bien vs bon

Question

I think it's interesting that you never note the divergence of french and english grammar on using bien as an adverb with être. If one says in english "it is good", good is an adjective. If one says the french version of this "C'est bien" one uses the adverb. Elsewhere in french "c'est" is followed by an adjective "c'est beau". Usually, I guess, one uses il/elle "il est difficile". But it seems unusual to suddenly use an adverb to describe not a verb but the noun of the sentence. I can see easily Ça va bien, because bien is modifying the verb going.

Céline Pickard · Accepted Answer

Bonjour à tous,
Thank you all for your suggestions ! We're taking them into account to clarify this tricky point in the lesson.
Merci et bonne journée !

Maarten Kamp · Answer

"Bien" is an adjective as well. I agree that it is incorrectly noted as an adverb sometimes when it is adjectival :

https://www.larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais/bien/9151

https://dictionnaire.lerobert.com/definition/bien

Chris Wirt · Answer

C'est bon generally refers to something that tastes good or is pleasant, such as food, a drink, or an experience.
Cette tarte est très bonne. -- This pie is very good C'était bon de te voir. -- It was good to see you.
C'est bien can refer to something being good, but it can also mean "that's right" or "that's good" in the sense of approving of something.
C'est bien de faire du sport. --It's good to exercise
 Tu as réussi l'examen ? C'est bien ! -- You passed the exam? That's good!.

Graham Standing · Answer

The problem (like Spanish) is that 'bien' can be both an adjective and an adverb, whereas it is nearly always translated in English-speaking minds as the adverb 'well', i.e. the way you do something. In this sense, it is easy : "On le fait bien ..... On le fait mieux".

But the example in the test is "La maison est bien" - the house is fine, Ok, good...whatever you like, but always an ADJECTIVE, so does the comparative follow the rule: "meilleur for things / mieux for actions" or does it follow the rule "the comparative of 'bien' is always 'mieux' ? That is the question! According to the answers given as correct in the test, they say bien->mieux ALWAYS! We'll have to take their word for it.

David Baines · Answer

'Bien' isn't only used as an adverb - it is also used as a noun and an adjective. Confusion arises because the adjective 'bien' is invariable, and is therefore easily mistaken for an adverb as we expect French adjectives to agree. For example, in "Elle est bien, cette maison'', bien is an invariable adjective, not an adverb. There are plenty of examples here: English Translation of “BIEN” | Collins French-English Dictionary (collinsdictionary.com)