Judging an act: estar bé/mal + infinitive
An act is judged impersonally: estar bé + infinitive — "it is good to do", estar mal + infinitive — "it is bad": Està mal parlar així — it is bad to speak so, No està bé fer trampes — it is not right to cheat. No person is named: the judgment concerns the deed, not the human. For example: “Està mal parlar així de la gent” — It is bad to speak so of people. A rule from the Valencian course: worked out on examples…
How it works
An act is judged impersonally: estar bé + infinitive — "it is good to do", estar mal + infinitive — "it is bad": Està mal parlar així — it is bad to speak so, No està bé fer trampes — it is not right to cheat. No person is named: the judgment concerns the deed, not the human.
The negation stands with "estar": No està bé — it is not right; No està mal preguntar — asking is not shameful. The verb is always in the infinitive: who did it is clear from the conversation, the formula changes rarely.
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 Valencian?
An act is judged impersonally: estar bé + infinitive — "it is good to do", estar mal + infinitive — "it is bad": Està mal parlar així — it is bad to speak so, No està bé fer trampes — it is not right to cheat. No person is named: the judgment concerns the deed, not the human.
What does it look like in an example sentence Valencian?
“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.