Italian adverbs describe, in a more specific way, another part of the sentence or the whole sentence itself. Since a lot of them derive from adjectives, some Italian adverbs can also have a comparative and a superlative form.
Form
If we look at their form, Italian adverbs can be divided into the following categories:
Simple adverbsbene (well)mai (never)
Compound adverbsdappertutto (everywhere)soprattutto (above all)Derived adverbs: they are usually formed by adding the suffix -mente to the feminine form of an adjective.
lenta (slow) + mente --> lentamente (slowly)facile (easy) + mente --> facilmente (easily)Adverbial locutionall'improvviso (suddenly)a poco a poco (little by little)Idiomatic expressionsdi buon'ora (early)a quattr'occhi (face to face)
Types
Adverbs can also be classified according to their function, some of the most common types are:
Affirmation / Negationsì (yes)certamente (of course)non (not)
Interrogative / Exclamationdove (where)perché (why)come! (how!)
Timeora (now)sempre (always)
Placequi (here)giù (down)
Mannerinsieme (together)chiaramente (clearly)
Degreemolto (very)troppo (too)
Doubtforse (maybe)probabilmente (probably)
Placement
Adverbs are usually placed next to the word they are modifying and their placement can vary according to the category of that element. Generally speaking, they are placed:
After verbsIo canto bene. (I sing well.)Lui cammina lentamente. (He walks slowly.)In compound tenses, some adverbs go between the auxiliary verb and the past participle.Io ho già mangiato. (I have already eaten.)If the verb takes a direct object, the adverb can be placed before or after it. Io bevo spesso il caffè. (I often drink coffee.)Io bevo il caffè spesso. (I often drink coffee.)Before adjectivesIo sono molto felice. (I am very happy.)La tua risposta è abbastanza chiara. (Your answer is quite clear.)Before other adverbsPiove molto intensamente. (It’s raining very hard.)Tu cammini troppo velocemente! (You walk too fast!)
Some adverbs are more flexible in their placement in a sentence.
Adverbs of timeDopo esco. (I’m going out later.)Esco dopo. (I’m going out later.)Papà parte domani. (Dad is leaving tomorrow.)Domani papà parte. (Dad is leaving tomorrow.)
Sentence Adverbs: They can modify the whole sentence by changing their position. Siamo ovviamente felici per loro. We are obviously happy for them.(The adverb modifies the adjective “felici” and it is placed before it.)Ovviamente, ci vorrà del tempo. Obviously, this will take time.(The adverb modifies the whole sentence.)
Focusing Adverbs: Their function is to put emphasis on a specific part of the sentence, therefore they are placed right before it. Their different position also affects the meaning of the whole sentence. Lei ha mangiato anche il dolce. She had the dessert as well. (She ate something and also a dessert. The emphasis is on the dessert.)Anche lei ha mangiato il dolce. She also had dessert. (Someone had dessert and she had it too. The emphasis is on her.)
