Portuguese Adverbs
Learning the Portuguese Adverbs is very important because its structure is used in every day conversation. The more you practice the subject, the closer you get to mastering the Portuguese language. But first we need to know what the role of Adverbs is in the structure of the grammar in Portuguese.
Portuguese adverbs are part of speech. Generally they're words that modify any part of language other than a noun. Adverbs can modify verbs, adjectives (including numbers), clauses, sentences and other adverbs.
Grammar Tips:
While in English adverbs are usually formed
by adding (-ly) to adjectives. In Portuguese many adverbs are formed
from adjectives, simply by adding the suffix -mente to the singular feminine form of adjectives. Examples:
Lento (slow) becomes lentamente (slowly)
Perfeito (perfect) becomes perfeitamente (perfectly)
However that’s not always the case. Some words are adverbs by nature.
For example:
Agora (now), De verdade (really), and Em
breve/brevemente (soon) are all Portuguese adverbs.
Here are some examples:
| English Adverbs | Portuguese Adverbs |
| adverbs | advérbios |
| I read a book sometimes | Leio um livro de vez em quando |
| I will never smoke | Eu nunca vou fumar |
| are you alone? | Você está sozinho? |
As you can see from the example above, the structure of the Adverbs in Portuguese has a logical pattern. Locate the Adverbs above and see how it works with the rest of the sentence in Portuguese.
List of Adverbs in Portuguese
Below is a list of the Adverbs of time place manner and frequency in Portuguese placed in a table. Memorizing this table will help you add very useful and important words to your Portuguese vocabulary.
| English Adverbs | Portuguese Adverbs |
| adverbs of time | advérbios de tempo |
| yesterday | ontem |
| today | hoje |
| tomorrow | amanhã |
| now | agora |
| then | então |
| later | mais tarde |
| tonight | hoje à noite |
| right now | agora mesmo |
| last night | ontem à noite |
| this morning | hoje cedo |
| next week | na próxima semana |
| already | já |
| recently | recentemente |
| lately | recentemente |
| soon | logo |
| immediately | imediatamente |
| still | ainda |
| yet | ainda |
| ago | atrás |
| |
| adverbs of place | advérbios de lugar |
| here | aqui |
| there | lá |
| over there | ali |
| everywhere | em toda parte |
| anywhere | em qualquer lugar |
| nowhere | em nenhum lugar |
| home | em casa |
| away | longe |
| out | fora |
| |
| adverbs of manner | advérbios de modo |
| very | muito |
| quite | muito |
| pretty | muito |
| really | realmente |
| fast | rápido |
| well | bem |
| hard | rígido |
| quickly | rapidamente |
| slowly | lentamente |
| carefully | cuidadosamente |
| hardly | dificilmente |
| barely | mal |
| mostly | principalmente |
| almost | quase |
| absolutely | absolutamente |
| together | juntos |
| alone | sozinho |
| |
| adverbs of frequency | advérbios de freqüência |
| always | sempre |
| frequently | freqüentemente |
| usually | geralmente |
| sometimes | às vezes |
| occasionally | ocasionalmente |
| seldom | raramente |
| rarely | raramente |
| never | nunca |
Adverbs of time place manner and frequency have a very important role in Portuguese, therefore they need very special attention. Once you're done with Portuguese Adverbs, you might want to check the rest of our Portuguese lessons here: Learn Portuguese. Don't forget to bookmark this page.