VOA - Ask a teacher: Well or Good? - Lesson 13

Hello, everyone. My name is Tha Linh. Today, I will read as a teacher. Well or good? Here at VOA, I'm a teacher. But outside of work, I am a language learner, too. Having studied three languages, I know that sometimes the simplest words can be the most English. Today, our questions come from a reader named Valentina. Here it is. Hello. I would like to know when to use well or good. Hi, Valentina. I hope you're doing well. Today is a good day for learning English. I wonder if you follow and use the words well and good. In the first sentence, well describes the verb doing. In the second, good describes the noun day. Well is an adverb. Like many adverbs, well describes the way that something is done. Well answers the question how. Good is an adjective. We use it to describe noun. So we can say Valentina is a good singer. We use good to describe the singer. And we can say Valentina sings well. We use well to describe how Valentina sings. This sounds simple, right? But there are a few rules that you do not follow in this formula. Rule 1. It is good for five senses. Sight, taste, smell, touch and sound. Listen to a few examples. The holiday meal tastes so good. What is that perfume? It smells good. This bed feels good. It is so soft. Senses verb is a linking verb. We use good with other things linking verbs such as things and appear. Rule 2. To talk about physical health. We use well. Let's hear examples. I do not feel well. I think I should see a doctor. You don't feel well. How are you feeling? Rule 3. To talk about an emotional state. We use good. I felt good when I finally completed the program. He feels good about helping his mother. So how do you answer the common question how are you? In American spoken English, we usually answer I'm good or just good. But if you would like to be a little formal, you can say I'm well or I'm doing well. Lastly, the comparative and superlative words for well and good are better and best. And that's as a teacher. I'm Alex Brighton. Words good, well, comparative, better, superlative, best. Do you have a question for us as a teacher? Write to us in the comment area. And be sure to tell us what country are you from. You can also make sentences with well and good in the comment area. Words in this story are elusive, hard to understand, defined or remembered, formula, a plan or method for doing, making or articulating something, perfume, a liquid substance that helps to smell pleasant, linking verb, a verb that connects a subject with an adjective or noun that describes or indefines the subject, formal, subtable or series of articles with speech and writing, superlative or relating to the form of an adjective or a verb that is to indicate the brief degree of a quarterly. Thank you for listening. Goodbye.