Editing Vulgar Latin (section)

=== Adverbs ===
Classical Latin had a number of different suffixes that made [[adverb]]s from [[adjective]]s: {{wikt-lang|la|cārus}}, "dear", formed {{wikt-lang|la|cārē}}, "dearly"; {{wikt-lang|la|ācriter}}, "fiercely", from {{wikt-lang|la|ācer}}; {{wikt-lang|la|crēbrō}}, "often", from {{wikt-lang|la|crēber}}. All of these derivational suffixes were lost in Vulgar Latin.

An alternative formation with a feminine [[ablative case|ablative]] form modifying {{wikt-lang|la|mente}} (originally the ablative of ''mēns'', and so meaning "with a ... mind") gave rise to a widespread rule for forming adverbs in many Romance languages: adding the suffix -''ment(e)'' to the feminine form of the adjective. So {{wikt-lang|la|vēlōx}} ("quick") instead of {{wikt-lang|la|vēlōciter}} ("quickly") gave ''veloci mente'' (originally "with a quick mind", "quick-mindedly"), and ''-mente'' became a productive suffix for forming adverbs in Romance such as Italian {{wikt-lang|it|chiaramente}}, Spanish {{wikt-lang|es|claramente}} 'clearly'. The development of an originally autonomous form (the noun ''mente'', meaning 'mind') into a suffix (although remaining in free lexical use in other contexts e.g. Italian ''venire in mente'' 'come to mind') is a textbook case of [[grammaticalization]].