Brazilian Portuguese Grammar
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Adverbs of manner Advérbios de modo Portuguese adverbial suffix => -mente English adverbial suffix => -ly |
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| Adverbs of manner indicate how something happened or someone did something. You can form them by adding -mente to adjectives. If the adjective has gender inflection, add the suffix to the feminine form (see rápido and apressado in the chart below). | |||
| Some examples | |||
| Portuguese | English | ||
| Adjective | Adverb of Manner | Adjective | Adverb of Manner |
| fácil | facilmente | easy | easily |
| apressado, apressada | apressadamente | hurried | hurriedly |
| rápido, rápida | rapidamente | quick | quickly |
| confortável | confortavelmente | comfortable | comfortably |
| perigoso | perigosamente | dangerous | dangerously |
| covarde | covardemente | coward | cowardly |
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1. Not all adjectives in the language form adverbs of manner in -mente. Always consult a dictionary.
2. Some adverbs in -mente aren't adverbs of manner, such as provavelmente (probably) and possivelmente (possibly).
3. There are some adjectives that can also function as adverbs, e.g.: alto (loud) => alto (loudly) rápido (fast, quick) => rápido (fast, quickly) diferente (different) => diferente (differently)
4. In case of two or more adverbs in -mente in a sequence, keep the first ones in their feminine adjective forms and add -mente to the last: Eles se destacam social, política e financeiramente. They stand out socially, politically and financially.
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Degree of adverbs |
Adverbs also have degrees: comparative of superiority, comparative of inferiority, comparative of equality and superlative. E.g.:
| Adverb => | facilmente (easily) |
| Comparative of superiority => |
mais facilmente que
more easily than |
| Comparative of inferiority => |
menos facilmente que
less easily than |
| Comparative of equality => |
tão facilmente quanto
as easily as |
| Superlative => |
muito facilmente
very easily |
Summary
| Comparative of superiority => |
mais + advérbio +
que
more + adverb + than |
| Comparative of inferiority => |
menos + advérbio +
que
less + adverb + than |
| Comparative of equality => |
tão + advérbio +
quanto
as + adverb + as |
| Superlative => |
muito + advérbio
very + adverb |
| Irregular adverbs | ||
| Adverbs => |
bem
(well) |
mal
(badly) |
| Comparative of superiority => |
melhor que
better than |
pior que
worse than |
| Comparative of inferiority => |
menos bem que
less well than (unusual) |
menos mal que
less badly than (unusual) |
| Comparative of equality => |
tão bem quanto
as well as |
tão mal quanto
as badly as |
| Superlative => |
muito bem
very well |
muito mal
very badly |
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mais breve possível => as soon as possible mais rápido possível => as fast as possible
Tente chegar aqui mais breve possível. Try to get here as soon as possible. |
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