Adverbs by Ronald Glenn Wrigley
An adverb is a part of speech that can modify a verb, an adjective, another adverb, a phrase, or a clause. It indicates manner, time, place, cause, or degree and can answer questions such as how, when, where, and how much. In English, it is common for adverbs to end in -ly, such as quickly, easily, and particularly. In Italian, the suffix -mente corresponds to the English -ly suffix. To form an adverb, the -mente suffix is added to the feminine singular form of the adjective.
Table 7-14
Adjective |
Feminine Singular Form |
Adverb |
libero |
libera |
liberamente |
tranquillo |
tranquilla |
tranquillamente |
attento |
attenta |
attentamente |
rapido |
rapida |
rapidamente |
Adjectives whose singular forms end in -e add the suffix -mente without changing the final vowel.
Table 7-15
Adjective |
Adverb |
intelligente |
intelligentemente |
triste |
tristemente |
Adjectives whose singular forms end in -le or -re drop the final -e before adding the suffix -mente.
Table 7-16
Adjective |
Adverb |
probabile |
probabilmente |
particolare |
paricolarmente |
Be careful! Molto, tanto, troppo, and poco can be used as both adjectives (Io ho molti amici = I have many friends) and adverbs (I suoi amici sono molto simpatici = His friends are very nice). As adjectives, they agree in number and gender with the noun they modify; as adverbs they do not.
Exercise 7-6</h2>
<p>Rewrite the following adjectives as adverbs.</p>
<ul>
<li><p><B>facile</B> ________________________________</p></li>
<li><p><B>raro</B> ________________________________</p></li>
<li><p><B>disperato</B> ________________________________</p></li>
<li><p><B>recente</B> ________________________________</p></li>
<li><p><B>difficile</B> ________________________________</p></li>
</ul>
<h2>Exercise 7-7</h2>
<p>Listen to each sentence. Underline the adverb in each sentence.</p>
<p></p>
<ul>
<li><p><B>Andrea Bocelli canta molto bene.</B></p></li>
<li><p><B>Noi ascoltiamo attentamente.</B></p></li>
<li><p><B>Mio fratello parla poco.</B></p></li>
<li><p><B>Giovanni cerca disperatamente le chiavi della macchina.</B></p></li>
</ul>
<p>Not all adverbs are formed by adding the suffix <B>-mente</B>. The following is a list of common adverbs that don't follow a spelling change pattern. The only way to learn the exceptions is to memorize them.</p>
<p><B>Table 7-17</B></p>
<table width="100%" frame="all">
<h2>
<tgroup cols="2">
<colspec colname="col1" colnum="1"/>
<colspec colname="col2" colnum="2"/>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><p><B>Italian</B></p></td>
<td><p><B>English</B></p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><p><B>ancora</B></p></td>
<td><p>still</p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><p><B>attorno</B></p></td>
<td><p>around, about</p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><p><B>bene</B></p></td>
<td><p>well</p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><p><B>contro</B></p></td>
<td><p>against</p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><p><B>dentro</B></p></td>
<td><p>in, inside</p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><p><B>dietro</B></p></td>
<td><p>behind, at the back of</p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><p><B>dopo</B></p></td>
<td><p>then, afterwards</p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><p><B>fuori</B></p></td>
<td><p>outside</p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><p><B>già</B></p></td>
<td><p>already</p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><p><B>inoltre</B></p></td>
<td><p>moreover</p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><p><B>(non) … mai</B></p></td>
<td><p>never</p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><p><B>(non) … più</B></p></td>
<td><p>no longer, not anymore</p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><p><B>oltre</B></p></td>
<td><p>beyond</p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><p><B>presto</B></p></td>
<td><p>soon, before long</p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><p><B>sempre</B></p></td>
<td><p>always</p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><p><B>sopra</B></p></td>
<td><p>above, on top</p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><p><B>sotto</B></p></td>
<td><p>underneath, below</p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><p><B>vicino</B></p></td>
<td><p>nearby, close by</p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><p><B>insieme</B></p></td>
<td><p>together</p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><p><B>male</B></p></td>
<td><p>badly</p></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</tgroup>
</table>
<p><B>See Chapter 12 for more information about negative adverbs.</B></p>
<p>Adverbs always precede the adjective or adverb they modify, and they generally follow a simple verb form. For example: <B>Ceniamo sempre alle otto</B>. (We always have dinner at 8:00.) In sentences with compound tenses, most adverbs are placed after the participle. For example: <B>Sono arrivato tardi al museo</B>. (I arrived late at the museum.) However, certain common adverbs such as <B>già, ancora, sempre, (non) … mai,</B> and <B>(non) … più</B> are inserted between the auxiliary verb and the past participle of the compound form, as in the examples on the following page.</p>
<table width="100%" frame="all">
<tgroup cols="2">
<colspec colname="col1" colnum="1"/>
<colspec colname="col2" colnum="2"/>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><p><B>Maria è sempre venuta in orario.</B></p></td>
<td><p><B>Maria always came on time.</B></p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><p><B>Non ho ancora finito i miei compiti.</B></p></td>
<td><p><B>I still haven't finished my homework.</B></p></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</tgroup>
</table>
<title>Useful Expressions and Constructions: To Return</h2>
<p>There are several different ways to state the verb <B>tornare</B> (to return). There is a distinction between to return to a place and to return an object to its owner.</p>
<p><B>Table 7-18</B></p>
<table width="100%" frame="all">
<tgroup cols="2">
<colspec colname="col1" colnum="1"/>
<colspec colname="col2" colnum="2"/>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><p>to return</p></td>
<td><p><B>tornare</B></p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><p>to go back/to come back to a place</p></td>
<td><p><B>ritornare</B></p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><p>to turn back</p></td>
<td><p><B>tornare indietro</B></p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><p>to give back</p></td>
<td><p><B>restituire, rendere</B></p></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</tgroup>
</table>
<table width="100%" frame="all">
<tgroup cols="2">
<colspec colname="col1" colnum="1"/>
<colspec colname="col2" colnum="2"/>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><p><B>Torno in Italia l'anno prossimo.</B></p></td>
<td><p><B>I am returning to Italy next year.</B></p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><p><B>Torniamo indietro perché nonabbiamo più soldi.</B></p></td>
<td><p><B>We're turning back because we don't have any more money.</B></p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><p><B>Restituiscono il libro alla biblioteca.</B></p></td>
<td><p><B>They are returning the book to the library.</B></p></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</tgroup>
</table>
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