Randomly or at random

[ROBINDESBOIS]

can anybody explain the difference of this adverb and prepositional phrase?
CAn you set an example to see their meaning?

[María José]

Originally Posted by ROBINDESBOIS

can anybody explain the difference of this adverb and prepositional phrase?
CAn you set an example to see their meaning?

Randomly or at random are synonymous, but the former is more formal.The Spanish translation is al azar.
There is a syntactic difference between them though: the position they occupy in the sentence is different. Look at the examples below:
The magician chose a card at random from the deck
The books were randomly arranged on the library shelves

[ROBINDESBOIS]

Thank you my fairy godmother

[María José]

You are welcome. I have to confess I quite enjoy your questions.

[pjt33]

Originally Posted by María José

Randomly or at random are synonymous, but the former is more formal.

Cuidado. "Random" también tiene una acepción informal algo como "sorprendente": "I bumped into Fred in the market today. How random is that?!"

Asimismo, "randomly" puede significar "por casualidad", pero "at random" no.

[Perikles]

Originally Posted by pjt33

Cuidado. "Random" también tiene una acepción informal algo como "sorprendente": "I bumped into Fred in the market today. How random is that?!".

That is a really unknown use for me - it must be quite modern.

[María José]

And random can also be used as an adjective:
Our lives are not as random as we think.