Here you will learn the main spanish adverbs that can be used in the case of an affirmation, a negation or a doubt.

Adverbs of affirmation

Si (yes) :
“¿ Estás cansado ?
– Si, me levanté pronto para ir a trabajar.”
(“Are you tired?
– Yes, I got up early to go to work.”)

De verdad (really) :
“Maria está esperando gemelos.
– ¿ De verdad ?”
(“Maria is expecting twins.
– Really?”)

Por supuesto (of course) :
“¿ Clara vendrá con su marido y sus hijos ?
– Por supuesto.”
(“Clara will come with her husband and children?
– Of course.”)

Claro que si (of course / Certainly! / By all means!) :
“¿ Fanny ha aprobado su examen ?
– Claro que si.”
(“Did Fanny pass her exam?
– Of course she did.”)

Seguro (for sure) :
“Nunca acceptará viajar sin su perro.
– Es seguro.”
(“She will never agree to travel without her dog.
– That’s for sure.”)

También (too) :
“Voy a hacer deporte este fin de semana.
– Yo también.”
(“I’m going to go work out this weekend.
– Me too.”

Bueno (fine / okay) :
“No me parece buena idea que salgas ahora.
– Te prometo que seré prudente.
– Bueno…”
(“You going out now doesn’t seem like a good idea.
– I promise I’ll be careful.
– Well, okay…”)

Claro (Exactly! Right! Of course!) :
“Ese hombre debería cuidar más a sus animales. No parecen estar sanos.
– Claro.”
(“This man should take better care of his animals. They don’t look healthy.
– Exactly.”)

Verdaderamente (truly) :
“La realidad es verdaderamente preocupante.” (“The reality is truly concerning.”)

Adverbs of negation

No (no) :
“Debes hacer tus deberes.
– No, no tengo ganas mamá.
– No me importa que no tengas ganas. Debes hacerlos.”
(“You have to do your homework.
– No, I don’t want to, Mom.
– It doesn’t matter if you don’t feel like it. You have to do it.”)

En absoluto (not at all) :
“¿ Te gusta esta canción ?
– No… en absoluto.”
(Do you like this song?
– No…not at all.”)

Nunca (never) :
“¿ Ya has jugado fútbol ?
– Nunca.”
(“Have you ever played soccer?
– Never.”)

Note: “Nunca” is used when an action has never happened but could happen in the future.

Jamás (never) :
“¡ Vas a poder bailar el flamenco con tus amigas !
– ¡ Jamás !”
(“You will be able to dance flamenco with your friends!
– Never!”)

Note: “Jamás” is used when an action has never happened and will never happen.

Tampoco (neither) :
“Yo no sé que hacer en este caso.
– Yo tampoco”.
(“I don’t know what to do in this case.
– Neither do I.”)

Adverbs of doubt

Quizá(s)/ tal vez / acaso (maybe) :
These forms are used with the subjunctive.

“Quizás venga.” (“Maybe it will come.”)
“Acaso esté cansado” (“Maybe he’s tired.”)

Note: these three adverbs can also be used to express a lighter doubt. In this case, we use the indicative.

“Quizás tienen razón.” (“They may be right” (in the sense of “They are surely right” since the doubt is very slight).

Probablemente (probably) :
“Probablemente nunca has visto de verdad un oso.” (“You’ve probably never seen a real bear.”)

Posiblemente (maybe / possibly) :
“El contacto, y posiblemente el aire, serían las vías de transmisión de ese virus.” (Touch, and perhaps air, would be the routes of transmission for this virus.”)

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