Judging an act: estar bé/mal + infinitive
An act is judged without naming anyone. estar bé plus the verb is "it is good to do it"; estar mal is "it is bad". For example: “Està mal parlar així de la gent” — It is bad to speak so of people. A rule from the Catalan course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
An act is judged without naming anyone. estar bé plus the verb is "it is good to do it"; estar mal is "it is bad".
Està mal parlar així — it is bad to speak that way. No està bé fer trampes — cheating is not right.
The judgement is about the deed, not about the person.
The negation sits with estar: No està mal preguntar — asking is nothing to be ashamed of. The verb after it always keeps its plain form.
Table
| formula | meaning | example |
|---|---|---|
| estar bé + inf | good/all right | Està bé preguntar |
| estar mal + inf | bad | Està mal riure d'això |
| no estar bé + inf | not right | No està bé fer trampes |
By example
- Està mal parlar així de la gentIt is bad to speak so of people
- No està bé fer trampes al jocIt is not right to cheat in a game
- Està bé demanar ajuda quan no saps com seguirIt is fine to ask for help when you do not know how to go on
How the rule settles in your head
A rule is not memorized from an explanation. It is memorized from an attempt to use it and a mistake — that is why the app delivers it mixed in with words, not as a separate lesson: it resurfaces exactly where you forgot it.
Frequently asked
Judging an act: how does it work in Catalan?
An act is judged without naming anyone. estar bé plus the verb is "it is good to do it"; estar mal is "it is bad".
What does it look like in an example sentence Catalan?
“Està mal parlar així de la gent” — It is bad to speak so of people. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.