Table of Contents |
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| 1. Positioning Fixed Adverbs | 2. Where to Place Adverb? |
| 3. Placing Adverbs in Long Sentences | 4. Adverbs in The Perfect Tense |
| 5. Where to place an Adverb with Adjectives and Adverbs | |
Los adverbios or adverbs in the English language are fixed words since they can’t be placed in any position. There are some positions where the adverb can’t appear. The most common positions in the English language are: At the beginning of the sentence, in the middle or at the end.
Whereas in the Spanish language the position of the adverb is more flexible. You can place them at the beginning or at the end of a sentence, immediately after or before a verb. It depends on what you want to emphasize. You can simply place the adverb wherever you want only if you don’t split any phrase.
However, there are some rules to be learnt so as to place the adverbs in the Spanish language to communicate correctly your message. Even though you can place the adverb in any position, some of them are not that common in spoken Spanish.
Examples
| Todavía no vino el médico | The doctor hasn’t arrived yet |
| El médico no vino todavía | The doctor hasn’t arrived yet |
| No vino todavía el médico | The doctor hasn’t arrived yet |
| Siempre tiene hambre | She’s always hungry |
| Tiene hambre siempre | She’s always hungry |
| Tiene siempre hambre | She’s always hungry |
In short sentences, the adverb can be placed wherever you want. It depends on what you want to highlight. So, the adverb should be placed as close as possible of the word or phrase it modifies.
Trying to translate literally from Spanish into English may sound grammatically incorrect.
Examples
| Ayer aprobé el exámen de matemáticas | Yesterday, I passed the math test |
| Aprobé ayer el exámen de matemáticas | I passed yesterday the math test |
| Aprobé el exámen de matemáticas ayer | I passed the math test yesterday |
| Aún no cobré | I haven’t been paid yet |
| No cobré aún | I haven’t been paid yet |
| Hoy viene mi hermana de España | Today, my sister is coming from Spain |
| Viene hoy mi hermana de España | My sister is today coming from Spain |
However, in long sentences the adverb is not that flexible. It should be placed as close as possible to the verb it modifies. It’s not common to place it at the end of the sentence far away from the verb.
Examples
| Hoy cocinaré pollo al horno con papas y ensalada | Today I’m going to cook a roasted chicken with potato and salad |
| Fuí ayer al nuevo supermercado que queda cerca del centro comercial | Yesterday I went to the new supermarket which is near the mall centre |
| Siempre visita a sus abuelos quienes viven en la ciudad de Buenos Aires | She always visits her grandparents who live in the city of Buenos Aires |
| Condujo fácilmente por la ciudad de Madrid sin ningún problema | She drove easily in the city of Madrid without any problem |
In the English language, adverbs have a fixed position when you use the perfect tense. It commonly goes between have/has and the main verb. Whereas in negative sentences or questions the adverb goes at the end of the sentence.
In the Spanish language, however, you need to place the adverb after the main verb in the tense pluscuamperfecto. It should’n be placed between haber and the main verb as in the English language.
Examples
| Lo he hecho ya | I’ve already done it |
| Nunca he visitado Estados Unidos | I’ve never been to the USA |
| ¿Has ordenado ya tu cuarto? | Have you tidied your room yet? |
| Ya ha aprendido a conducir | He’s already learnt to drive |
| He acabado ya de limpiar la casa | I’ve already cleaned the house |
In the Spanish language, adverbs go before adjectives and other adverbs so as to modify them.
Examples
| Es una montaña muy alta | It’s a very high mountain |
| Ella habla demasiado alto | She speaks very loudly |
| Compré muchas manzanas | I bought a lot of apples |
| Leyó bastante de literatura | He read a lot of literature |
| Él es bastante fuerte | He’s really strong |
| El bebe es muy tranquilo | The baby is very quiet |
