Well or Good? ~5 Minute Grammar Lesson
on May 29, 2011, Updated Jul 20, 2020
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It’s time for a 5 Minute Grammar Lesson! Today’s topic is WELL and GOOD. Do you know when to use them correctly? 🙂
Here’s a standard question:
How are you?
And here are two answers:
A. I am well.
B. I am good.
Which one do you think is correct?
A sounds more formal, doesn’t it? And some people insist that it is the proper answer, but they are generally WRONG. Usually the correct response to the question How are you, is B: I am good. (The exception is if you ask the question to someone who has recovered from an illness. In that case, A is correct.)
Why? You may ask.
WELL is an adverb (a word that describes a verb). GOOD is an adjective (a word that describes a noun). So, what noun is GOOD describing in the sentence I am good? Well, technically it’s not describing a noun and that’s what confuses people.
The exception to the adjective/adverb rule is that GOOD should be used to modify LINKING verbs. Examples of linking verbs are TO BE (am & is), seem, appear, feel (verbs that describe feelings).
WELL is used to describe ACTION verbs: run, jump, play. If you want to describe how your kids run, jump, or play, you should say: My kids run, jump and play WELL. AND NOT: My kids run, jump, and play GOOD…
Since the question How are you? uses a linking verb, the correct answer to the question is:
I AM GOOD! 🙂
Make sense?
Happy Sunday! Have a great day!
