Adverbs are words that are used to modify adjectives, verbs, other adverbs, or even whole sentences. In English, adverbs often end with the suffix “-ly.” The Italian equivalent of this ending is -mente:
Not all Italian adverbs are created equal though: many of them do not end in -mente. An example? Iniziamo subito! meaning Let’s get started right away And what better clue could we hope for our journey into the world of adverbs? Iniziamo subito!
What do adverbs do?
As we mentioned above, adverbs are words (or phrases) that modify — by describing, specifying, or determining— the meaning of:
adjectives
Elena è molto onesta.Translation: Elena is very honest.verbs
Hai risposto immediatamente?Translation: Did you answer immediately?other adverbs
Forse ho risposto troppo velocemente.Translation: Maybe I answered too quickly.whole sentences
Sfortunatamente, non avevo le chiavi.Translation: Unfortunately, I didn’t have the keys.
How to use Italian adverbs?
Adverbs in Italian can determine how, where, when, and to what degree something does (or does not) occur or exist. They can also confirm or deny a statement, suggest a doubt or a question, and or introduce or exclaim about something. Looks like a lot of work, right? Let’s see all these roles in detail.
To express how:
The avverbi di modo meaning adverbs of manner describe how the action expressed by the verb is carried out, or qualify an adjective or another adverb.
Damiano gioca bene a tennis.Translation: Damiano plays tennis well.To express where:
The avverbi di luogo meaning adverbs of location indicate where something happens or where someone/something is located in relation to someone/something else.
Stefano abita vicino ai suoi genitori.Translation: Stefano lives close to his parents.To express when:
The avverbi di tempo meaning time adverbs specify when, how often, and for how long an action happens.
Io e Antonia ci vedremo presto. Oggi abbiamo parlato a lungo ma ultimamente non ci vediamo spesso.Translation: Antonia and I will meet soon. Today we talked for a long time, but lately we haven’t seen each other often.To express how much:
The avverbi di quantità meaning adverbs of degree determine the quantity or intensity of verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs.
Siamo molto contenti: la casa è più grande di quanto pensassimo.Translation: We’re very happy: the house is bigger than we thought.Some of these adverbs are used to form comparative and superlative constructions. To learn more, check out What are comparative and superlative adverbs in Italian?
To affirm, negate, or express doubt:
The avverbi di valutazione meaning adverbs of evaluation are used to make judgements about what is expressed by verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs. These adverbs can be sub-classified as follows:
avverbi di affermazione meaning adverbs of affirmation
Mario passerà certamente l’esame.Translation: Mario will certainly pass the exam.avverbi di negazione meaning adverbs of negation
Eloisa non vuole venire al cinema, nemmeno se ci sei anche tu.Translation: Eloisa doesn’t want to come to the movies, not even if you comeavverbi di dubbio meaning adverbs of doubt
Forse vengo, ma eventualmente te lo dico dopo.Translation: Maybe I’ll come, but in case, I’ll tell you later.
To introduce questions or exclamations:
The avverbi interrogativi meaning interrogative adverbs and avverbi esclamativi meaning exclamative adverbs are used, as their names suggest, to introduce questions and exclamations:
- Com’è andato l’esame?Translation: How did the exam go?
- Benissimo!Translation: Very well!
- Come sei bravo!Translation: How good you are!
We have two instances of come: the first one (shortened to com’ because it’s followed by another e) is an interrogative adverb since it’s used to form a question; the second one introduces an exclamation, therefore it qualifies as an exclamation adverb.
To introduce something or someone:
Finally, we have the avverbi introduttivi, or presentativi meaning adverbs of introduction used to make introductions. The only avverbio introduttivo used in contemporary Italian is ecco:
Ecco mio fratello!Translation: Here is my brother!
How to form Italian adverbs?
According to their form, Italian adverbs can be classified into four types
avverbi primitivi meaning primary adverbs, which do not come from any other words bene meaning well, and male meaning badly, for instance.
- Marta, come stai?Translation: Marta, how are you?
- Bene!Translation: Well!
avverbi derivati meaning derivative adverbs are used to modify verbs and other primary adverbs. They are formed by adding a suffix, most commonly -mente, to adjectives: lentamente meaning slowly, velocemente meaning fast, etc.
Perché mangi così velocemente?Translation: Why are you eating so fast?The suffix -mente is added to the feminine singular form of the adjective. So, if we take the adjective onesto meaning honest, we first need to change it to onesta meaning its feminine form and then add -mente:
onesta + -mente = onestamente meaning honestly
Adjectives ending in vowel + -le, -re, -lo, and -ro drop their final vowel (e/o) before adding -mente:
facile meaning easy
↓ remove e ↓
facil-
↓ add -mente ↓
facilmente meaning easily
leggero meaning light
↓ remove o ↓
legger-
↓ add -mente ↓
leggermente meaning lightly
avverbi composti meaning compound adverbs are formed by combining two or more words, like soprattutto meaning above all, formed by sopra & tutto, or inoltre meaning furthermore, formed by in & oltre
Devo riposare e, soprattutto, dormire!Translation: I need to rest and, above all, sleep!locuzioni avverbiali meaning adverb clauses are groups of two or more words that function as adverbs: per sempre meaning forever, di fretta meaning in a hurry, and all’improvviso meaning all of a sudden, for instance.
All’improvviso, è apparso un gatto bianco.Translation: All of a sudden, a white cat appeared.
Now that we covered how adverbs are formed, let’s see where to place them in sentences.
Where to place Italian adverbs?
In Italian, adverbs are normally placed close to the term they modify. In particular, adverbs are generally found:
after the verb they modify:
Il neonato dormiva profondamente.Translation: The newborn was sleeping deeply.in compound tenses, between the auxiliary and the past participle:
Il progetto è finalmente partito.Translation: The project has finally kicked-off.before the adjective:
Giovanna è molto bella.Translation: Giovanna is very beautiful.before another adverb:
Simone parla molto bene il francese.Translation: Simone speaks French very well.when modifying a sentence, the adverb is normally at the beginning or at the end of it:
Onestamente, non sono soddisfatto del risultatoTranslation: Honestly, I’m not happy with the result.the adverbs non, ci, vi, and ne always go before the verb. The same goes for interrogative and exclamative adverbs.
Non so… tu cosa dici? Ci vado?Translation: I don’t know… what do you think? Shall I go there?
Summary
Adverbs are invariable words that modify verbs, adjectives, other adverbs, and, at times, whole sentences. In this post, we saw that adverbs:
can express how, where, when, to what degree something happens or exists; they can confirm or deny something, introduce questions, doubts, and exclamations;
often end with the suffix -mente, but some very important ones, like bene meaning well and male meaning bad, do not come from any other word and, thus, do not take the suffix -mente;
are normally placed close to the verb, adjective, or adverb they modify.
Small words with a huge workload, right? That’s why we have prepared for you a comprehensive list of Italian adverbs. And naturalmente meaning of course, some practice! Here's a whole set of activities for you. Buon lavoro! meaning Good luck with your work!
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