Adverbs with -mente and unchanged forms

In brief

In Brazilian Portuguese, many adverbs describing how something happens end in -mente, much like English adverbs ending in -ly. Other common adverbs, such as bem (well), mal (badly), cedo (early), and tarde (late), have their own forms. Adverbs do not change to match the person doing the action.

Form

Use the feminine singular adjective form + -mente: cuidadoso → cuidadosa → cuidadosamente (carefully); rápido → rápida → rapidamente (quickly). If the adjective has the same masculine and feminine form, add -mente to that form: feliz → felizmente (happily).

Usage

• Use -mente forms to say how someone does something: Ela respondeu calmamente (She answered calmly).
• Use familiar standalone adverbs without adding -mente: Ele trabalha bem (He works well).

Examples

• Ela respondeu rapidamente. — She answered quickly.
• Ele dirige cuidadosamente. — He drives carefully.
• Você fala bem português. — You speak Portuguese well.
• Saímos cedo hoje. — We left early today.

Common mistake

❌ Ele dirige cuidadosomente.

✅ Ele dirige cuidadosamente.

For adjectives with different masculine and feminine forms, add -mente to the feminine singular form: cuidadosa + mente, not cuidadoso + mente.

Remember

For -mente adverbs, start with the feminine singular adjective form. Learn bem, mal, cedo, and tarde as separate adverbs.