Lessons

B2.11 - Doing an advertisement campaign

Adverbs of manner: dolorosamente, admirablemente, así...

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Adverbs of manner indicate how an action is carried out.

Adverbs of manner (-mente) vs adjectives: what changes?

  • Adverb (how?) modifies the action (the verb).
  • Adjective (what kind?) describes a person/thing (a noun or the subject).
Action (verb) → adverb Me llamó desesperadamente.
= How did they call? In a desperate way.
Person (subject) → adjective Me llamó desesperado.
= The person was desperate (maybe their voice was calm, but they were desperate).

Tip: If you can answer “in what way?” → choose an adverb. If you can answer “what is the person/thing like?” → choose an adjective.

How to form -mente adverbs (fast + reliable)

  1. Start from the feminine singular adjective form.
  2. Add -mente.
perfecto → perfecta + mente perfectamente
claro → clara + mente claramente
admirable → admirable + mente admirablemente
desesperado → desesperada + mente desesperadamente
  • If the adjective ends in -e or a consonant, you usually add -mente directly: fácil → fácilmente, legal → legalmente.
  • Spelling is kept when needed: rápida → rápidamente.

Where to place them (natural word order)

  • Most common: after the verb or at the end.
After the verb La abogada actuó admirablemente.
End of the sentence Explicó la política de cookies claramente.

Self-check: If moving the adverb to the end still sounds fine, your placement is probably natural.

When you can use “muy” (and when you usually can’t)

  • You can use muy with adverbs that express degree/intensity of how something is done.
  • Typical: muy claramente, muy severamente, muy cuidadosamente.
  • Usually not with means/method adverbs (how you did it as a channel/tool):

muy telefónicamente
Better: por teléfono, solo por teléfono, principalmente por teléfono.

Adverbs that can change the verb’s meaning (key business Spanish)

Some short adverbs don’t just describe “how” — they form a fixed meaning with the verb.

salir = to leave Salí de la oficina a las seis.
salir mal = to go badly / turn out badly La campaña salió mal por falta de análisis previo.
tratar = to deal with / discuss a topic En la reunión tratamos el presupuesto.
tratar bien = to treat someone well En tienda debemos tratar bien a la clientela.

Self-check: If the English translation becomes a different verb (“turn out”, “treat”) you’re probably looking at a verb + adverb expression, not just an optional adverb.

“Así”: the practical shortcut

  • Así means “like this / in this way”.
  • Use it to refer to a method, a stance, or what follows (often with a colon).

Yo pienso así: debemos revisar el expediente.

Final self-check (30 seconds before you speak/write)

  1. Am I describing the action? → use -mente (or bien/mal/así).
  2. Am I describing a person/thing? → use an adjective (agreement matters).
  3. Does “muy” sound like intensity? If not, replace it (e.g., solo, principalmente, por + method).
  4. If it’s salir mal / tratar bien, learn it as a set expression.
  1. They normally come after the verb or at the end of the sentence.
  2. The adverb describes the action (⇒ me llamó desesperadamente); the adjective describes the person (⇒ me llamó desesperado).
AdverbioEjemplo
PerfectamenteEl contrato quedó redactado perfectamente. (The contract was drafted perfectly.)
DesesperadamenteEl cliente reaccionó desesperadamente ante la sanción. (The client reacted desperately to the penalty.)
DolorosamenteEl cliente aceptó dolorosamente la resolución. (The client accepted the decision painfully.)
AdmirablementeLa abogada actuó admirablemente en el juicio. (The lawyer acted admirably in court.)
AsíYo pienso así: debemos revisar el expediente. (This is how I think: we should review the case file.)

Exceptions!

  1. Some adverbs allow muy when they express degree ⇒ muy severamente, muy claramente. It is not used with adverbs of means ⇒ *muy telefónicamente.
  2. Change in the meaning of the verb: salir = to leave a place ⇒ salir mal = to turn out badly / have a bad result.
  3. Change in the meaning of the verb: tratar = to talk about a topic ⇒ tratar bien = to treat someone well / behave properly toward someone.

Exercise 1: Multiple choice

Instruction: Choose the correct answer

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1. En la reunión de lanzamiento, el comercial explicó el plan de buzoneo ________, sin entrar en tecnicismos. En la reunión de lanzamiento, el comercial explicó el plan de buzoneo claramente, sin entrar en tecnicismos.

At the launch meeting, the sales rep explained the flyer-drop plan ________, without going into technicalities.

2. La agencia actuó ________ al retirar la pegatina de rastreo en cuanto detectó el problema de privacidad. La agencia actuó admirablemente al retirar la pegatina de rastreo en cuanto detectó el problema de privacidad.

The agency acted ________ by removing the tracking sticker as soon as it detected the privacy issue.

3. La campaña ________ porque no medimos el impacto en el público objetivo antes del lanzamiento. La campaña salió mal porque no medimos el impacto en el público objetivo antes del lanzamiento.

The campaign ________ because we did not measure the impact on the target audience before the launch.

4. Si tratáramos ________ a la clientela en el establecimiento, ganaríamos clientes aunque la competencia esté de promoción. Si tratáramos bien a la clientela en el establecimiento, ganaríamos clientes aunque la competencia esté de promoción.

If we treated ________ customers in the store, we would gain customers even if the competition is running a promotion.

Exercise 2: Rewrite the phrases

Instruction: Rewrite each sentence by replacing the adjective with the correct -mente adverb (or "thus") and placing it in a natural position (normally after the verb or at the end).

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  1. El contrato quedó redactado perfecto.
    ⇒ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ Example
    El contrato quedó redactado perfectamente.
    (The contract ended up written perfectly.)
  2. El cliente reaccionó desesperado ante la sanción.
    ⇒ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ Example
    El cliente reaccionó desesperadamente ante la sanción.
    (The client reacted desperately in the face of the sanction.)
  3. La clienta aceptó dolorosa la resolución del juez.
    ⇒ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ Example
    La clienta aceptó dolorosamente la resolución del juez.
    (The client accepted painfully the judge's decision.)
  4. La abogada actuó admirable en el juicio.
    ⇒ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ Example
    La abogada actuó admirablemente en el juicio.
    (The lawyer acted admirably in the trial.)

Exercise 3: Multiple Choice

Instruction: Choose the correct sentence.

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1.
Incorrect: "painful" is an adjective; here an adverb of manner (painfully) is needed to modify the verb segment.
2.
Incorrect: "by phone" is an adverb of means and does not usually combine with "very" (*very by phone sounds incorrect in standard Spanish).
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Alessia Amoroso

Master of Languages, Cultures, Communication

Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia

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Last Updated:

Monday, 07/09/2026 20:07