"Cette maison est bien."
Am I correct in thinking that, in this case, "bien" is describing the house and is therefore an adjective?
If this is true, then "bien" can be an adjective as well as an adverb.
Please could you tell how to know when to use "bien" or "bon" as an adjective.
In other words, why did the question not read "Cette maison est bonne" ?
Bonjour Sid,
You won't hear a native French speaker say "Cette maison est bonne". It would mean that either the house "tastes good" (which doesn't make any sense as it is not food) or that the house is "good at what it does" (like a person would??): "bon" is used to describe a food item or something that is of good quality or useful etc.
"Bien" is the correct adjective here as it is a general statement about the house, i.e. "being ok/satisfying".
Take a look at one of our partners' site - which explains this particular point: Bon vs Bien
I hope this is helpful.
Bonne journée !
There are lots of examples here of usage of 'bien' as an adjective and an adverb. English Translation of “BIEN” | Collins French-English Dictionary (collinsdictionary.com)
Note that as adjective it is invariable, so is easily mistaken for an adverb as we normally expect adjectives to agree in French.
"Cette maison est bien."
Am I correct in thinking that, in this case, "bien" is describing the house and is therefore an adjective?
If this is true, then "bien" can be an adjective as well as an adverb.
Please could you tell how to know when to use "bien" or "bon" as an adjective.
In other words, why did the question not read "Cette maison est bonne" ?
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