Adverbs in Brazilian Portuguese are used to modify verbs, adjectives, and also other adverbs in order to describe when, where, or how something is done or an event occurs. Adverbs provide additional details or give more emphasis to the sentence, as in:
Adverbs in Brazilian Portuguese are classified into various categories based on their purpose, including time, frequency, place, manner, intensity, negation, and more. Many Brazilian Portuguese adverbs end in -mente, which corresponds to the English ending “-ly,” as in:
Adverbs can be a single word, like hoje meaning today, or they can be multiple words, like em breve meaning soon. Keep reading this post to find out more about the diverse forms and contexts in which adverbs are used in Brazilian Portuguese!
How to form an adverb in Brazilian Portuguese?
To form adverbs in Brazilian Portuguese, you can add the ending -mente to an adjective. However, some adverbs have other structures. Compound adverbs are made of multiple words, while in other cases you can simply use an adjective as an adverb.
Unlike nouns, adjectives, and some pronouns, adverbs do not change or vary in number or gender. They remain the same regardless of the gender or number of the noun they modify or the subject they refer to. Now let's explore the most common patterns to form an adverb. This will help you to recognize them!
How to form adverbs using the ending ‘-mente’?
One of the most common ways to form adverbs in Brazilian Portuguese is by adding the suffix -mente to the feminine singular form of an adjective. They are equivalent to the English adverbs ending “-ly.”
- rápidoTranslation: fast
⇒
rapidamenteTranslation: quickly - lentoTranslation: slow
⇒
lentamenteTranslation: slowly
See the steps to build these adverbs below:
Take the feminine form of the adjective: rápido ⇒ rápida
Add the ending -mente to the feminine adjective: rapidamente.
Os corredores completaram a maratona rapidamente.Translation: The runners completed the marathon quickly.
It's important to note that adverbs ending in -mente never receive a written accent, even when they come from adjectives that do have a written accent, as in rápido → rapidamente.
What are compound adverbs?
Compound adverbs are adverbs that are made of more than one word. For example:
- De repente, começou a chover.Translation: Suddenly it started to rain.Da repente is a compound adverb made of the preposition de meaning to, from and the noun repente meaning sudden.
- Às vezes Jorge vai ao trabalho de carro.Translation: Sometimes Jorge goes to work by car.Às vezes is a compound adverb made of the preposition às meaning to the and the noun vezes meaning times .
How to use adjectives as adverbs?
Some adjectives can function as adverbs without any modifications; in this case, we simply use the base form of the adjective as an adverb.
- Por favor, fale baixo no hospital.Translation: Please, speak low at the hospital.
- A mãe pediu para o filho se trocar rápido para ir à escola.Translation: The mother asked her son to get changed quickly to go to school.
In the first example, baixo meaning low is an adjective, and it's used as an adverb to indicate how people are supposed to speak at the hospital. In the second example, rápido meaning quick is an adjective too, and it describes how fast the action should be performed. They are used similarly to the adverbs ending in -mente, and are commonly used in everyday and informal speech. Take a look at this list where you can see the most common adjectives that function as adverbs in Brazilian Portuguese with examples!
Where to place adverbs in Brazilian Portuguese?
As a general rule, adverbs in Brazilian Portuguese are often placed after the element they modify. However, there are some variations depending on the type of adverb and the emphasis you want to give to certain elements in the sentence. Here are the common rules for placing adverbs in a sentence:
Adverbs modifying verbs
Adverbs in Brazilian Portuguese are usually placed after the verb they modify, even in compound tenses.
verbadverbIsabela lê constantemente.Translation: Isabela reads constantly.Eu moro aqui neste bairro há 12 anos.Translation: I have lived here in this neighborhood for 12 years.Eu tenho estudado muito.Translation: I have been studying a lot.Adverbs modifying adjectives or other adverbs
In this case, the adverb is usually placed before the adjective or adverb they modify:
- adverbadjectivePaula é muito inteligente.Translation: Paula is very intelligent.
- adverb (modifier)adverb (modified)Cristiano quase sempre chega atrasado nas reuniões.Translation: Cristiano is almost always late for meetings.
Adverbs that refer to time
These adverbs are very flexible, as they can be placed at the beginning or at the end of a sentence.
- Ontem, eu fui ao cinema.Translation: Yesterday, I went to the cinema.
- Eu fui ao cinema ontem.Translation: I went to the cinema yesterday.
Both structures above are correct and there is no change in meaning. These rules can have variations depending on the specific context and the order you want to follow. This is an interesting topic, so if you want to know more about sentence structure in Brazilian Portuguese, don't miss our post on this subject!
What are the types of adverbs in Brazilian Portuguese?
In Brazilian Portuguese, adverbs can be categorized into several types based on their function and the information they provide. The most important groups are adverbs of quantity/intensity, manner, frequency, time, place, negation, affirmation, and doubt, as well as interrogative and relative adverbs.
Let's get to know the common types of adverbs and when we use them.
You can check out our handy list of the most common adverbs in Brazilian Portuguese divided by type for some more examples!
How to use adverbs of quantity or intensity?
Use adverbs of quantity or intensity to indicate the amount or extent of something. They are used to answer the question how much/many?
- Vamos logo, não temos muito tempo.Translation: Come on, we don't have much time.
- As crianças brincaram bastante.Translation: The children played a lot.
How to use adverbs of manner?
Use adverbs of manner to describe the manner in which, or how, an action is performed.
- Noêmia cozinha bem.Translation: Noêmia cooks well.
- Os alunos entenderam o tema facilmente.Translation: The students understood the topic easily.
- Por favor, dirija devagar.Translation: Please drive slowly.
How to use adverbs of frequency?
Use adverbs of frequency to indicate how often an action is performed.
As these adverbs indicate the frequency or regularity of an action, they are usually associated with routine and describing the day or date when something happens. If you want to know more about this topic, don't miss our post on how to talk about dates in Brazilian Portuguese!
How to use adverbs of time?
Use adverbs of time to indicate when an action takes place.
Notice that the adverbs hoje meaning today and de manhã meaning this morning provide information about the specific time or period of time related to the action. But if you want to know how to tell the time in Brazilian Portuguese, including the pronunciation of hours and minutes, don't miss our post on this subject!
How to use adverbs of place?
Adverbs of place are used to indicate where an action occurs. The words aqui, aí, and ali are adverbs of place in Brazilian Portuguese that indicate different levels of proximity to the speaker.
- Eu moro aqui nesta casa há muitos anos.Translation: I've lived here in this house for many years.
- Carol, quando você vai lá na casa da Tatiana?Translation: Carol, when are you going there to Tatiana's house?
How to use adverbs of negation?
Use adverbs of negation to express disagreement in negative sentences.
- Paula não irá viajar conosco.Translation: Paula will not be traveling with us.
- Já está tarde, e não vou sair de jeito nenhum!Translation: It's late, and there's no way I'm going out!
- Essa noite eu não dormi nada.Translation: Last night I didn't sleep at all.
How to use adverbs of affirmation?
Contrary to adverbs of negation, adverbs of affirmation are used to express agreement and are used in affirmative sentences to reiterate or confirm an occurrence.
- Certamente vai fazer muito calor neste verão.Translation: It will certainly be very hot this summer.
- As denúncias foram efetivamente confirmadas.Translation: The allegations were effectively confirmed.
- Com certeza voltaremos naquele restaurante.Translation: We will definitely return to that restaurant.
How to use adverbs of doubt?
Use adverbs of doubt to express uncertainty.
- Talvez vamos à praia nas férias.Translation: Maybe we'll go to the beach on vacation.
- Supostamente, eles seriam os campeões do torneio.Translation: Supposedly they would be the champions of the tournament.
- Provavelmente, a encomenda chegará amanhã.Translation: The parcel will probably arrive tomorrow.
How to use interrogative adverbs?
Some interrogatives are adverbs, and they are used to form questions about a specific adverbial information about an action, event, or situation. They are usually placed at the beginning of the sentence.
- Quando vocês vão se mudar?Translation: When are you going to move?
- Onde você mora?Translation: Where do you live?
- Por que ele está chorando?Translation: Why is he crying?
How to use relative adverbs?
Relative adverbs are used to connect relative clauses to the main clause in a sentence.
In the example above, notice that the relative adverb onde meaning where connects the main clause to the subordinate clause to complete the meaning of the sentence.
How to use confusing adverbs in Brazilian Portuguese?
In Brazilian Portuguese, some adverbs can have similar spellings or subtle differences in usage, making them confusing to use. Let's take a look at some adverbs that you may have come across before, but want to make sure when to use them.
How to use the adverbs ‘tão’ and ‘tanto’?
In Brazilian Portuguese, the adverbs tão meaning so and tanto meaning so much can both function as intensifiers in a sentence, meaning that they add emphasis or express that something was extreme. While they are both translated as “so” in English, which one you should use depends on the sentence structure.
Tão is used before adverbs and adjectives:
adjectiveadverbSua casa é tão bonita!Translation: Your house is so beautiful!Você canta tão bem!Translation: You sing so well!Tanto, on the other hand, appears after verbs.
verbNós andamos tanto que ficamos exaustos.Translation: We walked so much that we got exhausted.
What are the various meanings of ‘bem’
The adverb bem has more than one meaning, and it can be used in different contexts. Let’s check them below!
Bem as an adverb of manner
Bem is used to indicate how an action is performed or how someone feels. It’s translated into “well” in English:
- Ele fala bem inglês.Translation: He speaks English well.
- Você está bem?Translation: Are you well?
Bem as “quite” or “very”
Bem is often used in everyday language to convey the idea of intensity of an action or quality. In this case, it's often translated into “quite” or “very” in English.
- Ela é bem esperta.Translation: She is quite smart.
- Eu moro bem perto do trabalho.Translation: I live very close to work.
Bem for accuracy
It's also possible to use bem to indicate accuracy, as in:
Você chegou bem na hora que íamos cortar o bolo.Translation: You arrived just in time for us to cut the cake.Notice that bem in the context above is translated into “just” or “right” in English.
How to use the adverbs of intensity ‘bastante,’ ‘muito,’ and ‘demais’?
The adverbs of intensity muito, bastante, and demais are commonly used in Brazilian Portuguese to express a high degree or intensity of something. Let's see how to use each of them, as they have different meanings.
Bastante
Use bastante to indicate a considerable or sufficient amount. It can be translated as “quite” or “enough” in English.
Esta sobremesa é bastante doce.Translation: This dessert is quite sweet.Bastante doce means that the dessert is sweet enough, but not excessively so. Bastante can also be substituted by the intensifier bem, as in:
Esta sobremesa é bem doce.Translation: This dessert is quite sweet.Muito
Muito is quite similar to bastante, but it slightly indicates a higher degree or intensity. It can be translated as “very” or “much” in English, as in.
Esta sobremesa é muito doce.Translation: This dessert is very sweet.Demais
Demais is used to express an excessive degree. It can be translated as “too” or “excessively” in English.
Esta sobremesa é doce demais.Translation: This dessert is too sweet.Notice that demais has an exception: it must always come at the end of the entire verb phrase, and after the direct object or adjective that comes with the verb.
verb phraseA música está alta demais.Translation: The music is too loud.Estamos cansados porque hoje caminhamos demais.Translation: We are tired because today we walked too much.
To sum up
In this post, we saw that:
Adverbs are invariable in Brazilian Portuguese, which means that they don't vary in number and gender, like nouns and adjectives.
Adverbs can be formed in different ways:
by adding the suffix -mente to the feminine form of an adjective
from multiple words (“compound adverbs”)
by using an adjective to function as an adverb
Adverbs are positioned in a sentence according to the word they modified:
When an adverb modifies a verb, it's usually placed after it.
When an adverb modifies an adjective or another adverb, it usually comes before that word.
Adverbs referring to time and place are very flexible, and can be placed at the beginning or at the end of the sentence.
Adverbs in Brazilian Portuguese are classified according to their function in the sentence. They can express intensity, quantity, manner, time, place, negation, affirmation, doubt, questions, and can also function as connectors in relative clauses.
Now that you know more, let’s practice using adverbs in Brazilian Portuguese with some activities!
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