Italian Adverbs of Manner - Avverbi di Modo

In English, adverbs of manner (avverbi di modo) are ones that end in -ly, like carefully or slowly. They indicate the way (the manner) in which an action takes place. Mia madre cucina egregiamente. - My mom cooks very well.La neve cade morbidamente sul davanzale della finestra. - The snow falls softly on the windowsill.Sono andato in fretta e furia dal dottore perchà ¨ non mi sentivo bene. - I hurried quickly to the doctor because I was not feeling well.Devi mescolare energicamente il composto prima di passare la teglia nel forno. - You must stir the mixture vigorously before transferring the pan to the oven. Which adverbs end in -mente? adverbs ending in -mente, which are the most numerous, and are formed by adding the suffix  to: The feminine form ending in -a: Alta—altamente high—highlyAspra—aspramente bitter—bitterlyCalorosa—calorosamente warm—warmlyOnesta—onestamente honest—honestly Adjectives ending in -e: Felice—felicemente happy—happilyForte—fortemente strong—stronglyLieve—lievemente slight—slightly NOTE: adjectives ending with the syllables -le and -re that are preceded by a vowel lose the final -e before adding the suffix -mente: Abile—abilmente skillful—skillfullyAgevole—agevolmente easy—easilyRegolare—regolarmente regular—regularly Adjectives ending in -lo: Benevolo—benevolmente kind—kindlyMalevolo—malevolmente spiteful—spitefully NOTE: the suffix -mente cannot be added to adjectives indicating color as well as a small number of other adjectives such as buono - good, cattivo - bad, giovane - young, vecchio - old. Adverbs ending with the suffix -oni, which is added to nouns and to forms derived from verbs: Ginocchio—ginocchioni knee—kneelingPenzolo—penzoloni bunch, cluster—hanging, danglingTastare—tastoni to feel, to probe—gropingly Adverbs which take the singular masculine form of certain aggettivi qualificativi (qualifying adjectives): Vederci chiaro - to see it clearlyCamminare piano - to walk slowlyParlare forte - to speak loudlyGuardare storto - to look askewRispondere giusto - to answer correctly Several adverbs, which are derived from Latin: Bene - wellMale - badlyMeglio - betterPeggio - worse Locuzioni avverbiali di modo (adverbs of manner idioms), of which there are several, including: allimpazzata - wildlya pià ¹ non posso - like crazya piedi - by footdi corsa - in a rushdi sicuro - surely, certainlydi solito - usuallyin fretta - quickly, fastin un batter docchio - in the blink of an eye The Origin of Adverbs of Manner An avverbio di modo that ends with the suffix -mente is derived from a Latin phrase consisting of an adjective and the noun mente: for example, the Latin devota mente means with devout intent, with devout feeling; sana mente means with sound purpose, with good purpose and so on. Over time the recurring use evolved; the second element of the phrase lost both its nominal quality as well as its semantic value and became a simple suffix. Thus was born the adverb: devotamente (devout), sanamente (soundly), fortemente (loudly). In any case, the adverb of manner maintains clear evidence of its former phrase state: the female gender of the adjective (devotamente, not devotomente, given that the Latin noun mente is feminine). Adverbs ending in -mente replaced vulgar Latin adverbs ending in -e and classical Latin adverbs ending in -iter: for example, devotamente substituted for the Latin devote, and solamente substituted for singulariter.