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Well Vs Good

Good is typically used as an adjective to modify nouns, while well is usually used as an adverb to modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs. However, well can also function as an adjective referring to health. The key is to determine if the word is modifying a noun, verb, adjective or adverb. For example, one would say "I feel well" referring to health, but "I feel good" referring to an emotional state. There are exceptions involving the senses of look, smell, taste and feel, where good is used instead of well. This lesson provides examples and quizzes to help clarify the proper uses of good and well.

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78 views4 pages

Well Vs Good

Good is typically used as an adjective to modify nouns, while well is usually used as an adverb to modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs. However, well can also function as an adjective referring to health. The key is to determine if the word is modifying a noun, verb, adjective or adverb. For example, one would say "I feel well" referring to health, but "I feel good" referring to an emotional state. There are exceptions involving the senses of look, smell, taste and feel, where good is used instead of well. This lesson provides examples and quizzes to help clarify the proper uses of good and well.

Uploaded by

con.liviu2030
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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WELL vs GOOD

Someone may have told you you were wrong for saying, I’m good, instead of the
more formal I’m well. But is the response I’m good actually incorrect? Not technically.
Let’s explore the rules and conventions for these two words.
Well is often used as an adverb. Adverbs can modify verbs, adjectives, and other
adverbs.
Good is most widely used as an adjective, meaning that it can modify nouns. The
expression “I am good” causes some to bristle because they hear an adjective where they
think an adverb should be.
But adjectives (like good) are used in combination with linking verbs like smell,
taste, and look. A linking verb connects or establishes an identity between the subject and
predicate, as opposed to an action verb which expresses something that the subject can
do. Linking verbs take adjectives, whereas action verbs take adverbs. Think about the
sentence: Everything tastes good. It would sound strange to say Everything tastes well,
and the adjectival good is correct in these cases. Typically when well is used as an
adjective after look or feel, it often refers to health: You’re looking well; we missed you
while you were in the hospital. In general, use well to describe an activity or health, and
good to describe a thing.
To go back to common complaint above: in that instance, either good or well work
because they both function as adjectives, and that phrase is widely used in informal,
colloquial speech. However, in formal speech or edited writing, be sure to use well when
an adverb is called for as in He did well on the quiz.
Well gets even more confusing when we consider adjectival phrases like well-
known, well-worn, and well-mannered. How do you know when to hyphenate these
phrases?
The hyphen, along with its cousins the en and em dash, may be the most
misunderstood punctuation mark in English. Hyphens are used to join parts of a word or
compound phrase, as in ex-wife, full-length mirror, and by-the-book negotiations. As the
Chicago Manual of Style puts it, “Far and away the most common spelling questions for
writers and editors concern compound terms—whether to spell as two words, hyphenate,
or close up as a single word.”
One reason that hyphenation is so complex: it changes over time. A tour through
the Google nGram view of many common words reveals their hyphenated predecessors:
co-operate became cooperate, to morrow became to-morrow and then tomorrow, and
good-bye became goodbye (though both are still acceptable). Some modern terms, like
website/web site, have recently settled their usage wars, but email/e-mail is still anyone’s
guess. Email may be slowly winning that battle, though uses of e-book outnumber the
closed ebook and eBook. A dictionary definition is often the best place to go to seek
clarification, or at least understand your options.
Another reason hyphenation can be confounding is that the best practices of usage
leave room for interpretation. The main function of hyphens in compound modifiers, or
groups of words working together to modify a noun, is to eliminate ambiguity of
meaning. For example, in the phrase “up-to-date technology,” we hyphenate “up-to-date”
to signal that these three words are to be read as one concept, or adjective, functioning to
modify the word “technology.” This way, nobody will make the mistake of reading this
phrase as an expression of readiness to go on a romantic date with technology, or as a
readiness to mark technology with the day, month and year. In another example, a
“heavy-metal detector” detects heavy metals (or perhaps heavy-metal music), but a
“heavy metal detector” is a metal detector that is heavy. However, ambiguity can be a
subjective matter; as the Chicago Manual states: “Where no ambiguity could result…
hyphenation is not needed.”
Age terms are another stumbling point for many. The hyphenation in the following
two examples is appropriate: I have to babysit my three-year-old cousin; he has a five-
year-old. However, in the following sentence in which the age comes after (rather than
before) the noun it modifies, no hyphenation is needed: Sheila is seven years old. One
trick of the trade is to look for the plural of “years” in such constructions. If the word
“years” is plural, chances are the construction does not need hyphenation.
Compound modifiers in which the adverb ends in -ly do not take a hyphen, as in
overly thorough exam. In addition to numerous sections devoted to hyphens, the Chicago
Manual also offers a 10-page hyphenation table, which any good copy editor finds
indispensable.
Good is an adjective while well is an adverb answering the question how. Sometimes
well also functions as an adjective pertaining to health.
Examples:
You did a good job.
Good describes job, which is a noun, so good is an adjective.
You did the job well.
Well is an adverb describing how the job was performed.
I feel well.
Well is an adjective describing I.

Rule: With the four senses—look, smell, taste, feel—discern if these words are being
used actively to decide whether to follow them with good or well. (Hear is always used
actively.)
Examples:
You smell good today.
Good describes you, not how you sniff with your nose.
You smell well for someone with a cold.
You are sniffing actively with your nose here so use the adverb.
She looks good for a 75-year-old grandmother.
She is not looking actively with eyes so use the adjective.
Rule: When referring to health, always use well.
Examples:
I do not feel well today.
You do not look well.
Rule: When describing someone’s emotional state, use good.
Example: He doesn’t feel good about having cheated.
So, how should you answer the question, “How are you?” If you think someone is asking
about your physical well-being, answer, “I feel well,” or “I don’t feel well.” If someone is
asking about your emotional state, answer, “I feel good,” or “I don’t feel good.”

Pop Quiz
1. She jogged very good/well for her age.
2. She had a good/well time yesterday.
3. With a high fever, it is unlikely he will feel good/well enough to play basketball
tomorrow.
4. Those glasses look good/well on you.

Pop Quiz Answers


1. She jogged very well for her age.
2. She had a good time yesterday.
3. With a high fever, it is unlikely he will feel well enough to play basketball tomorrow.
4. Those glasses look good on you.
Good vs Well
The English words good and well are often confused by native and non-native
speakers of English – this is a good lesson that will put you well on your way to
understanding the difference.
Good
Good is an adjective, which means that it modifies nouns.
This is a good movie
What a good idea!
You speak good English
Good can be used with copular verbs (that is, verbs which express a state of being,
such as to be, to seem, and to appear), but it is still an adjective modifying a noun, not a
verb.
This movie is good
His ideas are good
Your English is good

Well
Well is an adverb, which means that it modifies verbs, adjectives, and other
adverbs.
Did the movie do well at the box office?
It was a well-defined idea
You speak English well
Well can be used as an adjective to mean "in good health."
You look well
I don’t feel well

The Bottom Line


The confusion between good and well comes from their similar meanings, and a
general confusion between adjectives and adverbs. Take a moment to think about what
the word is modifying: if it’s a verb, you’d do well to use well; otherwise, the good
choice is good.

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