Learn how adverbs function in the Spanish language
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Dylan: Hola, hola a todos. Habla Dylan, ¿cómo están? |
| Carlos: What’s going on pod101 world? My name is Carlos. |
| Dylan: In this lesson, you will learn about the formation of adverbs. |
| Carlos: The conversation takes place at the church. |
| Dylan: The conversation is between the mother-in-law, father-in-law, Carlos and Mónica. |
| Carlos: The speakers are friends, so they will be speaking informally. Let’s listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Suegro: ¡¡¡¡Qué bonito que se ve el pantalón de vestir con las sandalias, Carlitos!!! |
| Suegra: Danilo, recuerda que los turistas no están acostumbrados a los calores que hace en los países latinoamericanos. |
| Suegro: Sí, pero no creo que al padre le guste mucho esa moda. |
| Suegra: Ni cuenta se va a dar, vas a ver. |
| Mónica: Amor, tranquilo, ignóralos, ¡por favor! |
| Carlos: Sólo por ti, sólo para que veas cuánto te amo. |
| Mónica: Sí, amor, yo sé. Va a ser solamente una hora, te lo prometo. |
| Suegro: Your dress pants look great with your sandals, Carlos! |
| Suegra: Danilo, remember that tourists aren't used to the heat in Latin American countries. |
| Suegro: Yes, but I don't think the priest will be fond of this style. |
| Suegra: He won't even notice. |
| Mónica: Honey, relax. Ignore them, please! |
| Carlos: Only for you, just so you see how much I love you. |
| Mónica: Yes, my love, I know. It'll only be an hour. I promise. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Dylan: Wow! Well, he got away with wearing his sandals. Didn’t he? |
| Carlos: He didn’t get away with wearing the sandals. The father is like sarcastic, “Nice sandals there Carlos”, hahaha… |
| Dylan: Oh, well. |
| Carlos: But like the whole thing is he knows how the parents are calling the tourists. |
| Dylan: Yeah. |
| Carlos: That’s really messed up like I thought they were closer than that. |
| Dylan: Yeah. I had noticed, Carlos. Good point. |
| Carlos: I for some reason feel like more personally involved with this conversation not that it has occurred or happened to me I am just saying. |
| Dylan: Don’t people – Do you like tourists anymore? |
| Carlos: Not really. |
| Dylan: No, that’s great. |
| Carlos: Well, I walk around with a “tica”. |
| Dylan: Are you local now then? |
| Carlos: No, I am definitely not local. I am not “como gallo pinto” would say. Okay, let’s take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Dylan: “Pantalón de vestir”. |
| Carlos: “Dress pants.” |
| Dylan: “Pan-ta-lón de ves-tir”, “pantalón de vestir”. “Turistas”. |
| Carlos: “Tourists.” |
| Dylan: “Tu-ris-tas”, turistas”. “Acostumbrar”. |
| Carlos: “To be accustomed”, “to be used to.” |
| Dylan: “A-cos-tum-brar”, “acostumbrar”. “Moda”. |
| Carlos: “Style”, “fashion.” |
| Dylan: “Mo-da”, “moda”. “Ignorar”. |
| Carlos: “To ignore.” |
| Dylan: “Ig-no-rar”, “ignorar”. “Sólamente”. |
| Carlos: “Only.” |
| Dylan: “Só-la-men-te”, “sólamente”. |
| VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE |
| Carlos: Okay, let’s have a look at the usage for some of the words and phrases from this lesson. |
| Dylan: The first phrase we will look at is “pantalón de vestir”. |
| Carlos: “Pantalón de vestir”. Something that I do not wear often, “dress pants.” |
| Dylan: When was the last time you had to wear dress pants? |
| Carlos: Weddings mostly but actually I wear jeans of those two. I mean that’s the better if you are working at your home, just boxes. |
| Dylan: Ayy Carlos, that’s like a little bit too much information here. |
| Carlos: Sorry, I just feel so close with the audience, Dylan. |
| Dylan: Okay, okay, moving on. Here we have an example of not so subtle sarcasm. |
| Carlos: Let me guess. |
| Dylan: Yep, “el suegro”, “the father in law”, “¡¡¡¡Qué bonito que se ve el pantalón de vestir con las sandalias, Carlitos!!!” |
| Carlos: “Your dress pants look great with your sandals, Carlos!!” See if it was me which once again it is not, that joke will probably go right over my head. |
| Dylan: That’s the point. I am kind of undecided on this father in law but I am leaning towards not liking him. |
| Carlos: Yeah, me too. |
| Dylan: But remember, if this should ever be you which is not, don’t wear sandals and “debe ir a la iglesia con pantalón de vestir, no con pantalón de mezclilla”. |
| Carlos: “You should go to church with dress pants and not with jeans.” |
| Dylan: Next up, “turistas”. |
| Carlos: Another noun, “turistas”, a nice little cognate, “tourists.” You know I love recognizing cognates. I think they add a little level of comforting familiarity for the foreign language learner. |
| Dylan: Right. I can see that but here you see an indication that the family might not think that Carlos is a permanent picture. |
| Carlos: Why is that? |
| Dylan: Listen to what the wife says. “Danilo, recuerda que los turistas no están acostumbrados a los calores que hace en los países latinoamericanos”. |
| Carlos: “Danilo, remember that tourists aren’t used to the heat in Latin American countries.” To be fair, that is kind of true unless you are tourist from like another hot place. |
| Dylan: Well, I think that goes without saying. |
| Carlos: “En Costa Rica hay muchos turistas”. |
| Dylan: “There are a lot of tourists in Costa Rica.” It is the lifeblood of the economy. |
| Carlos: You know, I know from many Latin American countries, it’s the same in fact. |
| Dylan: “El turismo” is really the major industry of the majority of Latin American countries. |
| Carlos: And the more stable the country, the better the tourism. |
| Dylan: Right. I don’t think that a lot of people are beating down the embassy doors to get into Honduras right now. |
| Carlos: I think that you are probably right about that Dylan, but that’s what makes Costa Rica so famous is stability. |
| Dylan: Next up an adjective, “acostumbrado”. |
| Carlos: “Accustomed”, “used to.” |
| Dylan: Is that a word you use often? |
| Carlos: It’s actually one of those words that for some reason stands out in my Spanish Lexicon. |
| Dylan: But we already heard the example. Why don’t you give it to us this time and say it slowly. |
| Carlos: “Danilo, recuerda que los turistas no están acostumbrados a los calores que hace en los países latinoamericanos”. |
| Dylan: “Danilo remember that tourists aren’t used to the heat in Latin American countries.” |
| Carlos: You know, I remember when I first moved here, it was a big joke that “los ticos no estaban acostumbrados a mi humor”. |
| Dylan: I do remember that. |
| Carlos: You know hey, I came you know but my humor didn’t go over well with sarcasm. It still doesn’t go over very well. |
| Dylan: Yeah, yeah. |
| Carlos: You know, go back to earlier seasons audience to find out what I mean. |
| Dylan: But this adjective is linked to the verb “acostumbrarse”. |
| Carlos: Which is reflexive and means “to be accustomed” or “used to.” |
| Dylan: Or have you heard the noun “la costumbre”? |
| Carlos: I can’t see that I have. What does it mean? |
| Dylan: Well, what do you walk through when you are in the airport? |
| Carlos: Customs? |
| Dylan: Right, but with this word, it’s more like tradition. |
| Carlos: Okay, I see it, customs. |
| Dylan: Next up, “moda”, “fashion”, “craze”, “style.” |
| Carlos: A noun and all around fabulous. |
| Dylan: Masculine or feminine, Carlos? |
| Carlos: Good question, Dylan, but you know what when you ask me that, it’s usually because the answer is not the obvious one but now I am not so sure. |
| Dylan: Pick one. |
| Carlos: Feminine. |
| Dylan: Right. Got to go with your instincts sometimes man. |
| Carlos: Huh, okay. Now how is it used in the conversation? |
| Dylan: “Sí, pero no creo que al padre le guste mucho esa moda”. |
| Carlos: “Yes, but I don’t think the priest will be fond of the style.” I don’t like judgment like that. |
| Dylan: Ah, you are a gringo. You don’t understand. |
| Carlos: No, I really don’t. In my eyes, who cares. |
| Dylan: See Lost in Translation does not only apply to language. You have to be conscious of your base prejudices and judgment and not forget that you have them too. |
| Carlos: True. Now back to “moda”. |
| Dylan: “La moda de los jóvenes es muy extraña”. |
| Carlos: “Youth fashion is very strange.” |
| Dylan: It is very strange in my eyes. |
| Carlos: Yeah, looking back, baggy jeans with underwear showing is kind of craze as well. |
| Dylan: Yes, absolutely. |
| Carlos: But I have not loved it. Now would “estilo” be an acceptable related word? |
| Dylan: Style, I don’t see why not. I will take that. Next up, a verb. |
| Carlos: Finally. |
| Dylan: “Ignorar”. |
| Carlos: “To ignore.” |
| Dylan: This is when Mónica is trying to step in on behalf of Carlos. “Amor, tranquilo, ignóralos, ¡por favor!” |
| Carlos: “Honey, relax, ignore them, please!” See that’s a good girlfriend. |
| Dylan: You are kidding me? She is probably really embarrassed. |
| Carlos: I am sure she is. |
| Dylan: But the father could easily say since he seems like the type “no me ignores”. |
| Carlos: “Don’t ignore me” or you use a related word with “acostumbrar”. “No es bueno ignorar las costumbres de otros países”. “It’s not good to ignore the customs of other countries.” |
| Dylan: That’s completely right. It’s not. |
| Carlos: Yeah, bad example, just when you think of a situation I am in but I don’t know if I might get to that later. |
| Dylan: All right. You never want to be called “ignorado”. |
| Carlos: Well, yeah, “being ignored.” No one wants to be ignored. |
| Dylan: So audience, you now know, “Carlos está en contra de la ignorancia”, that one is ignorance. |
| Carlos: Ah okay, but I am against ignorance but I also like attention which is why I am against being ignored. I mean, the worst part about it is that you know, just being ignored is kind of just sitting here like ah…look at me, do something. |
| Dylan: No, that’s always a danger. |
| Carlos: Last but not least. |
| Dylan: “Sólamente”. |
| Carlos: An adverb and I know that the “mente” ending. |
| Dylan: Which usually corresponds... |
| Carlos: Which usually corresponds to the “ly” ending in English. |
| Dylan: So “sólamente”... |
| Carlos: “Only.” |
| Dylan: As opposed to “sólo”. |
| Carlos: “Alone”, which and only but is also an adverb. |
| Dylan: Well, where was “sólamente” used in the conversation? |
| Carlos: When Monica says “Sí, amor, yo sé. Va a ser solamente una hora, te lo prometo”. |
| Dylan: “Yes, my love, I know. It will only be an hour, I promise.” They are a good couple. |
| Carlos: Hey, the man is going to church. That has to be for love. |
| Dylan: You know Carlos, “yo sólamente quiero lo mejor para ti”. |
| Carlos: Well, thanks, Dylan. I only want the best for you too. |
| Dylan: And you already provided us with the related word... |
| Carlos: “Sólo”. |
| Dylan: Let’s check out the formation of adverbs. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Carlos: Where was that in the conversation? |
| Dylan: “Sí, amor, yo sé. Va a ser solamente una hora, te lo prometo”. |
| Carlos: “Yes, my love, I know. It will only be an hour, I promise.” |
| Dylan: Adverbs serve as modifiers of... |
| Carlos: Of verb. |
| Dylan: An adjective. |
| Carlos: Another adverb. |
| Dylan: A preposition. |
| Carlos: A phrase. |
| Dylan: A clause |
| Carlos: Or exceptions. |
| Dylan: And they express some relation of matter of... |
| Carlos: Quality. |
| Dylan: Place. |
| Carlos: Time. |
| Dylan: Degree. |
| Carlos: Number. |
| Dylan: Cause. |
| Carlos: Opposition. |
| Dylan: Affirmation. |
| Carlos: And denial. |
| Dylan: Now we may form adverbs in Spanish by adding the ending “mente” to the feminine form of practically any adjective. |
| Carlos: If the adjective has only one form rather than both masculine and feminine forms, the same rule applies. Simply add “mente” to the end to construct the adverb. Now some masculine and feminine adjectives and then we will check out the corresponding adverbs. So I will give you the adjective, Dylan. “Rápido, rápida”. |
| Dylan: Which is “rapid.” |
| Carlos: So what’s the adverb? |
| Dylan: “Rápidamente”. |
| Carlos: Which turns to... |
| Dylan: “Rapidly”, “quickly.” |
| Carlos: How about “lento, lenta”? |
| Dylan: “Slow.” |
| Carlos: The adverb being... |
| Dylan: “Lentamente”, which is “slowly.” |
| Carlos: How about “obvio, obvia”? |
| Dylan: “Obvious.” |
| Carlos: Which become... |
| Dylan: “Obviamente”, which is “obviously.” |
| Carlos: “Sincero, sincera”. |
| Dylan: “Sincere.” Turns into “sinceramente”, which is “sincerely.” |
| Carlos: Now some adjectives have only one form. So check out like what about “feliz”. |
| Dylan: “Happy.” |
| Carlos: Becomes... |
| Dylan: “Felizmente”, “happily.” |
| Carlos: Okay, how about “fácil”? |
| Dylan: “Easy.” |
| Carlos: Which becomes... |
| Dylan: “Fácilmente”, “easily.” |
| Carlos: “Triste”. |
| Dylan: “Sad.” |
| Carlos: What would that become? |
| Dylan: “Tristemente”, which is “sadly.” |
| Carlos: Now let’s check out some sample sentences and see if we can get this right. |
| Dylan: Sure. “Yo manejaba rápidamente”. |
| Carlos: “I was driving quickly.” |
| Dylan: “Sabemos precisamente lo que está pasando”. |
| Carlos: “We know exactly what is happening.” |
| Dylan: “Ella habla inglés maravillosamente”. |
| Carlos: “She speaks English beautifully.” |
| Dylan: Now note that if the adjective has a written accent, the adverb retains it. For example, the adverb “fácilmente”, “easily” has an accent on the “A” just as there is an accent on the “A” on the adjective “fácil”, “easy.” |
| Carlos: Adverbial phrases are also very common and they often become necessary if the “mente” ending with the adjective forms a compound that is disagreeable to the Spanish ear. |
| Dylan: When the adverb sounds strange, native speakers often form an adverbial phrase to replace it. They do this by using the word “con” with and the noun that is the root of the adverb they are replacing. |
| Carlos: For example, watch how we can change the following sentence with an adverb to an adverbial phrase. |
| Dylan: The adverb would be “cumplió su trabajo prudentemente”. |
| Carlos: “He prudently finished his work.” |
| Dylan: The adverbial phrase would be “cumplió su trabajo con prudencia”. |
| Carlos: “He finished his work with prudence.” |
Outro |
| Carlos: Okay guys, you know what, that just about does it for today. |
| Dylan: ¡Chao! |
| Carlos: ¡Nos vemos! |
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