Spanish is a very flexible language, in the sense that we can often move things around in the sentence and change the word order. However, sometimes a different word order can result in a difference in emphasis or in meaning.
This is especially important to remember with some adverbs.
The Coffee Break Spanish Show is a podcast series of short, informal conversations to help you understand some difficult topics in Spanish. In the latest episode, Mark and Anabel talk about where you can place adverbs in your sentences when you are speaking Spanish and how it affects what you are saying.
Continue reading to find out more and why not listen to the podcast as you go?
What is an adverb?
First of all, let’s refresh our memory. What are adverbs and how do we use them?
Adverbs are words that modify verbs (and occasionally adjectives and other adverbs). Some examples are:
muy
very
simplemente
simply
siempre
always
a veces
sometimes
fácilmente
easily
Adverbs of quantity and manner
Adverbs of quantity and manner usually go after the verb. Let’s look at some examples:
Me gusta mucho.
I like it a lot.
(Mucho is an adverb of quantity.)
Hablas bien español.
You speak Spanish well.
(Bien is an adverb of manner.)
In certain cases, you could use the adverb before the verb, but this results in a strong emphasis. For example:
Me gustan mucho los cacahuetes, pero mucho me gustan.
I like peanuts a lot – I really like them.
Some adverbs that go with a direct object could have three different placements:
Leo un libro despacio.
Leo despacio un libro.
Despacio leo un libro.
I read a book slowly.
¡Ojo! All three versions mean “I read a book slowly”, but the third one places more emphasis on the fact that we are reading the book slowly (rather than quickly). When this adverb placement is used it gives dramatic effect.
It’s also important to keep in mind that if you’re placing an adverb before the verb, it has to come before any auxiliary verb or pronoun used with the verb. An adverb cannot go between an auxiliary verb and a past participle, or between an object pronoun and a conjugated verb, for example. Let’s see the following examples:
Despacio lo leo.
I read it slowly.
Despacio he leído.
I have read slowly.
Despacio lo he leído.
I have read it slowly.
Adverbs of place and frequency
Adverbs of place and frequency – such as a veces (“sometimes”), frecuentemente (“frequently”) and cerca (“nearby”) – also allow you to use the adverb in the same three places. Here are some examples:
Allí vi a Juan.
Vi allí a Juan.
Vi a Juan allí.
I saw Juan there.
Siempre ve la tele.
Ve siempre la tele.
Ve la tele siempre.
He always watches TV.
Adverbs of time
Adverbs or phrases of time – such as hoy (“today”), esta mañana (“this morning”) and el verano pasado (“last summer”) – have a fourth placement option, as they can also go at the beginning of the sentence. For example:
Ayer Rafa ganó el campeonato.
Rafa ayer ganó el campeonato.
Rafa ganó ayer el campeonato.
Rafa ganó el campeonato ayer.
Yesterday, Rafa won the competition.
Let’s practise!
Now, how could we say “I quickly finished my breakfast” in Spanish? Try to write down all the possible options and we’ll tell you the answers at the end of this article.
If you want an extra challenge, also try writing down all the possible options if you translate the sentence using the perfect tense (i.e. he terminado) in Spanish.
¿Lo aprendiste rápidamente?
Listen out for native speakers using adverbs in conversation and on TV and see if you can notice how the meaning subtly changes depending on the placement. The more exposure you have to the language, the more natural things like adverb placement will feel when you are speaking Spanish.
If you found this post interesting, make sure to listen to the full episode with Mark and Anabel on The Coffee Break Spanish Show. This is the series in which we look at a range of topics for Spanish learners, so make sure to subscribe to our podcast feed and our channel on YouTube.
Plus! To get regular free Spanish lessons in your inbox, you can sign up for our short (coffee-break-sized) email lessons that will help you improve your Spanish. You will also hear from Mark, the founder of Coffee Break Languages, giving advice for language learners at any level. Sign up below!
Happy Coffee Breaking!
PS. Here are the answers to the translation challenge.
First of all, using the preterite tense:
- Terminé mi desayuno rápidamente.
- Terminé rápidamente mi desayuno.
- Rápidamente terminé mi desayuno. (Remember that this is the emphatic structure, so can only be used in certain contexts.)
Now, using the present perfect tense:
- He terminado mi desayuno rápidamente.
- He terminado rápidamente mi desayuno.
- Rápidamente he terminado mi desayuno. (Remember that this is the emphatic structure, so can only be used in certain contexts.)
