Adverbs - avverbi in Italian - are used to modify a verb, an adjective or another adverb.There are different types of adverbs.
Adverbs of time describe when an action takes place, such as ieri (yesterday), più tardi (later) and subito (straight away). There are called avverbi di tempo:
Ogni tanto leggo un giornale- I read a newspaper sometimes
Usciamo adesso- We are going out now
Adverbs of place describe where an action takes place, such as qui (here), fuori (outside), lì (there). These are called avverbi di luogo:
Ci sono le zanzare ovunque- There are mosquitos everywhere
Ci vediamo dentroil bar- See you insidethe bar
Adverbs of manner describe how an action is done, such as rapidamente (quickly), lentamente (slowly) and bene (well). These are called avverbi di modo:
Ballano male- They dance badly
Ha lavorato attentamente- She worked carefully
Adverbs of quantity describe how much, for example abbastanza (enough), troppo (too much), quasi (almost). These are called avverbi di quantità:
Ho dormito poco- I didn’t sleep much
Abbiamo studiato molto- We studied a lot
Adverbs of frequency describe how frequently an action takes place, such as spesso (often), sempre (always), mai (never), a volte (sometimes). These are called avverbi di frequenza:
Vado raramente al cinema- I rarely go to the cinema
Di solito andiamo in pizzeria- We usually go to the pizzeria
Adverbs of judgement are used when expressing an opinion or belief, such as forse (maybe), certamente (certainly) and probabilmente (probably). These are called avverbi di valutazione:
Senza dubbio Margherita è una persona fantastica - Margherita is without a doubt a fantastic person
Di sicuro veniamo con te - Of course we are coming with you
Some adverbs are formed by adding -menteto the singular feminine form of the adjective:
lenta / lentamente - slow / slowly
sicura / sicuramente- sure / surely
perfetto - perfettamente- perfect / perfectly
If the adjective ends in -e, you just add the -mente ending to the end:
veloce / velocemente- quick / quickly
forte / fortemente- strong / strongly
felice / felicemente- happy / happily
But if the last syllable of these adjectives is -le or -re the final e is removed:
gentile / gentilmente- kind / kindly
generale / generalmente- general / generally
facile / facilmente - easy / easily
There are also many adverbs that do not derive from adjectives and have to be learnt. They can be just one word, such as ieri (yesterday), sopra(above), più(more). They can also be made up of two or more words such as in fretta(in a hurry), all’improvviso(suddenly), la prossima settimana(next week), per fortuna (luckily).
In terms of where adverbs go in a sentence, they usually precede the adjective or adverb that they modify:
Luigi è molto divertente- Luigi is very funny
Parli troppo velocemente - You speak too fast
They also generally follow a simple verb form:
Bevete sempre il vino - You always drink wine
Studiamo gli avverbi insieme- We are studying adverbs together
