Revising adverbs in Spanish - CCEATime or place adverbs, quantifier and intensifiers

Adverbs are words that add meaning to the verb and describe actions. They tell us when or how something is happening or where the action in a sentence takes place.

Part ofSpanishGrammar

Adverbs of time and place, quantifiers and intensifiers

As well as regular that end in -mente, there are other types of adverbs.

Adverbs of time

Adverbs of time are used to say when or how often something is happening. They can come before or after the verb. As well as regular adverbs of time like diariamente (daily), frecuentemente (frequently) etc, there are other useful irregular adverbs of time including:

hoytoday
mañanatomorrow
anochelast night
ayeryesterday
ahoranow
siemprealways
todavíastill
yaalready
tardelate
tempranoearly
nuncanever
a vecessometimes
a menudooften
hoy
today
mañana
tomorrow
anoche
last night
ayer
yesterday
ahora
now
siempre
always
todavía
still
ya
already
tarde
late
temprano
early
nunca
never
a veces
sometimes
a menudo
often

For example:

Nunca voy de compras (I never go shopping).

Iré de vacaciones mañana (I will go on holiday tomorrow).

Todavía no he hecho mis deberes (I still haven't done my homework).

El autobús llegó tarde (The bus arrived late).

Adverbs of place

Adverbs of place show where something is happening and give information about the location. They can come before or after the verb. Useful adverbs of place include:

aquíhere
allíthere
cercanear
lejosfar
adentroinside
afueraoutside
arribaabove
abajobelow
aquí
here
allí
there
cerca
near
lejos
far
adentro
inside
afuera
outside
arriba
above
abajo
below

For example:

Aquí hay muchas tiendas (There are many shops here).

El museo está lejos (The museum is far).

Quantifiers and intensifiers

Quantifiers or intensifiers are adverbs of quantity or degree. They tell us how much, or to what extent, something is happening, eg me gusta mucho el cine (I like the cinema a lot) or los chicos hablan demasiado (the boys talk too much). They can also be used to add more detail to another adverb or an adjective, eg ella canta muy bien (she sings very well), los deberes son demasiado difíciles (the homework is too difficult).

Useful quantifiers and intensifiers include:

bastanteenough/quite
demasiadotoo much
un pocoa little
muchoa lot
muyvery
bastante
enough/quite
demasiado
too much
un poco
a little
mucho
a lot
muy
very

Question

Translate these sentences containing adverbs into English.

  1. Siempre como el desayuno.
  2. Voy al cine a menudo.
  3. Los exámenes son bastante fáciles.
  4. Mi amigo vive allí.
  5. Hago la natación ocasionalmente.
  6. Me gusta el queso un poco.