Ser/Estar for changing situations

Question

When I'm trying to say 'Mi español no es bueno' is it right to use Ser even though it is something that is changing (and not 'fixed'?) Thanks for your help!

And yes, until they tell me otherwise... thats a good sentence. - Ox-Y-Gen, Mar 28, 2012

Answer 1

Ser/estar with bueno/malo/bien/mal can be a bit confusing sometimes...

• ser malo/a: to be evil, bad in nature "Hitler era malo."

• ser bueno/a: to be good in nature "Es muy simpático y siempre da dinero a las entidades benéficas. Es bueno."

• estar malo/a: to be ill "No puedo salir, estoy mala."

• estar bueno/a: to be tasty (food) to be sexy/hot (person) "La arroz está muy buena!"

• estar mal -> to be o feel ill; (de salud) to be bad (de calidad)

• está mal eso que has hecho -> what you've done is wrong

• estar bien: to be well, comfortable, fine, good. "Cómo estás? Estoy bien."

Therefore, you are correct in your "no es bueno." It is not good in nature, in quality. You wouldn´t use estar in that case because it is only used in certain conditions, like when referring to the tastiness of food or how attractive a person is.

really thorough, interesting and clear explanation of something very complicated - vic5x5, Mar 28, 2012

very nice :) - Kiwi-Girl, Mar 28, 2012

Thanks!!! - missy8888, Mar 28, 2012

Answer 2

A simple tip is to use ser with nouns because they classify, identify or define something and 'español' is a noun so it would go with 'no es ....' instead of 'no está ....'

Great Kiwi - thanks for the tip! - Al_Dadge, Mar 28, 2012

Answer 3

No soy bueno hablando español. (just throwing this out there)

-I'm not good at speaking spanish.

I'd say no hablo bien el español ;) use ser to identify yourself not to speak about ongoing actions - if you really wanted to classify yourself by your bad Spanish I guess you could say no soy buen hablador de español je je - Kiwi-Girl, Mar 28, 2012