Italian 3.8.1. Other Adverbs

In this lesson, we cover more adverbs and adverbial phrases in Italian.

Given that an adverb can be created easily from a corresponding adjective, it is difficult to cover a vast number of adverbs in the limited space of this book.

Moreover, there are often multiple adverbs that convey a similar meaning. Here are some examples:

1. To say “certainly” or “surely,” you could use one of the following options: “certamente,” “sicuramente,” “certo,” or even “senza dubbio” (undoubtedly).

2. To say “perhaps” or “maybe,” you could use: “forse,” “magari,” or “può essere.”

3. To say “really,” “truly,” or “actually,” you could use: “realmente,” “veramente,” “davvero,” or “in realtà.” Remember that “attualmente,” in Italian, means “currently,” not “actually.”

4. To say “finally,” you could use: “finalmente,” “alla fine,” “infine,” or “per ultimo.”^[1]

[1] There are some subtle differences here:

• “per ultimo” means “lastly” (in a list or order).
• “infine” mean “at last”” or “in the end” (often regarding something that is hoped for).
• “finalmente” and “alla fine”” (the former is more formal) can mean “lastly”” (in a list or order) or “in the end” (not necessarily regarding something that is hoped for).

In this section, we list some of the most common adverbs and adverbial phrases in Italian. You will learn more adverbs as you practice Italian by reading, listening, and understanding the general rules explained in this lesson.

Adverbs of Place

vicino	near	lontano	far
davanti	in front ahead	indietro	behind
dentro	inside	fuori	outside
avanti	in front ahead	ovunque dappertutto	everywhere
da nessuna parte	nowhere	a bordo	on board
in giro	around	in casa	at home

Adverbs of Time

presto	soon early	dopo più tardi	later
in tempo	on time	tardi	late
prima	before	dopo	after
sempre	always	mai	never
spesso sovente	often	all’improvviso improvvisamente	suddenly
solitamente	usually	poi	then
brevemente	briefly	frequentemente	frequently
all’inizio	in the beginning	alla fine	in the end
tutti i giorni	every day	a giorni alterni	every other day
a breve termine	in the short term	a lungo termine	in the long term
allora	then at that time	subito	right away immediately
avantieri l’altro ieri	the day before yesterday	l’altro ieri sera	the night before last
nel frattempo intanto	meanwhile	quotidianamente giornalmente	daily
settimanalmente	weekly	mensilmente	monthly
ormai	by now	immediatamente	immediately

Adverbs of Quantity

molto	very much	solo[2]	only just
troppo	too	un po’	a little
di più	more	meno	less
tanto	so much	abbastanza	enough
quasi	almost	affatto	not at all

Adverbs of Manner

come	as like	così	like this
insieme	together	separatamente	separately
poco a poco	little by little	passo per passo	step by step
a voce alta	loudly	di fretta	in a hurry
seriamente sul serio	seriously	appena	just barely
inoltre peraltro	moreover	faccia a faccia	face to face
fortunatamente per fortuna	fortunately	sfortunatamente purtroppo	unfortunately

Adverbial Expressions

volentieri	willingly	a malincuore	unwillingly
consapevolmente	knowingly	alla moda	fashionably
a memoria	by heart	a piedi	on foot
sulla strada	on the way	all’estero	overseas abroad

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