ADVERBS — GLI AVVERBI

ADVERBS indicate time, place, manner or quantity; unlike adjectives, they are invariable and can modify verbs, adjectives or other adverbs.

Here are some common adverbs which you should know as items of vocabulary. Learn them:

adverbs of time
adverbs of place
adverbs of manner
adverbs of quantity
ieri yesterday qui here così so molto very
oggi today lì there bene well troppo too (much)
domani tomorrow vicino near male badly abbastanza quite; enough
sempre always lontano far away meglio better piuttosto rather
spesso often daperttutto everywhere peggio worse assai quite
tardi late fuori outside purtroppo unfortunately più more
presto early dentro inside davvero really anche also
subito immediately            
ancora still; again            
fa ago            
già already            

Many adverbs can be made from adjectives by adding the suffix -mente to the feminine form of the adjective as shown below:

ADJECTIVE
ADVERB
vero
true veramente truly
chiaro
clear chiaramente clearly
ovvio
obvious ovviamente obviously
recente
recent recentemente recently
veloce
quick velocemente quickly

If the adjective ends in -le or -re and there is a vowel in front, the final -e is dropped and -mente is added, for example:

ADJECTIVE
ADVERB
facile
easy facilmente easily
probabile
probable probabilmente probably
regolare
regular regolarmente regularly
popolare
popular popolarmente popularly

Comparative Adverbs

Comparative is when you want to say “more easily” or “less often”.
The equivalent in Italian is to say “più facile” and “meno spesso”.

Position of Adverbs:

  1. Adverbs usually follow the verb they qualify: e.g.
    Marco va sempre in macchina = Marco always goes by car.

  2. Adverbs qualifying a noun, precede it: e.g.
    Roma è una città molto viva = Rome is a very lively city.

  3. The common adverbs ancora, anche, già, mai, più, sempre usually insert themselves between the auxiliary verb and past participle in the perfect tense: e.g.
    Non ho mai visitato gli Stati Uniti = I have never visited the USA.
    Maria è già andata via = Maria has already gone away.

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