English Conversation tips | I'm good or well?

Hello everyone, this is Minoo at Anglo-Link.

Welcome to lesson 12 in my Ezee series where  we will be dealing with two more common words

that often lead to confusion and mistakes.

Getting rid of confusion and starting to correct your own mistakes

is one of the best things you can do to speak English more confidently.

So, in today's lesson we're going to clear up the  confusion many of us experience with the words:

'good' and 'well'

Should we say I'm good or I'm well?

Let's go over to the lesson to find out how to use these two words correctly.

Easy to Zap English Errors lesson 12.

Good or well?

Let's see what we're going to be doing in this lesson.

We'll start with a test yourself quiz.

Then we'll look at when to use good.

Then we'll look at when to use well.

And we'll end with a final quiz.

Okay let's start with your test yourself quiz.

I'd like you to choose the best two answers to...

Hi how are you doing?

out of these four answers.

The first one...

Good, thanks.

Very well, thank you.

I'm doing good, thanks.

I'm doing well, thank you.

Which of these four answers do you think are the best?

The best ones are 'a' and 'b'.

'Good thanks' and 'very well thank you'.

Although you may hear the other two as well sometimes,

'a' and 'b' are the better ones.

Let's see why.

Let's start by looking at when to use 'good'.

'Good' is an adjective and is used to describe  a noun which can be something or someone.

For example:

This approach is good. Here, 'good' is describing something,

an approach.

Or...

Linda is a good employee.

Here, good is describing someone.

Linda.

So when someone greets you by  saying:

Hi, how are you doing?

Or...

Hello, how are you?

You can describe your state by using good.

'I'm good'.

You're describing yourself.

'I'

You can also say: 'I'm fine',

which means you are in good health and or in a good mood.

Now in informal English, in response to  'how are you doing?' you may sometimes hear:

'I'm doing good'.

But, because good is not an adverb,

This sentence is grammatically incorrect.

If you want to use 'i'm doing' in your reply,

it's better to use 'fine'

because fine is both an adjective and an adverb.

So, instead of saying 'I'm doing good' say:

'I'm doing fine'.

Okay! Let's look at how to use 'well'.

Well is the adverb form of good.

As an adverb, it describes an action.

'This approach works'.

Works is a verb an action.

'well'.

Linda has done her job

'done' is an action

therefore, 'well'.

But well is also an adjective which means  not ill or in good health.

So you can also say:

'I'm well'.

Here your reply is specifically in the  context of your health rather than your mood.

So, when someone greets you by saying:

'how are you' or? 'how are you doing?' you can say:

'I'm very well thank you.'

Or 'very well, thank you'

But these days the most common answers are:

'I'm good thanks.'

'Fine, thank you.'

And if someone asks you specifically about how you're recovering from an illness or succeeding in a task

then you can answer:

'I'm doing well' or 'I'm doing fine.'

Right! it's time for our final quiz.

I'd like you to decide if there's a mistake  in the sentence, and if there is, correct it.

Number 1:

'how's your son doing at school?'

'He's doing good.'

Is this correct?

No it isn't because we're asking about someone's  performance at school.

So, we shouldn't use the adjective 'good' but the adverb 'well'.

'How's your son doing at school?'

'He's doing well.'

Number 2:

How's your mum? I heard she was ill.

'She's good again'.

Is this correct?

Again, it is not correct.

It's incorrect because we are asking about someone's health,

and therefore, we can't use the word 'good'.

But the adjective 'well'. 'She's well again'.

And the last one.

Number 3:

'Hi, how are you all doing?'

'We're all good, thanks.'

Is this correct?

It is because we are asking about  everyone's health or mood in general.

And therefore, here we can use the  adjective 'good'.

'We're all good, thanks'.

Well that is the end of lesson 12.

I hope your doubts about 'good' and 'well' have been cleared up.

For an in-depth lesson on the use of adjectives and adverbs

visit my Youtube channel and look for the  video adjectives and adverbs

or use the link at the end of this video.

I'd also like to invite you to check out my online self-study course

that will help you to improve your writing and  speaking skills using a step-by-step approach.

You can sign up for my online course  by visiting my website

Anglo-Link.com.

Also please remember to subscribe to my channel and allow notifications to know when  my next lesson is available.

Thank you for your continued support, and I hope to see you again soon.

Goodbye for now.