In English, we often add "-ly" to an adjective to make it an adverb (like changing clear to clearly). Italian has a similar suffix, -mente. However, certain common adjectives skip the suffix entirely and act directly as adverbs to describe how an action is performed.
Invariable Adjectives as Adverbs
When an adjective acts as an adverb, it becomes invariable. It always stays in its default singular form, regardless of the subject's gender or number.
Common pairings include:
- dormire sodo (to sleep soundly)
- parlare piano (to speak softly/quietly)
- camminare piano (to walk softly/quietly)
- parlare chiaro (to speak clearly)
- vedere chiaro (to see clearly)
- russare forte (to snore loudly)
| If you snore, I do not sleep soundly. | Se russi, non dormo sodo. |
| Speak softly, she suffers from insomnia. | Parla piano, lei soffre di insonnia. |
| You are too sleepy to speak clearly. | Sei troppo assonnato per parlare chiaro. |
Noisy Nights
To talk about sleep struggles, you will use vocabulary like il chiasso (the racket), russare (to snore), sbadigliare (to yawn), and assonnato (sleepy/drowsy).
| Grandpa snores louder than a bear. | Il nonno russa più forte di un orso. |
| How do you sleep soundly with all this racket? | Come fai a dormire sodo con tutto questo chiasso? |
| The sleepy child yawns and goes to bed. | Il bambino assonnato sbadiglia e va a letto. |
When a new mattress (il materasso) or earplugs (i tappi) aren't enough to cure a bad case of insomnia (l'insonnia), you might need a sleeping pill (il sonnifero).
| The doctor prescribed her a sleeping pill for insomnia. | Il medico le ha prescritto un sonnifero per l'insonnia. |
| Walk softly, he just took the sleeping pill. | Cammina piano, ha appena preso il sonnifero. |