bien y bueno

[moosescoops]

¿Cuando quiero decir que alguien lee peor que una otra persona, debería decir "no puede leer tan bueno como él", o "tan bien como él"?

[Kralizec]

You should say "no puede leer tan bien como". Or "no es tan bueno leyendo como"

Bien -> Well
Lee bien -> (He/She) reads well

Bueno -> Good
Es bueno leyendo -> He's good at reading

[moosescoops]

Bueno -> Good
Es bueno leyendo -> He's good at reading

So you don't need a preposition? That's a little confusing for me, is it just one of those things you have to learn?

[Pippa]

So you don't need a preposition? That's a little confusing for me, is it just one of those things you have to learn?
Well, it depends which way you look at things. From my point of view you need a preposition if you say it in English!:D

[Kralizec]

So you don't need a preposition? That's a little confusing for me, is it just one of those things you have to learn?

Well, in the case of "ser bueno/malo" you don't, but this is also a kind of special case since it's the only place where you'll see a general activity (not actually a verb) as a gerund...

I like fishing -> Me gusta pescar
I'm good at fishing -> Soy bueno pescando

So you might consider the preposition to have been absorbed by the gerund.
Please note the gerund also disappears if the activity acts as a subject:
Reading is good -> Leer es bueno

P.S.: Thanks for correcting me, moosescoops!

[moosescoops]

Well, in the case of "ser bueno/malo" you don't, but this is also a kind of special case since it's the only place where you'll see a general activity (not actually a verb) as a gerund...

I like fishing -> Me gusta pescar
I'm good at fishing -> Soy bueno pescando

So you might consider the preposition was absorbed by the gerund.
Please note the gerund also disappears if the activity acts as a subject:
Reading is good -> Leer es bueno


Yeah, I knew about using the infinitive instead of the gerund if the action is the subject, so I think I expected the rule to apply more broadly. Thanks, that's a really useful thing to know.

Also, I think "consider the preposition to have been absorbed by the gerund" is slightly more correct, but that could be a style preference; I'm not sure.