Houston Friend Advanced English Grammar Mr.

Spivey April 25, 2011 This Paper is Argued Good The question, How are you? is asked every day, and most people will respond with Im good, as it seems to be the default response. Now, pretentious nitpickers might correct them saying that Im well is the correct response. However, Im good is actually perfectly acceptable in grammatical terms, which will be explained later. On the other hand, if the question were, How did you play today?, the proper response under the current grammatical rule is certainly, I played well. This should not be the case though. Good should be accepted as an adverb, just like well is accepted as a predicate adjective, because they mean essentially the same thing, and when they do not, good as an adverb clarifies the difference even more. Good and well are obviously used differently, but the most common usage for both is in a sense of general well being. According to the first definition for each word in the New Oxford American Dictionary, well means in a good or satisfactory way and good means pleasing and welcome. In their more general definition, they are so much the same that both have a form of the other word in their definition. Those who use English in conversation will understand that good means well and vice versa. The real reason there are times that it sounds wrong to use one over the other, in a general definition sense, is for the sake of an arbitrary rule. However, if they could be interchangeable, then the slight differences in usage could be clear and simple.

The determining factor in the usage of good and well, besides the literal definition, is the verb that is being used. Good is an adjective because it follows copular verbs and describes nouns. Well is an adverb because it modifies action verbs. However, well is unlike other adverbs in that it does not modify adjectives or other adverbs. Another word is used instead. For example, a sentence could be He was treated fairly, but it could not be He was treated well fairly. Well cannot modify another adverb. The same applies for good. Some might object that good cannot be an adverb because goodly is not permissible, but wellly is not acceptable either. Therefore, the rule should be that good and well be interchangeable, unless the way in which one is being used (considering the nuanced definitions) makes it obvious that one is preferable. In the most commonly understood difference of meaning, the usage makes it clear where the nuance lies. It is understood that using good is better for portraying general satisfaction and well for health. For example, well can be an adjective. The response Im well, which was used earlier, comes to mind. Here, well is acting as a predicate adjective. Since am is a copular verb, well is not modifying it. Well is describing the state of being of I, so it is an adjective. If well can cross over into the adjective realm, good should be able to be an adverb sometimes as well. Well, when it is an adjective, usually is meant to portray health. After someone is sick, usually the question Are you better? or Are you well? is asked. Then, Im well or I am still not well is the response. Thus, when someone is asking about general well being rather than health, good should be the appropriate answer because it does not imply there was any previous unhealthiness. Good gives a better understanding of general well being. Aside from that differing definition and particularly in conversation, they are

logically interchangeable. In the example mentioned in the introduction where well was correct, there is no reason that good should not be acceptable too. If How did you play? is the question, then I played good seems like it should be the response. The reason that seems not right is because good just cannot be an adverb (However, there is an informal usage of good as an adverb that appears in the New Oxford American Dictionary. My mother could never cook this good was the example. That is a logically legitimate sentence, but the rule forbids it for no real reason). It is presumable that I played good from above seems right because good and well mean the same thing and people often mistakenly use good as an adverb. Of course, the rule should not be altered merely because it is so commonly misused. Perhaps it is misused so frequently because the rule needs alteration for clarity. In conclusion, good and well should be virtually interchangeable because they already are in conversation, the differences in their meaning are clarified by the usage, and if well can be an adjective, good should be able to be an adverb. The only reason that good is not currently an adverb and an adjective, like well is, is because of the arbitrary rule. Removing the pointless rule will free up the ability to use good and well as their nuanced definitions prescribe. Ultimately, the English language could use more clear and simple guidelines, and this would be a step in the right direction.

Works Cited "Good." New Oxford American Dictionary. 2nd ed. Oxford UP, 2005. Print. "Well." New Oxford American Dictionary. 2nd ed. Oxford UP, 2005. Print. Maurer, Jay. Focus on Grammar 5: An Integrated Skills Approach. Harlow: Pearson English Language Teaching, 2006. Print.