What is the meaning of bien exactly?!

LeoC1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

What is the meaning of bien exactly?!

1 - Il y a bien longtemps 

2- Il y a longtemps

What is the difference between these two sentences ?!

Thanks ;)

Asked 3 years ago
NiallC1Kwiziq community memberCorrect answer

There's no exact translation in English. It's kind of like "quite" "indeed" or "very much". But the French use "bien" a lot more than we would use any of these words in English. It's just to add more emphasis really. "It was quite a long time ago" 

Adding "bien" more formal too I would say. I'm sure you've come across "j'aime bien..." je veux..." "merci bien" where adding "bien" makes the verb that bit more polite. 

LeoC1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

Thank you very much Niall :)

What is the meaning of bien exactly?!

1 - Il y a bien longtemps 

2- Il y a longtemps

What is the difference between these two sentences ?!

Thanks ;)

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