Question 1

How is the word fácilmente formed?

Accepted Answer

To make an adverb (words that often end in "-ly" in English), you normally take the feminine form of a Spanish adjective and add -mente. The adjective for "easy" is fácil. Because it ends in a consonant rather than -o, it doesn't have a separate feminine form. Since masculine and feminine are the same, you just attach -mente directly to fácil to get fácilmente.

Question 2

Why is there an accent mark on the "a" in fácilmente?

Accepted Answer

When you turn an adjective into an adverb by adding -mente, the new word keeps the exact same written accent mark as the original adjective. Since fácil has an accent mark on the "a", fácilmente keeps it too!

Question 3

Wait, idioma ends in "-a". Why is it masculine (el idioma)?

Accepted Answer

Idioma is a classic exception to the rule that words ending in "-a" are feminine. It comes from ancient Greek, and many Spanish words of Greek origin that end in -ma, -pa, or -ta are masculine. Other common examples you might remember are el problema, el clima, and el mapa.

Question 4

Can I put fácilmente at the beginning of the sentence?

Accepted Answer

Yes, Spanish word order is quite flexible! You could say Fácilmente aprendemos el idioma, which places a little more dramatic emphasis on how easy it is. However, placing the adverb at the end of the sentence, as shown here, is the most standard and natural way to phrase it.

Aprendemos el idioma fácilmente.

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