L03: IRREGULAR ADVERBS OF MANNER

[Peter]

L03: IRREGULAR ADVERBS OF MANNER
(Avverbi irregolari di modo)

Some adverbs of manner are irregular in that they (a) do not stem from any corresponding adjective in the way that adverbs ending –mente do (see Adverbs of Manner), (b) take the masculine form of the adjective, or (c) have no relationship to an adjective.

1 Adverbs that do not stem from a corresponding adjective

Adjective: buono - (good); Adverb: bene - (well)
Adjective: cattivo, brutto - (bad); Adverb: male - (badly) *

* Note that there is no direct adverbial form of cattivo or brutto. In addition, although there is also malamente, it is more common to see male used as an adverb. Male is rarely used as an adjective and then only in idiomatic expressions.

Examples:

Adjective:
Angelo è un buon cantante
Angelo is a good singer

Adverb:
Angelo canta bene
Angelo sings well

Adjective:
È stata una brutta sera per le squadre inglesi
It was a bad night for the English teams

Adverb:
Le squadre inglesi hanno fatto male ieri sera
The English teams did badly last night

2 Adverbs that take the masculine form of the adjective

Some adverbs are simply the same as the masculine adjective, for example piano (softly, gently), forte (fast, loud). Be aware, however, that as an adjective piano means flat, level, clear, simple, but not soft or gentle. Also be aware that where forte means strong, hard, powerful, then the adverbial form can either be forte or fortemente.

Examples:

Là fuori, il vento bisbigliava piano tra gli alberi
Outside, the wind whispered softly through the trees

Mio zio va forte
My uncle drives fast (quickly)

3 Adverbs that have no relationship to an adjective

There are some adverbs that do not have any corresponding adjective, or where the adverbial meaning differs to that of the adjective. Examples are:

volentieri - willingly
adagio - slowly, carefully, gently, softly
altrimenti - otherwise

Examples:

Claudio ha accetato volentieri la responsabilità di piantare le nuove rose
Claudio willingly accepted responsibility for planting the new roses

Gianfranco parlava adagio come se volesse soppesare ogni parola
Gianfranco was speaking slowly, as if he wanted to weigh up each word

Penso che dobbiamo finire ora, altrimenti staremo qui tutta la notte
I think we should finish now, otherwise we will be here all night