ShmoopTube
Where Monty Python meets your 10th grade teacher.
Search Thousands of Shmoop Videos
Playlist Common Grammar Mistakes 30 videos
Want even more deets on Different From vs. Different Than? Click here to review. Or take a look at our entire grammar section for all the goods.
This video explains the difference between good and well—and, more importantly, when to use each one.
Want even more deets on I vs. Me? Click here to review. Or take a look at our entire grammar section for all the goods.
Good vs. Well 2178 Views
Share It!
Description:
This video explains the difference between good and well—and, more importantly, when to use each one.
Transcript
- 00:04
Good versus Well, a la Shmoop. Jenny's long drive from Omaha to Memphis went
- 00:10
well because the music on the radio was good.
- 00:15
That is, if you consider country music “good.”
- 00:18
Here's the rule for “good” and “well”...
- 00:22
...use the adjective “good” after linking verbs...
Full Transcript
- 00:27
...and the adverb “well” to modify action verbs.
- 00:31
Now, if you've never heard of a linking verb before...
- 00:34
...let us explain. A linking verb is a verb that is less about action and more about connecting
- 00:38
words together.
- 00:40
“To smell” can often be a linking verb, so let's look at it in an example with “good”
- 00:46
and “well”. When you say, “My grandma smells good”...
- 00:49
...you mean that she smells like the Chanel perfume she likes to wear...
- 00:55
...or the chocolate chip cookies she just finished baking.
- 00:58
You'd never say, “My grandma smells well”...
- 01:00
...unless you were bragging about her uncanny ability to hunt down dirty socks with her
- 01:04
super-sensitive nose. Let's look at some action verbs.
- 01:09
You wouldn't say “Elaine reads good”. You'd say “Elaine reads well”.
- 01:14
You wouldn't say “Mike plays the piano good”. You'd say “Mike plays the piano well”.
- 01:19
In these examples, the adverb “well” is modifying the action verbs “reads” and
- 01:23
“plays”. Using the word “well” can prove a little
- 01:26
confusing because, in some instances, “well” works as a predicate adjective.
- 01:31
The best example of this is when you say, “I am well.”
- 01:35
Here, the linking verb “am” and the predicate adjective “well” come together to mean
- 01:39
you're healthy, as in… you've fully recovered from an illness.
- 01:42
If, however, you haven't had to visit a doctor in ages...
- 01:45
...because germs wither up and die when confronted with your incredible immune system...
- 01:50
...and someone asks how you are...
- 01:52
...you may safely reply, “I'm good.” Remember, the rule is...
- 01:57
...use the adjective “good” after linking verbs...
- 01:59
...and the adverb “well” to modify action verbs.
- 02:03
Now, all you need for that road trip to Memphis is some beef jerky and a water bottle for…
- 02:09
emergencies.
Related Videos
This video explains the difference between affect and effect and provide tips for remembering which is which and when to use each one. If you suffe...
Want even more deets on Question Marks? Click here to review. Or take a look at our entire grammar section for all the goods.
Want even more deets on Your vs. You're? Click here to review. Or take a look at our entire grammar section for all the goods.
What’s the difference between its and it’s (spoiler alert: it’s more than just an apostrophe). This video covers the use of both of these wor...