Avverbi
An adverb—un avverbio in Italian—is a word or expression that modifies (qualifies, describes) a verb, an adjective, another adverb, or an entire sentence by expressing TIME, PLACE, MANNER, QUANTITY, and FREQUENCY.
Adverbs are INVARIABLE: they don’t have a gender or number.
Domani vado al cinema
→ “domani” = tomorrow = time
Mia sorella abita qui, vicino a me
→ “qui” = here = place
→ “vicino” = near = place
Mangi troppo velocemente
→ “troppo velocemente” = too fast = manner / way in which you do something
Maria è molto intelligente
→ “molto” = very = quantity
Di solito vado in palestra tre volte a settimana
→ “di solito” = usually = frequency.
Tipi di avverbi
There are two types of adverbs: adverbs that are formed from or have the same form as an adjective, and adverbs or adverbial expressions that have a form of their own.
Avverbi da aggettivi: “-mente”
As in English, most adverbs in Italian are formed by adding a suffix to an adjective. In English you add “-ly”; in Italian you need to add “-mente” to the feminine singular form of the adjective.
improvviso → f. s. = improvvisa → improvvisamente (suddenly)
vero → f. s. = vera → veramente (truly)
dolce → f. s. = dolce → dolcemente (sweetly)
If an adjective ends in -RE or -LE, preceded by a vowel, the final -E is dropped before adding “- mente”.
naturale → natural- → naturalmente (naturally)
regolare → regolar- → regolarmente (regularly)
Avverbi da aggettivi: invariabili
Some adverbs have the same form as the adjective. The most common ones are piano, forte, chiaro, svelto, giusto, sodo, vicino, lontano.
Va’ piano! → “piano” = slowly
Parla chiaro! → “chiaro” = clearly
NOTE: some of these adverbs can also have their corresponding form with “-mente”: forte / fortemente, chiaro / chiaramente, giusto / giustamente.
Avverbi da aggettivi: BENE e MALE
The adjectives “buono” and “cattivo” have their own irregular adverb form:
buono → BENE → sto bene (I feel well / I’m good)
cattivo → MALE → mi sento male (I feel unwell/ badly)
NOTE: most of the time in English you use “good” and “bad” interchangeably with “well” and “badly.” Remember that buono (good) and cattivo (bad) are adjectives in Italian, so you use them to describe things and people. In all other situations you need to use the adverbs instead.
This pizza is good. → adjective →Questa pizza è buona.
Michelangelo is a good artist. → adjective → M. è un bravo/buon artista.
I’m a bad student. → adjective → Sono un cattivo studente.
Avverbi fissi
Some adverbs have a form of their own. In addition to BENE and MALE, the most common are:
TIME: presto, tardi, oggi, domani, ieri, dopo, prima …
PLACE: qui, lì, qua, là, sotto, sopra, verso, …
MANNER: insieme, così, volentieri …
QUANTITY: molto, troppo, tanto, poco, abbastanza …
FREQUENCY: spesso, mai, sempre …
Espressioni avverbiali
Adverbial expressions consisting of more than one word are often used instead of simple adverbs. The most common are:
| EXPRESSIONS | ONE-WORD ADVERBS |
| A poco a poco (little by little) | lentamente (slowly) |
| Ad un tratto (suddenly, all of a sudden) | improvvisamente |
| All’improvviso (suddenly, all of a sudden) | improvvisamente |
| Di solito (usually) | solitamente |
| Di tanto in tanto (from time to time) | raramente (rarely) / frequentemente (frequently) |
| Ogni tanto (from time to time / sometimes) | raramente / frequentemente |
| Talvolta (sometimes) | raramente / frequentemente |
| A volte (sometimes) | raramente / frequentemente |
| Qualche volta (some times) | raramente / frequentemente |
| Di seguito (later on) | dopo / successivamente |
| In seguito (later on) | dopo / successivamente |
| In tutto e per tutto (completely) | completamente |
| Per caso (by chance) | casualmente |
| Per fortuna (fortunately) | fortunatamente |
Posizione degli avverbi
TEMPI SEMPLICI
In general, when the verb consists of one word only (= simple tense), the adverb directly follows the verb.
Parlano bene l’italiano
→ “parlano” = verb (simple form)
→ “bene” = adverb
Vedevo raramente mia sorella.
→ “vedevo” = verb (simple form)
→ “raramente” = adverb
TEMPI COMPOSTI
With compound verb tenses (= consisting of two words, one of which is a form of the auxiliary essere or avere) adverbs may be placed as follows:
- Short adverbs (especially common adverbs of time) are usually placed between the two parts of the compound verb. Some of these adverbs are: già, mai, ancora, più, sempre, spesso.
Questo è il più bel libro che abbia mai letto
→ “abbia letto” = compound verb (congiuntivo passato)
→ “mai” = adverb
Non è ancora arrivato
→ “è arrivato” = compound verb (passato prossimo)
→ “ancora” = adverb
- Most adverbs are placed directly after the past participle of the compound verb, especially adverbs of time, place, and manner.
Sei arrivata tardi
→ “sei arrivata” = passato prossimo → arrivata = past participle.
→ “tardi” = adverb
AVVERBI DI TEMPO E SPAZIO
We have seen that adverbs indicating time or space can be placed after the past participle of a compound verb. However, these adverbs are also used at the beginning or at the end of the sentence.
Qui parliamo italiano.
→ “qui” = adverb of place at the beginning of a sentence
A che ora sei andato a scuola ieri?
→ “ieri” = adverb of time at the end of the sentence
AVVERBI con AGGETTIVI o AVVERBI
When an adverb modifies an adjective or another adverb, it must immediately precede the word that it modifies.
Mangiamo molto bene a casa dei miei genitori
→ “molto” = very = adverb that modifies another adverb
→ “bene” = well = adverb
Carlo è veramente contento
→ “veramente” = truly = adverb that modifies an adjective
→ “contento” = happy = adjective.
ANCHE
The word anche means also, too, as well. Normally, it precedes the word it refers to.
Vengo anch’io alla festa (I am coming to the party too)
→ “anch’io” = I … too
→ “io” = added person
→ “anche” = precedes it
Marta è simpatica e anche molto bella (M. is nice and very beautiful too)
→ “molto bella” = added quality
→ “anche” = precedes it
Il film piace anche a me / Anche a me piace il film (I like the film too)
→ “a me” = added person
→ “anche” = precedes it
NOTE: “anche” CANNOT be used at the beginning of a sentence. When you begin a sentence with ALSO in English, meaning “besides,” “moreover,” “furthermore,” “in addition,” you MUST use “Inoltre” instead.
Siamo andati al mare. Inoltre, abbiamo comprato un gelato. We went to the beach. In addition, we bought an ice cream. Non esco perché mi sento male. Inoltre, devo studiare. I’m not going out because I am not well. Besides, I must study.
