Have you noticed that the Spanish expressions Es bueno and Está bien are often used in very similar contexts in which both are equivalents of "It's good"? The same can be said for Es malo and Está mal, which can both mean "It's bad." As this can be a bit confusing, today's lesson will point out some scenarios in which these phrases can function both similarly and differently.
One of the most challenging aspects of learning or mastering Spanish is understanding the difference between the verbs ser and estar, which both mean "to be." Put in the simplest of terms:
-Ser tends to be used for more permanent qualities and is accompanied by adjectives, which must agree grammatically with the nouns they modify in terms of number and gender.
-Estar describes more variable states like emotions and goes with adverbs, which do not change forms.
With this in mind, let's take a look at examples of es bueno/malo and está bien/mal, noting the difference in meaning.
Ella es muy buena.
She is very good.
Caption 30, Guillermina y Candelario La Señora Pulpo
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Ya, ya, tranquilos, tranquilos, ella está bien.
It's OK, it's OK, don't worry, don't worry, she's fine.
Caption 15, La Sucursal del Cielo Capítulo 3 - Part 12
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While es buena refers to the girl's character being "good" in a more permanent sense, está bien is employed to express that, at that moment, the character is "fine," as in "safe" or "OK." We also commonly see this use of está bien to convey that a person is "doing" or feeling "fine" at a determined moment, or that a situation is "OK" or "alright":
Está bien, Luis.
It's OK, Luis.
Caption 27, Extr@: Extra en español Ep. 8: La prima de la dueña - Part 5
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En español decimos: "Es que es muy malo".
In Spanish, we say: "Es que es muy malo" [It's just that he's very bad].
Caption 86, Amaya El burrito Luz - Part 2
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Y si ahora vuelvo a hablar del tema es porque su señora madre está mal.
And if now I talk about the issue again it's because your mother is ill.
Caption 37, Muñeca Brava 33 El partido - Part 3
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In these examples, we see es malo used, albeit ironically, to talk about the donkey's general "bad" character, while está mal expresses that the mother is currently "ill." Estar mal is also used frequently to say that people, animals, etc., are doing poorly at a specific point.
On the other hand, when es bueno/a and está bien are used to talk about certain things or concepts, they can function in a quite interchangeable manner. Let's explore two common scenarios in which this happens.
When describing quality, es bueno/a and está bien are often virtually synonymous. As an example, in response to the question ¿Qué tal esa película? (How's that movie?), to indicate that it is "very good," one could reply either Esa película es muy buena or Esa película está muy bien since both mean "That movie is very good." Let's look at some more examples where es bueno/a and está bien could potentially substitute one another.
Entonces, este mantra es muy bueno
So, this mantra is very good
Caption 69, Ana Teresa Introducción a los mantras
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In this case, Entonces, este mantra está muy bien could be used to express the same idea with no change in translation.
Pero está muy bien el metro.
But the subway is very good.
Caption 45, Isabel y Paula contigo Transporte público en Madrid - Part 3
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Here, one could also say Pero es muy bueno el metro and mean the same thing.
Note that, although you could use es malo/a to say that something is "bad," when using está, it would be more common to hear no está bien than está mal, for example, Ese libro no está muy bien (That book isn't very good).
Let's now examine examples where es bueno and está bien could substitute one another for the purpose of expressing judgment about what's good.
"Es bueno que vivas sola".
"It's good that you live alone."
Caption 57, Carlos comenta La sucursal del cielo - Part 2
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"Está bien que estudies para el examen de mañana"
"It's good for you to study for tomorrow's exam"
Caption 48, Carlos explica Cómo expresar opiniones en español - Part 4
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Keep in mind that, due to the subjective nature of both sentences, the verbs that follow both es bueno and está bien are conjugated in the subjunctive. Now, let's see similar examples with es malo and está mal that are also quite interchangeable:
"Está mal que Roberto trabaje tanto".
"It's bad that Roberto works so much."
Caption 76, Carlos explica Cómo expresar opiniones en español - Part 4
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Mis padres me dicen que eso es malo
My parents tell me that that is bad
Caption 25, Club de las ideas Seguridad en internet
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Take into account, however, that when what is being described entails a moral judgment about something or a statement about the correctness of information, está bien/mal would be preferable, as we see below, noting the change in translation.
Lo que usted hace está mal.
What you're doing is wrong.
Caption 87, Muñeca Brava 48 - Soluciones - Part 6
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Sin embargo, el artículo "los" es masculino plural, así que no está bien.
However, the article, "los" [the], is masculine plural, so it's incorrect.
Captions 77-78, Carlos explica La concordancia gramatical - Part 1
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While we have talked about ser accompanying bueno/a and estar going with bien/mal, and it would be totally incorrect to say es bien or es mal, there are cases in which está bueno/a or está malo/a are commonly used. Let's take a look at some common ones:
Está bueno.
It's good.
Caption 16, Los Años Maravillosos Capítulo 12 - Part 1
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Está buena la casa, ¿eh?
The house is nice, huh?
Caption 26, Disputas La Extraña Dama - Part 10
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Que cante mi gente -Y está buena, pero qué buena está
Sing along, my people -And she is hot, but how hot she is
Caption 35, Héctor Lavoe Mi gente
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Juan se queda en casa hoy ya que está malo.
Juan is staying home today since he's sick.
You probably recall from earlier in the lesson that estar mal is another option for talking about sickness in Spanish, so keep your ears open for both.
On that note, we will conclude this lesson, which we hope has helped you to understand when the extremely common Spanish expressions es bueno/malo and está bien/mal can be used interchangeably and when one option is preferable... and don't forget to write us with your comments and questions.
Let's talk about the Spanish conjugation of regular verbs. In particular, let's see how to form the preterite conjugation of regular verbs ending in -ar, -er, and -ir. But first, let's review the main idea behind the preterite tense in Spanish.
In very simple terms, when we talk about the Spanish preterite tense, we are talking about the simple past, in other words, a completed action that took place at a determined point in the past. Let's look at an example from the series where our friend Carlos talks about this tense:
Ayer trabajé hasta las ocho de la noche.
Yesterday I worked until eight at night.
Caption 30, Carlos explica - El pretérito Cap. 1: Perfecto simple o Indefinido
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In this example, trabajé is the preterite conjugation of the regular verb trabajar for the first-person singular yo (I). Note that the only change necessary to form the preterite in this example is removing the -ar ending of the infinitive verb and replacing it with the ending -é.
There are a couple of things we want to mention about the conjugations you will find throughout this tutorial.
1. While usted (the formal, second-person singular "you") does not appear in our conjugation lists, keep in mind that when using that pronoun, the verb is conjugated in the exact same way as verbs in the third-person singular forms with él (he) and ella (she). Let's take a look at this in action with the preterite conjugation of the verb hablar (to speak/talk):
Usted habló de Fabio Sirenio.
You talked about Fabio Sirenio.
Caption 83, Yago - 7 Encuentros - Part 14
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Entonces él habló con...
So, he spoke with...
con los pescadores y los pescadores aceptaron.
with the fishermen and the fishermen accepted.
Caption 17, Instinto de conservación - Parque Tayrona
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2. In order to offer a more simplistic verb conjugation snapshot, in this article, we only employ the masculine versions of the plural forms nosotros (we), vosotros (you), and ellos (they). That said, keep in mind that the conjugations are the same for the feminine forms nosotras, vosotras, and ellas.
3. Just like usted, ustedes (the standard second person plural "you" in Latin America and the formal second person plural in Spain) does not appear among the conjugations shared here. However, keep in mind that the conjugations of verbs with "ustedes" are the exact same as the third-person plural forms utilized with ellos and ellas (they). Let's look at an example of this with the preterite conjugation of the verb cantar (to sing):
Ustedes cantaron muy bien (You guys sang very well).
Ellos/Ellas cantaron muy bien (They sang very well).
Having said all this, let's explore the preterite conjugations of some regular verbs in Spanish.
Let's take a look at the preterite conjugation of the verb hablar (to speak).
Yo hablé (I spoke).
Tú hablaste (You spoke).
Él/Ella habló (He/She spoke).
Nosotros hablamos (We spoke).*
Vosotros hablasteis (You spoke).
Ellos hablaron (They spoke).
* It's important to note that because the verb conjugation for the first person plural "nosotros" (we) is the same for both the simple present and simple past tenses, the speaker's intention must be determined by context as follows:
Nosotros estudiamos mucho todos los días (We study a lot every day).
Ayer nosotros estudiamos mucho (Yesterday, we studied a lot).
Example 1.: The verb comprar (to buy)
¡Y compraste melones en vez de limones!*
And you bought melons instead of lemons!
Caption 16, Extr@: Extra en español - Ep. 2: Sam va de compras
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* Remember that pronouns are frequently omitted in Spanish. Thus, in the example above and without changing the meaning, one could say: "¡Y tú compraste melones en vez de limones!" However, despite the fact that the speaker does not use the pronoun here, the -aste verb ending lets the listener know that the person referred to is "tú" (you).
Example 2.: The verb escuchar (to listen/hear)
La canción que escuchamos
The song that we heard
introduce la quinta parte del primer episodio.
introduces the fifth part of the first episode.
Caption 54, Carlos comenta - Los Años Maravillosos - La década de los 80 y música
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Let's take a look at the preterite conjugation of the regular verb comer (to eat).
Yo comí (I ate).
Tú comiste (You ate).
Él/Ella comió (He/She ate).
Nosotros comimos (We ate).
Vosotros comisteis (You ate).
Ellos comieron (They ate).
Example 1.: The verb aprender (to learn)
...y aprendí que los pulpos pueden cambiar de color.
...and I learned that octopi can change color.
Caption 45, Guillermina y Candelario - La Señora Pulpo
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Example 2.: The verb vender (to sell)
Creo que vendimos unos quinientos dólares en unas...
I think we sold about five hundred dollars (worth) in about...
tres horas, dos horas.
three hours, two hours.
Captions 25-26, Un café con Julia - Año nuevo
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Let's take a look at the preterite conjugation of the verb vivir (to live).
Yo viví (I lived).
Tú viviste (You lived).
Él/Ella vivió (He/She lived).
Nosotros vivimos (We lived).
Vosotros vivisteis (You lived).
Ellos vivieron (They lived).
Example 1.: The verb escribir (to write)
¿Por qué dices eso?
Why do you say that?
Porque una vez me escribiste
Because once you wrote to me
contándome que te casabas en Nueva York.
telling me that you were getting married in New York.
Captions 61-62, Yago - 6 Mentiras - Part 5
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Example 2.: The verb abrir (to open)
Primero, Lisa Bernal abrió la herida.
First, Lisa Bernal opened the wound.
Caption 61, Los Años Maravillosos - Capítulo 6 - Part 4
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And with this example, we have reached the end of this lesson. But before we go, a little homework for you: go ahead and choose some other regular verbs and practice the Spanish conjugation of the preterite tense. Sooner or later, you will be able to master those preterite endings! We hope you enjoyed this lesson, and don't forget to leave us your comments and suggestions. ¡Hasta la próxima!
Do you know how to use a punto as opposed to apunto? Do you know the meaning of the expression "estar a punto de"? Let's start this lesson with a little quiz. Which term would you use in the following sentences, a punto or apunto?:
Te ______ en la lista de pacientes.
I'll write you down on the patient list.
What about this one?:
En 1985, Colombia estuvo ______ de conseguir la paz.
In 1985, Colombia was about to achieve peace.
Let's review the meaning of a punto and apunto.
A punto is an adverbial phrase that can be used in the following two ways:
1. To indicate that something is ready for the end it has been prepared for.
2. As a synonym of "timely" or "on time".
Here's one example:
¿Esto lo hago hasta que quede a punto de nieve?
Shall I do this until it forms peaks [literally "until it looks like snow"]?
-Has'... Ah, no, eh... -Claro.
-Unt'... Oh, no, um... -Of course.
Caption 9, Ricardo - La compañera de casa
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While the adverbial phrase a punto is used fairly often, the most common use of a punto is when it's part of the prepositional phrase a punto de + infinitive verb. In terms of its meaning, we use a punto de + infinitive verb when we want to say that something is or was about to happen. In fact, you can think of a punto de as the English equivalent "about to". Let's look at a couple of examples:
La señora pulpo me contó que tenía muchos hijitos a punto de nacer.
Lady octopus told me that she had many children about to be born.
Captions 21-22, Guillermina y Candelario - La Señora Pulpo
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Estoy súper emocionada, pues estoy a punto de ingresar
I'm super excited because I'm about to enter
a uno de los lugares más emblemáticos.
one of the most symbolic places.
Captions 10-12, Paseando con Karen - Barrio Antiguo
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Cuando estaba a punto de huir y regresar a mi casa,
When I was about to flee and go back home,
hubo un milagro que salvó mi bachillerato.
there was a miracle that saved my high school diploma.
Captions 18-19, Los Años Maravillosos - Capítulo 1 - Part 5
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If you keep in mind the last two sentences, it is worth mentioning that most of the time in Spanish we use the verb estar (to be) before a punto de + infinitive verb. As we mentioned previously, we use this formula for sentences in the past as well as the present.
Now that you know how to use a punto and a punto de, we can say that apunto (one word) corresponds to the first person singular of the verb apuntar in the present tense. Apuntar can mean:
To point out something
To take notes or write down something
To subscribe to something
Let's see an example:
A cogerlos con la mano, me apunto.
For taking them with my hand, I'll sign up.
-Cógelo con las manos.
-Take it with your hands.
Caption 25, 75 minutos - Del campo a la mesa
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So, now that we have revealed the meanings and uses of both a punto and apunto, it's time to see the answers to the quiz we used to introduce this lesson:
Te apunto en la lista de pacientes.
I'll write you down on the patient list.
Caption 27, Ariana - Cita médica
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En mil novecientos ochenta y cinco, sucedieron muchas cosas buenas.
In nineteen eighty-five, many good things happened.
Colombia estuvo a punto de conseguir la paz.
Colombia was about to achieve peace.
Captions 2-3, Los Años Maravillosos - Capítulo 1 - Part 2
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And that's it for now. We hope you enjoyed this lesson and don’t forget to send us your feedback and suggestions.
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