Good vs. Well

A life-affirming request from the peanut gallery begs to know the difference between “well” and “good,” which is all, well, well and good.
 
But before we can address this grammatical conundrum, we must first refresh our knowledge of adjectives, adverbs, and not one but two kinds of verbs! Which means…

• Another trip to grade school?
  • Yes! As I’m sure you all remember, an adverb describes a verb:
    • She bakes well.
    • She sang beautifully.
  • And an adjective describes a noun:
    • She bakes a good cake.
    • She sang a beautiful song.
• So you’re saying I should use well with verbs and good with nouns?
  • For the most part, yes. You try!
    • She is a _______ dancer.
    • She dances _______.
    • He uses grammar _______ in his writing.
    • He has _______ grammar.
• What do you mean “for the most part”? Is this about to get tricky and confuse the heck out of me?
  • Unfortunately, yes. The tricky part is that there are two kinds of verbs:
    • Action verbs are easy to distinguish because you can see them happen: swim, run, jump, sleep.
      • I drink a lot.
        • You can watch someone drink.
    • Linking verbs are a little more subtle in that they can describe a state of being or a condition.
      • I am hung over.
        • You cannot watch someone be. (Well, maybe you can, but it’s not very interesting.)
    • BUT some verbs can be both action and linking, which is when the headaches start to happen.
      • I reached out to feel the chair. (Action—you can see it.)
      • I don’t feel well. (Linking—you can’t see it.)
    • Other verbs that can be both linking and action are look, taste, become, appear, grow, smell, etc.
  • ALSO making this difficult is that “well” can be either an adverb or an adjective meaning “in good health” or “satisfactory,” as in “I don’t feel well.”
• Seriously: boil this down for me.
  • OK. For things, it’s all “good.”
    • I like good music. I like good food.
  • For actions you can see, you use “well.”
    • I don’t sing well. I eat well.
  • For actions you can’t see, stop and think about whether you’re describing yourself as a thing or what you’re doing as an action.
    • “I don’t smell good” means “I have an unpleasant odor.”
    • “I don’t smell well” means “My nose doesn’t work properly.”
      • Alternatively, you could just work around it.
        • “I stink.”
        • “My nose is useless.”
  • If you panic trying to figure out if you need good, well, an adjective, or an adverb, quickly replace what you’re looking for with another set and see how you go.
    • I don’t sing so _______. (adj: beautiful/adv: beautifully)
      • I don’t sing so well.
    • Those clouds don’t look so ________. (adj: dangerous/adv: dangerously)
      • Those clouds don’t look so good.
• Oy vey…
  • YOU TRY: BONUS ROUND!
    • That dress is a little tight. It doesn’t look _______ on you.
    • Do you have a cold? You don’t look _______.
    • This pie is delicious! It tastes so _______!
    • You know what? I do have a cold. I can’t taste so _______.

Have any other queries? Send me an e-mail and let me know. Until next time, use good grammar, and use it well!
 
You Try—Round 1:
She is a good dancer.
She dances well.
He uses grammar well in his writing.
He has good grammar.

You Try—Round 2:
That dress is a little tight. It doesn’t look good on you.
Do you have a cold? You don’t look well. (“Well,” in this instance, is an adjective describing the appearance of health. Because you’re using an adjective, “good” is also an acceptable answer.)
This pie is delicious! It tastes so good!
You know what? I think I do have a cold. I can’t taste so well.