Degrees of comparison of adverbs in Spanish. Adverbs in Spanish. Degrees of comparison of adverbs

Spanish lessons for beginners.

Lesson 9 - Talking about habitual actions.

This lesson covers the following topics:

reflexive verbs;
adverbs ending in -mente;
adverbs of frequency (denoting how often an action occurs);
the preposition "a" in various constructions;
soler + infinitive
acostumbrar + infinitive

EXAMPLES

A: ¿Qué haces los domingos/ fines de semana? — What do you do on Sundays/weekends?

B: Leo./ Escucho música. — I read/listen to music.

Siempre/Nunca llega a la hora. He always comes / never comes on time.

A veces/ De vez en cuando nos invitan. — Sometimes / From time to time they invite us.

¿Viene Vd. aquí a menudo/siempre? Do you often/always come here?

¿Cuántas veces por semana/ mes la ves? How many times a week / month do you see her?

¿A que hora cenas/ te acuestas? When do you have dinner / go to bed?

Ceno/ Me acuesto a las 10.00. I have dinner / go to bed at 10.00.

GRAMMAR

Reflexive verbs.

In reflexive verbs, as a rule, the infinitive is added -se, For example, levantarse (get up, get up) lavarse (to wash).
Reflexive pronouns are used with reflexive verbs. me , te, se ,nos , os that are placed before the verb.

Examples.

me levanto - I get up

te levantas - you get up

se levanta - you (polite form) get up, he/she gets up

nos levantamos - we get up

os levantáis - you (plural) get up

se levantan - they get up, you (polite form) get up

Los sabados siempre me levanto tarde. On Saturdays I always get up late.

Se levanta y se va al trabajo. He/she gets up and goes to work.

As you can see from the examples above, reflexive pronouns usually come before the verb, but they are attached to the ending of the infinitive, gerund (see) and imperative (see).

Antes de acostar se lee un rato. He/she reads a little before going to bed.

Afeitando se, se corto. He cut himself while shaving.

Levanta te, es tarde. "Get up, it's getting late."

In constructions main verb + infinitive/gerund the reflexive pronoun can either stand before the main verb, or be attached to the infinitive or gerund.

Me voy a duchar./ Voy a ducharme. - I am going to take a shower.

Nos tenemos que ir./ Tenemos que irnos. - We need to leave.

Below you can find a list of the most commonly used Spanish reflexive verbs. The designation (ie), (ue) or (i) next to the verb indicates the vowel change of the stem in the present tense (see).

acostarse (ue) - go to bed

acordarse (ue) - remember, remember

afeitarse - to shave

alegrarse - to rejoice

bañarse - to bathe

casarse - to get married

cortarse - cut yourself

despertarse (ie) - wake up

dormirse (ue) - fall asleep

equivokarse - to err

hallarse - to be, to be

irse - to leave

lavarse - to wash

levantarse - to get up

marcharse - to leave

morirse (ue) - to die

move (ue) - to move

olvidarse - to forget

parse - to stop

peinarse - to comb

probarse (ue) - try on

reírse (i) - to laugh

sentarse (ie) - to sit down

sentirse (ie) - to feel

Adverbs ending in -mente

In Spanish, many adverbs are formed by adding -mente to a feminine adjective.

rapida → rapidida mente(fast)

lenta → lenta mente(slowly)

Please note that if the adjective is stressed (´), then it is preserved in the adverb.

If the adverb ends in a consonant, just add -mente .

facil → facil mente(easily)

Note.

Instead of adverbs -mente, we can also use the construction de manner/forma + adjective.

de manera extraña - strange

de forma muy professional - very professional

Adverbs of frequency

Below you can find a list of adverbs and adverbial constructions that are often used to indicate how often an action takes place.

frecuentemente - often

generalmente - usually, in general

normalmente - usually, normally

usualmente - usually

a menudo - often

a veces - sometimes

de vez en cuando - from time to time

una vez/ dos veces por semana - once/twice a week

siemper - always

nunca, jamás - never

todos los días / meses / años - every day / month / year

cada día / mes / año - every day / month / year

Notes.

Note that in the plural of the noun vez consonant z changes to c: vez-vec es.
Jamas more emotionally charged than nunca.
If nunca stands after the verb, then a double negative is used. Compare:

Nunca me llama. / No me llama nunca. She never calls me.

Preposition "a" in some constructions

Notice the use of the preposition a in expressions ¿a que hora?, a las …

¿A qué hora sales de la oficina? What time do you leave the office?

Salgo a las 8.00. — I leave at 8.00.

Note.

You can find a list of words and expressions on this topic in the article "".

soler + infinitive

When we talk about habitual actions, we can use the construction soler (o→ue) + infinitive , which is most often translated using the adverb "usually".

A: ¿Qué suele hacer Vd. en el verano? — What do you usually do in summer?

B: Suelo salir de vacaciones. — I usually go on vacation.

A: Donde sueles comer? — Where do you usually eat?

B: Suelo comer en casa. I usually eat at home.

Solemos trabajar hasta muy tarde. We usually work late.

Acostumbrar + infinitive

Design acostumbrar + infinitive has the meaning "usually do something", "have a habit of doing something".

Ana acostumbra levantarse tarde. Anna usually gets up late / is used to getting up late.

Acostumbro comprar el periódico todos los dias. I usually buy a newspaper every day.

The design is used much less frequently than soler + infinitive, and is more characteristic of writing.

Note.

About use soler And acostumbrar in phrases like solia/ acostumbraba trabajar mucho read in .

EXERCISES

1. Put the verb in brackets into the correct form.

1. Antes de ... a veces leo un rato. Feneralmente me duermo a eso de las 11.00. (dormirse)

2. Normalmente (yo) ... a las 10.00, peromi marido no ... nunca antes de la medianoche. Los chicos … a las 9.30. (acostarse)

3. (Yo) ... (despertarse) todos los días bastante tarde, ... (afeitarse), ... (bañarse) rápidamente y ... (salir) al trabajo.

4. Ana siempre ... a la oficina sobre las 8.00. Normalmente (elle) … en el coche. (irse, ir)

5. Fernando ... (alegrarse) cuando sus padres ... (venir) a visitarle.

Not all adverbs can form degrees of comparison. Basically, the degrees of comparison have adverbs of mode of action, namely, adverbs formed with the help of the suffix -mente, as well as adverbs of place and time.

Adverbial phrases do not have degrees of comparison.

Adverbs, like adjectives, have three degrees of comparison: positive, comparative and superlative. positive degree is the basis for the formation of the other two degrees.

Comparative degree of comparison

comparative grado comparativo is formed as follows:

mas+ adverb + que more than

menos+ adverb + que less than

tan+ adverb + como as well as

He leido este articulo más atentamente que el anterior. - I have read this article more carefully than the previous one.
La fiesta paso menos alegremente de lo que esperamos. - The holiday was less fun than we expected.
La nina habla tan rapido como su hermanita. - The girl speaks as fast as her sister.

Some, and the most common, adverbs have their own special form of comparative degree:

Hoy María se siente mejor que ayer. - Maria is feeling better today than yesterday.
Este año el deportista está preparado peor que el año pasado. - This year the athlete is worse prepared than last year.
Él está seguro de que sabe más que sus amigos. - He is sure he knows more than his friends.
Está usted muy agotado, tiene que trabajar menos y descansar más. - You are very exhausted, you should work less and rest more.

Superlative Comparison

Superlatives grado superlativo formed in the following ways:

muy+ positive degree of adverb:

muy mal very bad
muy pronto very soon
muy alto very loud

Has preparado muy bien la paella. - You made a very good paella.
Habla muy bajo. - He speaks very quietly.
Mi amiga me visita muy a menudo.- My friend visits me very often.
Has trabajado muy efectivamente. - You have been very efficient.

2. The neuter article is added to the comparative degree of the adverb lo:

lo peor very bad
lo mas lejos very far

Often combined with an adjective possible possible:

Llega, por favor, lo más pronto posible. - Please come as soon as possible.
Hazlo lo mejor possible. - Do it the best you can.
Lean este articulo lo más atentamente posible. - Read this article as carefully as you can.

3. For adverbs that coincide in form with adjectives, the superlative degree also coincides with the absolute superlative degree of these adjectives (see " Degrees of comparison of adjectives"):

Me duele muchisimo el diente. - I have a very painful tooth.
Pedro estudia malisimo. - Pedro studies very badly.
El niño come poquisimo. - The child eats very little.

4. To absolute superlatives adjective female ending is added -mente(or the ending is added to the base of the adjective -isimamente).

Adverbs are used to define verbs, adjectives and other adverbs:

Caminan lentamente. - They walk slowly (slowly).

Estoy leyendo una novela muy interesante. I am reading a very interesting novel.

Vivo bastante lejos de la ciudad. — I live quite far from the city.

Adverbs are divided in terms of meaning into

- adverbs of time: ayer - yesterday, ahora - now, luego - later, nunca - never, siempre - always, jamás - never, pronto - soon;

- adverbs of place: arriba - up, abajo - down, enfrente - opposite, detrás - behind, delante - in front, fuera - outside;

— adverbs of manner: bien - good, mal - bad, mejor - better, peor - worse, tan - so (strongly), así - so (in this way);

— adverbs of quantity: demasiado - too much, mucho - a lot, menos - less, casi - almost, nada - nothing, bastante - enough;

— adverbs of affirmation, negation: sin embargo - nevertheless, no obstante - despite;

— adverbs of opposition, consequences: claro - of course, también - also yes, tampoco - also no, quizá(s) - maybe.

In Spanish, adverbs differ in form into simple and derivative (adverbs in - mente). The adverbs do not change.

Simple adverbs include such common ones as: más - more, ya - narrower.

Ahora estan ocupados. They are busy now.

Derived adverbs are formed by adding -mente to the feminine form of an adjective, for example,

Perfecto - perfecta - perfectamente - excellent

Adjectives ending in a consonant or -e:

Veloz - velozmente - quickly

If the adverb is formed from an adjective with asento, asento is preserved in the adverb, but the actual (basic) falls on -mente:

Rapido - rapidamente
Cortes - cortesmente

If two (or more) adverbs referring to the same word are used in a sentence, only the last one has the ending -mente, another adverb acts as an adjective in the feminine form, for example,

Los niños dibujaron lenta y pacientemente. The children drew slowly and patiently.

If an adverb defines a verb, then it is placed after the verb:

Comieron demasiado. - They ate too much.

If an adverb defines an adjective or another adverb, it is placed before them:

Su abuela está bastante enferma. Her grandmother is very unwell.
Miguel vive muy lejos del centro. Miguel lives very far from the center.

If it is necessary to emphasize the adverb and the information it conveys, the adverb is placed at the beginning of the sentence.

Pronto viajaremos a España. We'll be going to Spain soon.

Adverbs that express doubt are placed before the verb:

Probablemente está en casa. He's probably at home.

Peculiarities of using muy/mucho, tan/tanto

Muy is used before adjectives or adverbs. Mucho is used with verbs. Although there are exceptions: the comparative adjectives mejor, peor, menor, mayor and the adverbs más, menos, antes and después.

Penelope es muy bonita. Penelope is very pretty.
Tengo mucha sed. - I want to drink very much.

Tan is placed before an adjective or adverb. Tanto is used with a verb.

¡Estoy tan preocupada! - I'm so worried!
¡No fumes tanto! Don't smoke so much!

Degrees of comparison of adverbs

Adverbs have a comparative degree of equality (tan + adverb + como), superiority (más + adverb + que), lack (menos + adverb + que).

Pablo corre tan rapido como Antonio. Pablo runs as fast as Antonio.

Pablo corre ma s rapido que Antonio. Pablo runs faster than Antonio.

Pablo corre menos rapido que Antonio. Pablo runs slower than Antonio.

Irregular forms of the comparative degree of adverbs:

Bien - mejor (good - better)
Mal - peor (bad - worse)
Poco - menos (little - less)
Mucho - más (many - more)

The superlative absolute degree of comparison is formed by adding -isimamente to the base of the adjective.

Escriben lentisimamente. They write extremely slowly.

However, instead of this form, the construction muy + adverb -mente is more often used.

Escriben muy lentamente.

Adverbs in Spanish are used very widely both in colloquial Spanish and in writing. Adverbs in Spanish are quite heterogeneous both in function and in structure and method of formation, so let's consider this part of speech in more detail.

An adverb in Spanish is a part of speech that denotes a sign of action and characterizes a verb, adjective or other adverb.

All adverbs in Spanish are divided into 3 large groups according to their functions: qualitative, adverbial and modal. According to the structure, adverbs in Spanish are divided into simple (consisting of one word) and complex (consisting of several words).

Qualitative adverbs in Spanish

Qualitative adverbs in Spanish include adverbs of mode of action (the largest group of adverbs) and quantitative adverbs.

Adverbs of the mode of action characterize the action itself in terms of the quality and method of its implementation:

Don Corleone sabía perfectamente quiénes eran - Don Corleone knew perfectly well who they were

The most common adverbs of manner in Spanish are: alto - high, loud

bajo - low, quiet

bien - good

mal - bad

despacio - slowly

pronto - quickly

In addition to the above adverbs in Spanish, this group includes many stable turns, which we will consider below.

Quantitative adverbs in Spanish characterize the degree of action and answer the question "how much?", "how much?". The most common quantitative adverbs in Spanish:

algo - a little

casi - almost

bastante - enough

demasiado - too

mas - more

menos - less

muy - very

mucho - a lot

tan - so much

Adverbs in Spanish

The main function of adverbs in Spanish lies in the name itself - they express the circumstances under which the action takes place. This group includes all adverbs of place and time in Spanish.

Adverbs of place in Spanish indicate the place or direction of action and answer the question “where?”, “Where?”, “From where?”

The main adverbs of place in Spanish are:

abajo - below

arriba - above

delante - before

detras - behind

cerca - near, near

lejos - far away

aqui - here

dentro - inside

fuera - outside, outside

enfrente - opposite

Adverbs of time in Spanish indicate the time during which the action takes place and answer the questions “when?”, “Since when?” and “until when?”.

The most common adverbs of time in Spanish are:

ahora - now

antes - before

luego - then, then

después - after

ayer - yesterday

hoy - today

mañana - tomorrow

en fin - at last

por fin - at last

en seguida - now

mientras - meanwhile

temprano - early

tarde - late

siempre - always

todavia - more

Modal adverbs in Spanish

Modal adverbs in Spanish express the possibility or likelihood of an action. In addition, these Spanish adverbs can affirm or negate an action.

The main modal adverbs in Spanish are as follows:

quizá (quizás) - maybe

tal vez - possibly

acaso - possibly

al seguro - right

ciertamente - of course

tambien - also

nunca - never

jamas - never

tampoco - also not

Note: the use of a combination of 2 negative adverbs nunca and jamás strengthens the negation:

Nunca jamás lo hare - I will never do this in my life

Ways of forming adverbs in Spanish

There are several ways to form adverbs in Spanish:

Direct conversion (transition from another part of speech without change):

alto, bajo, etc. Since in this case the form of the adverb and adjective is the same, they must be distinguished by function: an adverb characterizes a verb, adjective or other adverb, while an adjective similar in spelling characterizes a noun and agrees with it in gender and number.

Forming an adverb from another adverb using an affix:

debajo, anteayer, etc.;

The formation of adverbs in Spanish from adjectives using the suffix -mente: tranquilamente - calmly, efectivamente - really, etc. In this way, quite a lot of adverbs are formed in Spanish, but among them there are no adverbs of place and time;

Formation of compound adverbs in Spanish. Complex adverbs include stable adverbial phrases, consisting of a preposition and another part of speech:

a diestro at siniestro - randomly

de prisa - hastily

de repente - all of a sudden

de pronto - all of a sudden

en effecto - indeed

por desgracia - unfortunately, etc.

Degrees of comparison of adverbs in Spanish

Qualitative adverbs in Spanish can form 3 degrees of comparison: positive, comparative and superlative (similar to the degrees of comparison of adjectives in Spanish).

1. Positive degree of comparison- this is the basic form of the adverb, from which the other degrees of adverbs are formed.

2. comparative adverbs in Spanish are formed using the quantitative adverb más, menos or tan and the main adverb:

mas tranquilamente - more relaxed

menos claramente - less clear

In most cases, que or como is added to this construct:

El vive tan pobremente como los otros - he lives as poor as the others

Some adverbs in Spanish have their own comparative forms:

bien - good, mejor - better

mal - bad, peor - worse

mucho - a lot, más - more

poco - little, menos - less

3. Superlative Comparison adverbs in Spanish has several ways of formation:

Adverb muy + main adverb: muy bien

Main adverb + ísimo: mucho – muchísimo

The neuter article lo + the comparative degree of the adverb: lo mas alto

Note: this way of forming the superlative degree of comparison in Spanish is more often used with the adjective posible:

lo mas pronto posible - as soon as possible

Exceptions: The Spanish adverbs bien and mal have the superlative forms óptimamente and pésimamente, respectively.

According to their meaning, adverbs are divided into five groups: adverbs of place, adverbs of time, adverbs of mode of action, quantitative adverbs and modal adverbs, which can be divided into three subgroups: adverbs of affirmation, negation and doubt.

Adverbs of place

Adverbs of place adverbios de lugar. Point out where the action is taking place and answer the question ¿donde? Where? with verbs of location. Adverbs for -mente do not belong to this type of adverbs.

abajo at the bottom
adelante ahead
ahi here there
aqui Here
alli there
arriba upstairs
cerca close
dentro inside
detras behind
donde Where
de donde where
encima above
lejos far
atras behind, behind
debajo below, under
fuera outside
junto near
enfrente against and etc.

El muchacho que va detras, es mi amigo. - The young man who comes behind is my friend.
Los vecinos que viven arriba siempre hacen mucho ruido y me molestan. - The neighbors who live upstairs are always very noisy and disturb me.

Some adverbial phrases with the meaning of adverbs of place:

a la derecha right
a la izquierda left
en todas partes everywhere
en ninguna parte nowhere and etc.
El estanco está a la derecha, tiene usted que doblar la esquina. - The kiosk is on the right, you need to turn the corner.
En ninguna parte puedo encontrar libro que necesito mucho. - I can't find the book anywhere that I really need.

Adverbs aquí, ahí, allí have a certain lexical connection with demonstrative pronouns (see "Demonstrative pronouns"):

aqui Here points to a place next to the speaker: en este lugar
ahi here there points to a place closer to the interlocutor: en ese lugar
alli there indicates a place distant from both speakers: en aquel lugar

Aquellas sillas están allí, en el jardín, aquí está solo ésta. - Those chairs are there in the garden, only this chair is here.

Adverbs of time

Adverbs of time adverbios de tiempo. Indicate when an action occurred and answer questions ¿cuando? When? ¿desde cuando? From what time? ¿hasta cuando? until what time? Adverbs for -mente very rare in this group.

The most common simple adverbs of this group are:

ahora Now
antano before
antes earlier
aun more
ayer yesterday
cuando When
despues / luego Then
hogano currently
hoy Today
mayana Tomorrow
mientras meanwhile, while
nunca never
recipient just now
Siempre Always
tarde late
temprano early
todavia more
ya already and etc.

El entrenador de nuestro equipo es siempre muy estricto con sus discipulos. - The coach of our team is always very strict with his players.
¿Hasta cuando vas a estar en Valencia? - Hasta manana. - Until when will you be in Valencia? - Till tomorrow.
Vive cerca de su oficina y por eso se levanta por la mañana bastante tarde. - He lives close to his office and gets up rather late in the morning.

Adverb recipient used in Spanish only with the past participle:

Los recién llegados pueden sentarse. - Those who have just arrived can sit down.

Some adverbial phrases and expressions with the meaning of adverbs of time:

a menudo often
de dia afternoon
de noche at night
de vez en cuando / a veces Sometimes
en seguida now
pasado mañana day after tomorrow and etc.

Me gusta trabajar de noche. - I love working at night.
¿Vas al teatro a menudo? - No, de vez en cuando, si tengo tiempo. - Do you often go to the theater? - No, sometimes, if I have time.

Adverbial turnover en seguida now enseguida

Te preparare el desayuno enseguida. - I'll cook breakfast for you right now.
El Camarero dice que nos servirá enseguida. - The waiter says he will serve us immediately.

Adverbs of manner

Adverbs of manner adverbios de modo. Indicate how the action happened, what is its quality and answer the question ¿como? How? These include all adverbs -mente.

The following simple adverbs are most commonly used:

adrade on purpose
alto loud
asi So
bien Fine
bajo quiet, low
despacio slowly
duro hard, with difficulty
claro It's clear
como/cual How
mal Badly
pronto / rapido soon, quickly
salvo except, except for

All adverbial phrases listed at the end of the page “Formation of Adverbs” refer to adverbs of mode of action.

¿Por que hablas tan alto? Te oigo muy bien. - Why are you talking so loud? I hear you very well.
Lo ha hecho a propósito, para burlarse de mi. - He did it on purpose to make fun of me.
De repente se oyó un ruido extraño. - Suddenly a strange noise was heard.
¿Por qué nos acompañas de mala gana? - Why are you so reluctant to come with us?
Miraba a su amigo atentamente (con atención). - He looked at his friend carefully.

Some grammarians classify the word as an adverb of mode of action. tal such(See "Demonstrative pronouns" for more details). It indicates quality, is combined only with nouns, has the form plural tales:

Tales novelas como "Cien años de soledad" de Gabriel García Marquéz enriquecen la literatura universal. - Novels such as One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez enrich world literature.

Adverbial turnover de prisa fast can be written both separately and together. Now there is a trend continuous spelling - deprisa. However, in the literature there is often a separate spelling of this adverb:

Iba caminando muy deprisa, no podia alcanzarle. - He walked very fast, I could not catch up with him.
Vámonos más deprisa, el espectáculo empieza pronto. - Let's go quickly, the performance will start soon.

Quantitative adverbs

Quantitative adverbs adverbios de cantidad indicate the scope of the action, the degree of its quality and answer the question ¿cuanto? How many? Adverbs for -mente rare in this category of adverbs.

The following quantitative adverbs are most often used:

algo a little, a few
apenas barely
case almost
cuanto How many
bastante enough
demasiado too much
harto enough
poco few
mas more
menos less
mucho a lot of
muy Very
solo only
tanto/tan so much, so much
todo All

Nos queda poco tiempo. - We have little time left.
¡Cuántos monumentos interesantes se puéde ver en ese país! - How many beautiful ancient monuments can be seen in this country!
Trabajas demasiado. No es necesario que trabajes tanto. - You work too hard. You don't have to work so hard.
Regresó a casa bastante tarde. - He returned home quite late.
Sólo tú puedes entenderme. - Only you can understand me.

Adverb muy used only before adjectives and adverbs:

La dependiente es muy amable. - The saleswoman is very kind.
Ya es muy tarde. - It's already very late.

Adverb mucho a lot of combined with adverbs mejor better, peer worse, mas more, menos less has the meaning much:

El enfermo se siente mucho mejor. - The patient feels much better.
Hiciste mucho más de lo que yo esperaba. - You did much more than I expected.

Adverb tanto so much so defines a verb:

¿Por que hablas tanto? - Why are you talking so much?

This adverb is also used as an adjective, combining with a noun and agreeing with it in gender and number:

María tiene tantos libros, que no le queda tiempo para leerlos. - Maria has so many books that she has no time to read them.

Adverb tan yes, like that defines adjectives and adverbs, indicates the degree of quality or quantity:

Esta novela es tan buena, que quiero volver a leerla. - This novel is so good that I want to reread it.
¡Prometes tanto y haces tan poco! - You promise so much and deliver so little!

Modal adverbs (adverbios modales)

Adverbs of affirmation

Adverbs of affirmation adverbios de affirmation:

si Yes
tambien yes too
cierto right
effectivamente really
claro Certainly
exacto exactly
obvio obviously
verdaderamente Truth

A lo cual ellos iban contestando que sí, que sí y que sí. - To which they replied that yes, yes and yes.
También soy hincha del equipo "Real Madrid". - I am also a Real Madrid fan.
Efectivamente compramos un coche grande y potente. - We really bought a big and powerful car.

Adverbs of negation

Adverbs of negation adverbios de negacion:

no No
jamas never
tampoco also no
nunca never
negativamente negative
de ningun modo in no case

Modal adverbs with a negative meaning nunca, jamas, tampoco can stand before the verb, then the negative particle no not set. In the event that they are after the verb, the negative particle must be before the verb. Between the verb and the negative adverb, only a personal pronoun in the accusative or dative case can stand:

Nunca me dices en lo que piensas. = No me dices nunca en lo que piensas. - You never tell me what you're thinking.
Tampoco estuvimos en este pais. = No estuvimos tampoco en este país. - We have never been to this country either.
Mas vale tarde que nunca./refran/- Better late than never./proverb/