Adverbs of manner (avverbi di modo) indicate the manner or mode in which something takes place. A simple way to think of them is as answering the question, “How?” Adverbs of manner are also called qualificativi, as they qualify an adjective or verb.
- Four of the most common adverbs of manner are as follows:
Mi sento bene oggi.
I feel fine today.
Nunzio sta male.
Nunzio is unwell.
Oggi mi sento abbastanza bene.
I’m feeling rather well today.
Veniamo volentieri!
We will gladly come! - Adverbs ending in the suffix -mente make up the largest portion of the adverbs of manner. In fact, most adverbs ending in -mente are avverbi di modo.
Gli sorrise dolcemente.
She smiled at him lovingly.
Vorrei gentilmente sapere se lo studio rimarrà aperto anche domani.
I would kindly like to know if the office will stay open tomorrow.
Il pubblico applaudiva calorosamente.
The audience was clapping warmly.
A quel punto, ha abilmente cambiato argomento.
At that point, she deftly changed the subject. - All adverbs ending with the suffix -oni are adverbs of manner.
L’abbiamo trovato bocconi.
We found him face down.
Mi fa male stare ginocchioni.
It hurts me to be on my knees.
Cercava gli occhiali a tastoni sotto il letto.
He groped around for his glasses under the bed. - Adverbs represented by a qualifying adjective, which are always masculine and singular. In many of these cases, the qualifier and the verb may form an idiomatic phrase.
Ieri ha piovuto forte.
Yesterday it rained hard.
Parla chiaro e dimmi cosa pensi.
Speak out and tell me what you think.
Non tutti gli studenti hanno risposto giusto.
Not all of the students answered correctly.
Durante la guerra, mio nonno rischiò grosso.
During the war, my grandfather was on the brink of death.
Dario lavora sodo.
Dario works hard. - Adverbial phrases are also often adverbs of manner.
In un batter d’occhio è svanito.
In the blink of an eye, he vanished.
Non hanno ancora parlato faccia a faccia.
They still haven’t spoken face to face.