbs
If an adverb is modifying a verb, it will normally follow that verb:
- Te quiero mucho. (I love you so much.)
- Juana estudia sistemáticamente. (Juana studies systematically.)
- Me parece que has crecido un poco. (I think you’ve grown a bit.)
However, you can place the adverb right before the verb if you want to add emphasis:
- Demasiado lento hablas. (You speak too slow.)
- Mucho has crecido tú. (You’ve grown a lot.)
- Allí está mi coche. (There’s my car.)
Finally, there’s a key difference between English and Spanish with regard to perfect tenses. While English allows you to add adverbs between “to have” and the past participle, Spanish does not:
- No he comido nunca camarones. (I’ve never eaten shrimp.)
- Mi hermano ya ha llegado. (My brother has already arrived.)
Adverbs modifying adjectives
The rule with adjectives is pretty easy: Always place the adverb in front of the adjective. Have a look at some examples:
- Tu hijo es muy alto. (Your son is very tall.)
- Estás algo pálido. (You’re somewhat pale.)
- Esta rosa es demasiado cara. (This rose is too expensive.)
However, you’ll see quite often that adverbs can appear after the adjective. This happens because the adverb modifies the whole sentence (as you’ll see later on), not just the adjective:
- Estás algo pálido hoy. (You’re somewhat pale today.)
In the example above, “today” cannot modify “pale.” “Today pale” doesn’t make any sense. Here’s another example:
- Estamos muy cansados esta tarde. (We’re very tired this afternoon.)
Adverbs modifying adverbs
Yes, adverbs can modify adverbs, too! Once again, the rule for this is very simple: the adverb doing the modifying should always be placed before the modified one:
- Juan come muy rápido. (Juan eats very fast.)
Just like in English, saying “fast very” would not make sense. Here are two more examples:
- Esta máquina trabaja bastante despacio. (This machine works pretty slowly.)
- Este chico lee fantásticamente bien. (This guy reads fantastically well.)
Adverbs modifying whole sentences
If an adverb is modifying a whole sentence—like the majority of frequency adverbs do—it can be placed at the beginning or at the end of that sentence. You decide where to place it, depending on whether you want the sentence to emphasize the action or the time when it took/is taking/will take place.
- Iremos al cine mañana. (We’ll go to the cinema tomorrow.)
Since the sentence above places the action of going to the cinema first, that action is more important than the time when it will happen. To shift the emphasis to the time of the action instead, place it first:
- Mañana iremos al cine. (Tomorrow we’ll go to the cinema.)
Here’s the concept in action once again:
- Me rompí la pierna el año pasado. (I broke my leg last year.)
- El año pasado me rompí la pierna. (Last year I broke my leg.)
always, every time
I’m always hungry
siempre
“syehm-preh”
Siempre tengo hambre.
almost always
(I almost always sleep on the sofa.)
casi siempre
“kah-see syehm-preh”
Casi siempre duermo en el sofá.
constantly
We’re constantly arguing.)
constantemente
“kohns-tahn-teh-mehn-teh”
Estamos peleando constantemente.
frequently
We frequently go for a walk in the woods.
con frecuencia
frecuentemente
“freh-kwehn-teh-mehn-teh”
Frecuentemente vamos de paseo por el bosque.
Often
I often go for a run.
a menudo
“ah meh-noo-doh”
A menudo salgo a correr.
very often
(I dress in black very often.)
muy a menudo
“mooee ah meh-noo-doh”
Me visto de negro muy a menudo
a lot
I travel to Spain a lot.
mucho
* “moo-choh”
muchas veces
* Spain: “moo-chahs beh-thehs”
* Latin America: “moo-chahs beh-sehs”
Viajo mucho a España.
many times
Many times I forget to switch the lights off.)
muchas veces
* Spain: “moo-chahs beh-thehs”
* Latin America: “moo-chahs beh-sehs”
Muchas veces olvido apagar la luz.
daily, every day
We eat breakfast every day at seven
a diario
“ah dyah-ryoh”
A diario desayunamos a las siete
every + [time expression]
We travel to Argentina every summer.)
cada + [time expression]
“kah-dah”
Vamos a Argentina cada verano.
