25 Adverbs
2.4 Without the article and in the plural a ciegas a escondidas a gatas a medias a solas
blindly secretly on all fours by halves alone, privately
de o´ıdas de rodillas de pie en ayunas en cueros
by hearsay on your knees standing fasting naked
Ejemplos No hab´ıa luz y fui a ciegas a mi rec´amara (M )/ habitaci´on Me dijo a escondidas que . . . Los ni˜nos aprenden a andar a gatas muy pronto Todo lo arregla a medias Marta pas´o toda la noche a solas
There was no light so I couldn’t see when I went to my room She told me in secret that . . . Children learn to crawl on all fours very quickly He only does things by halves Martha spent all night alone
2.5 Some adverbial phrases i
a m´as no poder a m´as tardar a sus anchas cuanto antes
with all your might at the latest at your ease as soon as possible
de par en par de vez en cuando gota a gota poco a poco
wide open (door) occasionally drop by drop little by little
Ejemplos Disfrutamos a m´as no poder Regresaremos el lunes a m´as tardar En tu casa me siento a mis anchas M´andamelo cuanto antes La puerta estaba abierta de par en par Voy al teatro de vez en cuando
We enjoyed ourselves enormously We’ll be back by Monday at the latest I feel really at home in your house Send it to me as soon as possible The door was wide open I go to the theater on occasions
ii Many of these adverbial phrases are restricted to certain verbs:
Lo mir´o de hito en hito Le hizo la pregunta a quemarropa
She stared at him He suddenly shot the question at her
iii Many of these adverbial expressions may be further extended by the addition of other adverbs:
Entr´o muy de golpe Lo toma demasiado a la ligera
He suddenly came in She takes it too lightly
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