Adverb Position

Spanish adverb placement is more flexible than English, but there are clear default positions. If you learn the defaults, you can shift adverbs around later for emphasis without losing your grammatical footing.

The Two Main Rules

The biggest thing to remember is which word the adverb is modifying:

  1. When an adverb modifies a verb, it usually goes after the verb.
  2. When an adverb modifies an adjective or another adverb, it goes before it.

Habla rápidamente.

She speaks quickly.

Es muy bonito.

It's very pretty.

Camina demasiado despacio.

He walks too slowly.

In the last example, demasiado modifies the adverb despacio, so it comes before it. Despacio modifies the verb camina, so it comes after.

Adverbs With Verbs

The neutral position for an adverb modifying a verb is right after the conjugated verb.

Estudié mucho anoche.

I studied a lot last night.

Llegamos tarde a la reunión.

We arrived late to the meeting.

In compound tenses, the adverb can go either after the whole verb phrase or between haber and the past participle. Going after the whole phrase is the most common option.

He trabajado mucho hoy.

I've worked a lot today.

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Unlike English, Spanish does not put adverbs between the subject and the verb. I quickly finished becomes Terminé rápidamente, not Rápidamente terminé in neutral speech (though that inversion is possible for emphasis).

Adverbs With Adjectives and Other Adverbs

When the adverb modifies an adjective or another adverb, it comes immediately before the word it's intensifying. This is a fixed order — you can't move the adverb behind the adjective here.

Es una casa muy grande.

It's a very big house.

Estoy bastante cansado.

I'm quite tired.

Canta increíblemente bien.

She sings incredibly well.

Short Time and Frequency Adverbs

Some short adverbs like siempre, nunca, jamás, ya, and todavía love to sit right in front of the verb. They can go after the verb too, but pre-verb is the most natural everyday position.

Siempre llego a tiempo.

I always arrive on time.

Nunca como carne.

I never eat meat.

Ya terminé el libro.

I already finished the book.

See Adverbs of Frequency for a full list.

Adverbs at the Beginning or End of a Sentence

Longer time expressions and -mente adverbs can be placed at the beginning of a sentence for topicalization (setting the scene) or at the end for afterthought or contrast. Both are natural.

Ayer fuimos al mercado.

Yesterday we went to the market.

Fuimos al mercado ayer.

We went to the market yesterday.

Normalmente, no trabajo los domingos.

Normally, I don't work on Sundays.

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Starting a sentence with an adverb is a good way to emphasize the time or manner. It often replaces the sort of stress English gets from voice alone — compare "I *usually work on Saturdays" with *Normalmente, trabajo los sábados.

Negative Adverbs and Double Negation

No always comes directly before the verb. Other negative adverbs like nunca, nada, or tampoco can either replace no (when they come before the verb) or combine with no in double negation (when they come after).

Nunca he estado en Perú.

I've never been to Peru.

No he estado nunca en Perú.

I've never been to Peru.

Both of these mean the same thing. See Negative Adverbs for the full rules.

What You Can't Split

Two things Spanish doesn't like to split with an adverb:

  • Ser/estar + adjective: don't insert an adverb between them. Write es muy amable, not es amable muy.
  • Article + noun: el libro interesante, not el interesante libro (unless the adjective changes meaning when front-placed).

Mi hermana es muy alta.

My sister is very tall.

Common mistakes

❌ Yo rápidamente corrí a la puerta.

Wrong: manner adverbs usually follow the verb in Spanish.

✅ Corrí rápidamente a la puerta.

Correct: the adverb sits after the verb.

❌ Él no come nunca carne.

Wrong: nunca should come right after no, or replace no entirely.

✅ Él no come carne nunca. / Él nunca come carne.

Correct: nunca at the end, or before the verb without no.

❌ Hoy yo no quiero ir.

Not wrong, but placing yo after the adverb sounds more natural.

✅ Hoy no quiero ir.

Correct: subject pronouns are usually dropped after time adverbs.

Where to Next

Related Topics

  • Adverbs OverviewA1 — An introduction to Spanish adverbs, what they modify, and the main categories you'll encounter
  • Forming Adverbs with -MenteB1 — How to turn adjectives into adverbs by adding -mente, the Spanish equivalent of English -ly
  • Adverbs of TimeA1 — Common Spanish adverbs that tell you when something happens, from hoy and ayer to ya and todavía
  • Adverbs of FrequencyA1 — How to say always, sometimes, and never in Spanish, and where these adverbs go in the sentence
  • Adverbs of QuantityA2 — Spanish adverbs like muy, mucho, poco, and bastante that tell you how much or to what degree