Read this page, then try this practice.

An adverb (avverbio) is a part of speech that describes, but unlike an adjective, (which describes a noun, e.g. a great date, a shiny bicycle), an adverb describes a verb or another adjective. For example:

  • Don’t drive so fast!
  • You sing well.
  • The exam was extremely difficult.
  • You look very tired.

In Italian, most adverbs are formed directly from adjectives and end in the suffix -mente.


To form most Italian adverbs, take the feminine form of the adjective and add -mente:

adjective feminine form adverb example
rara raramente
Vado raramente al cinema.
(I rarely go to the movies.)
veloce velocemente
Paola guida velocemente.
(Paola drives fast.)
certa certamente
Certamente puoi accompagnarci al cinema!
(Certainly you can come with us to the movies.)


Adjectives ending in -le or -re drop their final -e before adding -mente:

adjective adverb example
gentile gentilmente Sandro risponde sempre gentilmente alle nostre domande.
regolare regolarmente Andiamo regolarmente in palestra.
usuale usualmente Usualmente facciamo le spese il sabato.

Some adjectives have totally different adverbial forms that don’t use -mente:

adjective adverb

Some expressions of quantity can be used both as adjectives and adverbs (e.g. molto, tanto, troppo, poco). When adjectives, (i.e. used with nouns), they have four different endings depending upon the gender and number of the noun. When adverbs, (i.e. used with verbs or adjectives), they have only one ending (the invariable -o).


Adjective Adverb
Mangiate troppa pizza.
You all eat too much pizza.
Parlate troppo.
You all talk too much.
Ci sono pochi studenti in classe.
There are few students in class.
Ho capito poco.
I understood very little.
I bambini hanno molta energia.
The kids have a lot of energy.
Siamo molto contenti.
We are very happy.

Poco is often used to minimize a quality of an adjective. Sono poco contenta is a more efficient and direct way of saying Non sono molto contenta.
In Italian, especially in spoken Italian, it is common to substitue an adjectival phrase (e.g. in a rude way) for the Italian adverb. Observe:

Adverb Adjectival Phrase Translation
Giorgio parla elegantemente. Giorgio parla in modo elegante. Giorgio speaks elegantly.
Sandra si comporta scortesamente Sandra si comporta in maniera scortese. Sandra behaves rudely.

Adverbs of time

There is another class of adverbs, the temporal adverbs or adverbs of time. You have probably learned some of these already, without realizing they were adverbs. They include:

sempre always
spesso often
mai ever
non…mai never
ancora still, yet
già already

These, like all other adverbs, are invariable, that is, their endings remain the same.

Position of Adverbs

Adverbs generally go right after the verb:

  • Ho mangiato lentamente.
  • Parli bene l’italiano.
  • Andiamo spesso al cinema.
  • Siete molto stanchi.

When using the passato prossimo, many adverbs of time are inserted between the auxiliary verb (essere or avere) and the past participle:

  • Ho già fatto la cena.
  • Non siamo mai stati in Italia.
  • Ho sempre pensato ai miei amici a casa.

Adverbs: Practice