bien or bueno

I am just starting the lessons but am wondering when it is appropriate to use muy bien versus muy bueno versus que bueno, etc.

Hello jcaiken, This is a great question. I can see how confusing it can be for a student to distinguish between the three: "muy bien," "muy bueno," and "¡qué bueno!" I'll try to explain, but it's a hard one. "Muy bien" and "muy bueno" both mean, "Very good." If you use either of them, people will understand what you are trying to say although it might not be gramatically correct. I could tell you that "bien" is an adverb (describing an action) while "bueno" is an adjective (describing a thing), but unless you're good at grammar, that won't mean much. From a speaker's perspective, I would be inclined to use "muy bien" when I want to express a feeling, as in, "I'm feeling good" or, "I feel good about something," like a job or an assignment. Por ejemplo, the questions: "¿Cómo estás?" (how are you?), "¿Cómo te sientes?" (How do you feel?), and "¿Cómo te fue en tu trabajo?" (How did you go at work?) can all be answered by saying, "Muy bien." On the other hand I would use "muy bueno" when I'm describing things or objects. Por ejemplo: "Mi auto es muy bueno" (My car is very good) or "Este café está muy bueno" (This coffee is very good). When you come to ""¡Qué bueno!" it actually means, "How great!" You would use it as an expression of happiness, or you could also use it as an expression of relief, e.g., "Ah, qué bueno" (Oh, that's good.). This is really only a glimpse of what these three phrases can be used for, but hopefully that will give you a little head start on them. All the best on your studies, Mauricio

[quo]*Quote:* "Este café está muy bueno" (This coffee is very good). [/quo] Oh-oh - there's that Ser and Estar thing again. I would have assumed that it would be "Este café *es* muy bueno", since the coffee is either good or bad, and it's not a temporary characteristic. Or do you use estar to describe how the coffee has been prepared? - ie, it's good coffee in the sense that it has been prepared properly? (I'll never get the hang of ser and estar..)

Regarding SER vs ESTAR. I'm an analytical type so my brain would just love to dig into a debate over how "temporary" or how "permanent" a condition really is (if I let it). So, to compensate for this, I purposely oversimply it and I mostly end up guessing correctly. I have had many cups of coffee in my days. Good, bad, hot, cold and some were downright terrible!! After I drink it, it is gone... "ESTAR". However, all of the coffee beans I have ever seen are always brown..... SER. One of my brother's is taller and younger than me and one is shorter and older than me. We will always be in this situation.... SER. You can probably think of many examples of things that seem counter-intuitive (e.g., how permament is marriage really??) but for me, keeping it very simple seems to be working. :)

Along the lines of the counter-intuitive notion, try this, one you have mentioned: Soy casado (I am married) BUT Esta muerto (he is dead) Marriage, while theoretically should be forever, really isn't necessarily so. However, as far as I know, when you're dead, it's pretty permanent, religious convictions aside. However, this is the way I tend to relate them. SER is used for intrinsic aspects of a thing, things that are not subject to flip flop back and forth second by second, minute by minute, and etc. Therefore, SOY casado makes sense, becuase if you're married at 12:45, it is rather likely that at 12:47 you'll still be married. This is similar to Soy abogado (I am a lawyer). While you can change professions, the likelihood of a minute by minute change is rather slim. ESTAR is used for qualities that are not intrinsic. Esta muerto makes sense if you consider that the intrinsic quality of a living thing is LIFE, and that death, necessarily, is NOT an intrinsic quality of life. Or at least that is mi dos centavos...

Hola taalibeen. I really like the points you've made. Following up on what you've said about the "intrinsic aspects" notion, I'd like to mention two passages from one of my favorite books about learning Spanish, Joseph J. Keenan's _Breaking Out of Beginner's Spanish_. Keenan has this to say about the use of _estar_ with _muerto_: [quo]*Quote:* ...being dead may be a lasting experience, but it's not an essential aspect of the individual's nature. When the person is remembered and eulogized years later, people won't say "He [or she] was a good person, a kind person, and a dead person."[/quo] Hence, one uses _estar_. Keenan also points out that some words actually change in meaning, depending on whether they're used with _ser_ or _estar_: [quo]*Quote:* _Es un borracho_, for instance, means that someone is a 'drunkard' -- a habitual drunk or a wino. _Está borracho_, on the other hand, means 'He is drunk [at the moment].' _Es callado_ refers to a man who is 'quiet,' not at any given moment but as a way of life--it's his nature; he is a person who keeps to himself and speaks softly and rarely. To say of another man _está callado_ means something quite different: he is quiet--now. We are given no insight to his overall personality; we just know that in this place and at this time, he's keeping his mouth shut.[/quo] I think this fits well with what you've said.

[quo]*Quote from * Mauricio I could tell you that "bien" is an adverb (describing an action) while "bueno" is an adjective (describing a thing), but unless you're good at grammar, that won't mean much. From a speaker's perspective, I would be inclined to use "muy bien" when I want to express a feeling, as in, "I'm feeling good" or, "I feel good about something," like a job or an assignment. Por ejemplo, the questions: "¿Cómo estás?" (how are you?), "¿Cómo te sientes?" (How do you feel?), and "¿Cómo te fue en tu trabajo?" (How did you go at work?) can all be answered by saying, "Muy bien." On the other hand I would use "muy bueno" when I'm describing things or objects. Por ejemplo: "Mi auto es muy bueno" (My car is very good) or "Este café está muy bueno" (This coffee is very good). Mauricio[/quo] Mauricio, gracias por explicar claramente los usos de 'bien' y 'bueno'. Ahora entiendo completamente.