61 Expressing approval and disapproval
The concepts of approval and disapproval discussed in this chapter are usually
expressed through set phrases, but there is also a small number of expressions linked to
certain verbs, which are considered below.61.1 Expressing approval
61.1.1 Set phrases
Approval is normally expressed in Spanish with the following expressions, all of which
are very common.¡(Muy) bien! Good!/Very well!
¡Qué bien! Good!, great!
¡Perfectamente! Right!
¡Estupendo! Great!
¡Fantástico! Great!, fantastic!
¡Excelente! Excellent!
¡Perfecto! Perfect!
¡Eso es! That’s it!
Está bastante/muy bien. It’s quite/very good.
Está perfecto/excelente/ It’s perfect/excellent
estupendo/fenomenal. great/wonderful.
No está (nada) mal. It’s not bad (at all).61.1.2 Parecer
Approval is often expressed with parecer, ‘to seem’, a verb which behaves in the same
way as gustar, ‘to like’, that is, with an indirect object pronoun (me, te, le, nos, os, les)
preceding the verb.Me parece (muy) bien. I think it’s fine.
Nos parece fantástico. We think it’s fantastic.8.2 (p. 36);^60 (p. 349)