aller à and aller bien à

Paul B.C1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

aller à and aller bien à

Can you please explain when to use bien. In the examples where bien is used it is sometimes translated as "really" and sometimes ignored in the translation.
Asked 6 years ago
Chris W.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

Hi Paul,

the quesition you ask is a good one but very difficult to answer in general. The French bien has many different meanings in conjunction with other verbs and sometimes changes the implication of connotation of a sentence subtly.

And then there is the idiomatic use of bien, as in, e.g., être bien mal -- to be close to death. A small collection of bien and its uses can be found here: https://www.lawlessfrench.com/expressions/bien-expressions/

I don't know of any rule you could memorize which would teach you all you need to know about bien. Just read and listen a lot and you'll pick it up eventually.

 

-- Chris (not a native speaker).

 

Alan G.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor
I think it's actually the word vraiment which is being translated as really.
Chris W.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

Ce chapeau va vraiment bien à Margot. -- This hat suits Margot really well.

So here is a more literal translation of the French. As you can see and as Alan pointed out, vraiment is "really" and bien is "well". So in this example, bien is used just in its function as adverb of bon.

-- Chris.

aller à and aller bien à

Can you please explain when to use bien. In the examples where bien is used it is sometimes translated as "really" and sometimes ignored in the translation.

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