Good V. Well

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Good V. Well Mistakes are common in formal English language. One of these mistakes is the misuse of the words good and well. These mistakes are made so often that the average person is sometimes unable to know that the mistake has been make. While it may sound as though the two words can be used interchangeably, the two words actually make up two different parts of speech (Fogarty). They should be used differently when used correctly. Well is an adverb and should be used to modify action verbs. When used with action verbs it means “satisfactorily” (“Well”). The exception to this, however, is when well is being used in regards to the health and wellness. Well can only modify nouns or linking verbs when it’s referring to the health of the noun it’s modifying. For example, “The coffee tasted well this morning,” (“Good or Well?”), Is incorrect because the coffee can not taste well because the coffee doesn’t have health. The coffee must have tasted good this morning. Good is an adjective, and therefore modifies a noun. When used to modify a noun it means “satisfactory” (“Good”). For example, “I play soccer good.” is an incorrect usage of the word good because it is being used to modify the verb play, an action verb. The sentence should be “I play soccer well.” so that well is used to modify the action verb. Good can also be used with linking verbs because the point of the linking verb is to link the subject with the predicate nouns, therefore renaming the subject. “This pizza tastes good.” is an example of the correct use of good with a linking verb. The reason for the mistaken use of the two words well and good is just due to a misuse of language. Because well can be defined as satisfactorily, and good is defined as satisfactory, it is easy to see how the two words could be perceived as similar, if not interchangeable with each other. However, since the

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