How To Use Adverbial Phrases in Spanish

Native Spanish speakers often prefer phrases that act like adverbs over the corresponding adverbs themselves. Using Phrases That Function as Adverbs Heres why:  Adverbs can often be formed in Spanish by adding -mente to many adjectives, just as -ly can be used to form adverbs in English. But the creation of adverbs using -mente has its limits. For one, there are plenty of times where one needs an adverb (a word that modifies a  verb,  adjective, other adverb or an entire sentence) when theres no adjective that will do as a root word. Also, sometimes for no apparent reason, some adjectives in Spanish simply arent combined with -mente. Finally, many Spanish speakers  tend to frown on the use of several -mente adverbs in one sentence, especially in writing. The solution is one that is also used in English: use of an adverbial or prepositional phrase. These phrases are typically formed by using a preposition and a noun, sometimes including an article. For example, we might say anduvo a la izquierda for he walked leftward or he walked to the left. In that case, a la izquierda and to the left are adverbial phrases. The difference is that in Spanish, there is no one-word adverb that can be used. Adverbial phrases seem to be more common in Spanish than in English. In many cases, the same thought can be expressed using either an adverb or an adverbial phrase. Spanish tends to prefer the phrase, while English tends to prefer the simple adverb, even though both are grammatically correct. For example, it is possible to say either ciegamente or a ciegas for blindly or in a blind manner. But Spanish more often uses the phrase, English the one word. Even so, in most cases there is no practical difference in meaning between a -mente adverb and a corresponding adverbial phrase, so they are freely interchangeable. In many contexts theres no distinguishable difference, for example, between perfectamente (perfectly) and sin errores (without mistakes). What can be particularly confusing for Spanish students who have English as a first language is that the two languages frequently have similar phrases that use different prepositions. For example, the phrase for on horseback is a caballo, not the en caballo you might expect if translating the English on literally. Similarly, the phrase for kneeling or on the knees is de rodillas, not the en rodillas that might seem logical. Common Adverbial Phrases Spanish has countless adverbial phrases. Here are some of the most common, as well as some that are included simply because theyre interesting or could be confusing for the beginner, or because they provide examples of alternative ways to translate English adverbs: a bordo — on boarda caballo — on horsebacka carrera abierta — at full speeda chorros — abundantlya conciencia — conscientiouslya continuacià ³n — right afterwarda destiempo — inopportunely, at a bad timea empujones — pushingly, intermittentlya escondidas — covertly, secretlya gatas — on hands and kneesa la derecha — rightwarda la fuerza — necessarilya la izquierda — leftwarda la larga — in the long runa las claras — clearlyal fin — finallyal alimà ³n  Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã‚  jointly, togethera lo loco  Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã‚  like a crazy persona mano — by hand, manuallya mà ¡quina — by machinea matacaballo — at breakneck speeda menudo — frequentlyante todo — primarilya pie — on foota quemarropa  Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã‚  at point-blank rangea regaà ±adientes — unwillinglya sabiendas — knowinglya saltos — jumpinga solas — alonea tie mpo — on time, in timea todas horas — continuallya veces — sometimesbajo control — under controlbajo cuerda — underhandedlycon ansiedad —  anxiouslycon audacia — daringlycon bien — safelycon cuentagotas — stingilycon esperanza — hopefullycon frecuencia — frequentlycon prisa — hurriedlycon valor — courageouslyde buena gana — willinglyde continuo — continuouslyde costumbre — customarilyde frente — head-onde golpe — suddenlyde improviso — unexpectedlyde inmediato  Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã‚  immediatelyde locura — foolishlyde mala gana — unwillinglyde memoria — by memorydentro de poco — shortlyde nuevo — again, anewde ordinario — ordinarilyde pronto — suddenlyde puntillas — on tiptoede repente — suddenlyde rodillas — kneelingde seguro — certainlyde veras — trulyde verdad — trut hfullyde vez en cuando — occasionallyen balde — pointlesslyen broma — jokinglyen cambio — on the other handen confianza — confidentiallyen la actualidad — presently, nowen particular — particularlyen secreto — secretlyen seguida — immediatelyen serio — seriouslyen vano  Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã‚  vainlyen voz alta — loudly (said of speaking)en voz baja — softly (said of speaking)por ahora  Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã‚  for nowpor cierto — certainlypor consiguiente — consequentlypor fin — finallypor la puerta grande  Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã‚  in grand stylepor lo contrario — on the contrarypor lo general — generallypor lo regular  Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã‚  regularlypor lo visto — apparentlypor suerte — luckilypor supuesto — of coursepor todas partes — everywheresin empacho — uninhibitedlysin reserva — unreservedlysin ton ni son  Ã¢â‚¬â€ without rhyme or reason