1. Home
  2. Education
  3. Spanish Language

Examples of Spanish Adverbial Phrases

By Gerald Erichsen, About.com

Spanish has countless adverbial phrases. Here are some of the most common, as well as some that are included simply because they're interesting or could be confusing for the beginner, or because they provide examples of alternative ways to translate English adverbs:

a bordo — on board
a caballo — on horseback
a carrera abierta — at full speed
a chorros — abundantly
a conciencia — conscientiously
a continuación — right afterward
a destiempo — inopportunely, at a bad time
a empujones — pushingly, intermittently
a escondidas — covertly
a gatas — on hands and knees
a la derecha — rightward
a la fuerza — necessarily
a la larga — in the long run
a la izquierda — leftward
a las claras — clearly
al fin — finally
a mano — by hand, manually
a máquina — by machine
a matacaballo — at breakneck speed
a menudo — frequently
ante todo — primarily
a pie — on foot
a regañadientes — unwillingly
a sabiendas — knowingly
a saltos — jumping
a solas — alone
a tiempo — on time, in time
a todas horas — continually
a veces — sometimes
bajo control — under control
bajo cuerda — underhandedly
con audacia — daringly
con bien — safely
con cuentagotas — stingily
con esperanza — hopefully
con frecuencia — frequently
con valor — courageously
de continuo — continuously
de costumbre — customarily
de buena gana — willingly
de frente — head-on
de golpe — suddenly
de improviso — unexpectedly
de locura — foolishly
de mala gana — unwillingly
de memoria — by memory
de ordinario — ordinarily
dentro de poco — shortly
de pronto — suddenly
de puntillas — on tiptoe
de repente — suddenly
de rodillas — kneeling
de nuevo — again, anew
de seguro — certainly
de veras — truly
de verdad — truthfully
de vez en cuando — occasionally
en balde — pointlessly
en broma — jokingly
en cambio — on the other hand
en confianza — confidentially
en la actualidad — presently, now
en particular — particularly
en secreto — secretly
en seguida — immediately
en serio — seriously
en voz alta — loudly (said of speaking)
en voz baja — softly (said of speaking)
por cierto — certainly
por consiguiente — consequently
por fin — finally
por lo contrario — on the contrary
por lo general — generally
por lo visto — apparently
por suerte — luckily
por supuesto — of course
por todas partes — everywhere
sin empacho — uninhibitedly
sin reserva — unreservedly

Explore Spanish Language

More from About.com

  1. Home
  2. Education
  3. Spanish Language
  4. Spanish Vocabulary
  5. Translations from English
  6. Adverbial Phrases - Learn Spanish Language

©2008 About.com, a part of The New York Times Company.

All rights reserved.