Bien or buenos/buenas

[tony]

Can someone give me some "simple" general guideline for the use of bien, bueno(s) an buena(s)? I am confused when to use which. Gracias.

[chileno]

Originally Posted by tony

Can someone give me some "simple" general guideline for the use of bien, bueno(s) an buena(s)? I am confused when to use which. Gracias.

Bien = well

Bueno/a = good

Bien, procederé a desmostrarte lo del género masculino y femenino.

Una puerta de buena madera siempre es bien cotizada.

Los zapatos son buenos, siempre y cuando sean de cuero genuino, aunque no garantize este hecho de que sean cómodos.

[Tomisimo]

Bueno

Bueno is the adjective, meaning it modifies nouns, pronouns, or noun phrases.

As an adjective, bueno changes to agree in number and gender with the noun it modifies, thus it can change to be bueno, buenos, buena, buenas. Additionally, bueno is shortened to buen when it comes before a masculine, singular noun.

Sofía hace buena comida. = Sofía makes good food.
Tengo un buen carro. = I have a good car.
Tengo un carro bueno. = I have a good car.
Tiene buenos modales. = She has good manners.
Estas revistas son buenas. = These magazines are good.

Bien

Bien is the adverb, meaning it modifies verbs, or other adverbs.

As an adverb, Bien does not change.

Lo hizo bien. = She did it well.
¡Bien hecho! = Well done! (Good job!)
No puedo cantar bien. = I can' sing well.
La niña puede escribir bien. = The girl can write well.
Estaba corriendo bien rápido. = I was running really fast.
Habló bien fuerte. = She spoke really loud.

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

Bueno(a) is an adjective, except when it's used as an interjection.

Juan es una buena persona.
Juan is a good person.

Mi padre me dio buenos consejos.
My father gave me good pieces of advice.

Tu trabajo no es muy bueno. Vuélvelo a hacer.
Your work is not that good. Do it again.

Contraté a un buen fotógrafo para mi boda. ("Buen" is used instead of "bueno" before a substantive, for euphonic reasons.)
I hired a good photographer for my wedding.


"Bien" is more complicated... it can be a noun, an adverb, sometimes also an interjection... here are some examples:

No basta con pensar. Hay que hacerlo bien.
Thinking is not enough. It has to be done well.

No puedo pronunciar bien el inglés. Necesito practicar más.
I can't pronounce English well. I need practicing more.

Dejo todos mis bienes a mi único hijo.
I leave all my possessions to my only child.

Durante esta crisis, los precios de los bienes y servicios han aumentado mucho.
During this crisis, the prices of goods and services have increased a lot.

-- ¿Cómo estás? (How are you?)
-- Bien, gracias. (Fine, thank you)

-- Terminé la tarea. (I finished my homework.)
-- ¡Bien/Muy bien! ¡Felicidades! (Fine! Congratulations!)


@Hernán: "Garantice" goes with "c"... it comes from a "z".

[Tomisimo]

"Garantice" goes with "c"

"Garantice" is spelled with "c"...

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

¡Uy! I stand corrected. Thank you, David!

[CrOtALiTo]

Originally Posted by tony

Can someone give me some "simple" general guideline for the use of bien, bueno(s) an buena(s)? I am confused when to use which. Gracias.

I will write some examples about your question. I hope you can understand me .

You are good.

Eres bueno.

Hello good afternoon.

Buenas tardes.


If you have some question or doubt about my examples you don't hesitate to ask me.

[chileno]

Originally Posted by AngelicaDeAlquezar

@Hernán: "Garantice" goes with "c"... it comes from a "z".

Oh yes. One of my fingers felt really Spanish today.

Or One of my fingers ha a lisp...?



I need to pay more attention to this.

Thanks. :-)

[bobjenkins]

¡Gracias! Me pregunté cuando usarlos a palabras, ¡es facilísimo!

[Rusty]

Originally Posted by bobjenkins

¡Gracias! Me pregunté cuando usarlos a palabras, ¡es facilísimo!

Me preguntaba cómo usar esas palabras.
= I was wondering how to use those words.

me preguntaba = I was wondering (the wondering started in the past and may still be occurring, habitual or repeated action in the past or setting the stage for another past event)
me pregunté = I wondered (the wondering started and ended in the past)