ADVERBS
The adverb is the invariabile part of the speech that accompanies especially a verb, but also a name, an adjective or another adverb with the aim of modifing or specifing their meaning.
In particolar, adverbs can indicate:
- circumstances of time and space;
- the manner and the measure of a quantity and a quality;
- a statement, a negation, a doubt.
Italian adverbs present many forms. Depending on the form we can distinguish:
- adverbs ending in -mente: rapidamente (quickly), allegramente (joyfully);
- adverbs ending in -oni: cavalcioni (astride), penzoloni (hang down);
- adverbs made up by only one word: bene (good), male (bad);
- adverbs made up by many words: almeno (al + meno, at least), soprattutto (sopra + tutto, above all);
- adverbs formed by undefined adjectives: poco (little), molto (much);
- adverbs formed by descriptive adjectives: solo (only, just), giusto (right).
They can be divided into categories:
- modal adverbs
- adverbs of time
- adverbs of place
- adverbs of quantity
- adverbs of assertion, question, doubt
- exclamative and interrogative adverbs
• Modal adverbs
The way, the manner of something happening or existing can be expressed through a modal adverb.
They answer the question: come? in che modo? (how?)
For example: Sono uscita con te volentieri. (I went out with you with plesaure.)
Sei così antipatico! (You are so unpleasant!)
Hai fatto davvero bene. (You did really good.)
Sto male. (I feel sick.)
Il cane ci seguiva docilmente. (The dog followed us humbly.)
- Belong to this category the adverbs ending in -mente (piacevolmente: pleasantly, allegramente: joyfully), the ones ending in -oni (cavalcioni: astride, carponi: on hands and knees) and many others, such as bene (good), male (bad), così (so), invano (in vain), volentieri (with pleasure).
- Many adverbs are formed by adding the ending -mente at the feminine singular form of a descriptive adjective: sicuro > sicura + -mente > sicuramente (surely)
vero > vera + -mente > veramente (really)
veloce > veloce + -mente > velocemente (quickly)
Attention: Sometimes, before adding -mente, the e ending of the adjective must be removed.
Ad esempio: facile > facilmente (easily), difficile > difficilmente (hardly).
- Modal adverb can have comparative and superlative forms.
For example:
Andiamo più piano di quel carretto! (We are going even slowlier than that cart!)
Andiamo tanto piano quanto quel carretto! (We are going as slowly as that cart!)
Andiamo pianissimo. (We are going really slowly.)
• Adverbs of time
Adverbs of time clarify the temporal location of the action.
They answer to the question: quando? (when?)
For example: Oggi vado in palestra. (Today I’m going to the gym.)
Ora sto leggendo. (Now I’m reading.)
Domani sarò al mare. (Tomorrow I’ll be at the seaside.)
Prima leggo, poi ripeto. (First I read, then I repeat.)
Quando torni? (When will you be back?)
They specify if the action happens:
- in the present (ora: now, adesso: at present, oggi: today);
- in the past (ieri: yesterday, prima: before);
- in the future (poi: after, domani: tomorrow);
- with a certain frequency (spesso: often, sempre: always, mai: never, talvolta: sometimes).
• Adverbs of place
Adverbs of place clarify the location of the action.
They answer to the question: dove? (where?)
For example:
Qui fa molto caldo. (Here it’s very hot.)
Il quaderno è sopra il letto. (The notebook is on the bed.)
Ci sono zanzare ovunque. (There are mosquitos everywhere.)
Marco è laggiù, in fondo al prato. (Marco is over there, at the end of the lawn.)
Fuori piove. (Outside it’s raining.)
Are adverbs of place:
- qui (here), qua (here), quaggiù (down here), quassù (up here): they suggest a place near who is speaking;
- lì (there), là (there), laggiù (down there), lassù (up there): they suggest a place far from the speaker;
- dentro (inside), fuori (outside), vicino (near), lontano (far away), sopra (up), sotto (down), davanti (in front of), dietro (behind), dove (where), dovunque (everywhere), etc.
• Adverbs of quantity
They suggest indeterminate quantity or measure.
They answer to the question: quanto? in quale misura? (how much?)
For example: Ho mangiato troppo. (I ate too much.)
Ho studiato abbastanza per oggi. (I studied enough for today.)
Hai dormito poco e si vede! (You didn’t sleep much and it’s clear!)
Più corri più ti sentirai meglio. (The more you run, the better you feel.)
Are adverbs of quantity:
molto (much), poco (little), troppo (too), tanto (much), abbastanza (enough), altrettanto (as much), più (more), meno (less), etc.
• Adverbs of valutation
They express a jugment, an evaluation, a doubt.
For example: Sicuramente andremo in vacanza. (Certainly we’re going on holiday.)
Forse ho parlato troppo. (Maybe I spoke too much.)
Mi accompagni? Sì. (Are you coming with me? Yes.)
Non voglio vederti mai più! (I don’t want to see you never again.)
They can suggest:
- a doubt: come forse (maybe), chissà (who knows), magari (perhaps), probabilmente (probably), etc.
- an assertion: certamente (certainly), ovviamente (of course), sì (yes), appunto (exactly), etc.
- a negation: no (no), non (nor), nemmeno (neither), neanche (even), etc.
• Interrogative and exclamative adverbs
They introduce a question or an exclamation about a place (Dove vai?: Where are you going?), a temporal information (Quando è successo?: When did it happen?), a way (Come vuoi la pizza?: What kind of pizza do you want?), a cause (Perché sei triste?: Why are you sad?).
• Adverbal phrases
They are made up by many words having the same adverb’s function: they can indicate ways, times, places, quantities e evaluations.
- Usually they are composed by a preposition and by an adjective (di rado: seldom, in mezzo: in the middle); by a preposition and a noun (in fretta: in a hurry, per fortuna: luckly); by a preposition and an adverb (di fuori: outside, di sopra: upper).
- Sometimes, adverbal phrases are composed by a term, like a noun, an adjective or an adverb, repeated twice. When the term is accompanied by a preposition, also a must be repeated twice.
For example: a mano a mano (little by little), a due a due (double), a poco a poco (inch by inch).
- Often adverbal phrases are made up by many words: in un batter d’occhio (in a twinkling), in tutto e per tutto (every inch).
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