Adverbs of Manner (-mente)
When you want to describe exactly how an action is performed—like critiquing a dancer's moves or an actor's delivery—you use an adverb of manner.
Just like English often adds "-ly" to adjectives to create adverbs (like "smoothly" or "brilliantly"), Portuguese uses the suffix -mente.
Adjectives ending in -e or a consonant
For adjectives that end in -e or a consonant (like -l), simply add -mente directly to the end of the word.
Suave (smooth) becomes suavemente:
| The dancer danced smoothly on the stage. | O bailarino dançou suavemente no palco. |
Brilhante (brilliant) becomes brilhantemente:
| The audience liked the show, because the actress sang brilliantly. | O público gostou do espetáculo, porque a atriz cantou brilhantemente. |
If the word ends in a consonant, the rule is exactly the same. Final becomes finalmente, and natural becomes naturalmente:
| Finally, the director came to receive the applause. | Finalmente, o diretor veio receber os aplausos. |
| The director smiled naturally after the applause. | O diretor sorriu naturalmente depois dos aplausos. |
Adjectives ending in -o
If an adjective ends in -o, you must first change it to its feminine form (ending in -a) before adding -mente.
For example, lindo (beautiful) becomes linda, which then becomes lindamente:
| The audience wanted to hear the music and the actors sang beautifully. | O público quis ouvir a música e os atores cantaram lindamente. |
Similarly, perfeito (perfect) becomes perfeita, which gives us perfeitamente:
| Finally, the actress sings perfectly on the stage. | Finalmente, a atriz canta perfeitamente no palco. |
