Good/Well
Just here for the exercises? Click here.What’s the difference between good and well?
Good is an adjective and well is an adverb; this means that we use good before nouns and well with verbs, adjectives and other adverbs.
Learn when to use good and when to use well in English with Lingolia, then practise in the free interactive exercise.
Example
Michaela is a good tennis player.
She practises a lot, so she plays well.
Ben is checking her tennis racquet. He says that the strings feel good.
Michaela isn’t feeling well today so she isn’t going to play tennis later.
Good
- Examples:
- Michaela is a good tennis player.
- the adjective good describes the noun tennis player
- Use good after linking verbs (appear, be, become, seem, feel, look, smell, taste etc).
- Example:
- The tennis racquet feels good. (not:
feels well) - Ben is good at his job. (not:
Ben is well at his job.)
- Linking verbs connect a noun with an adjective. To check if a verb is a linking verb or not replace it with be. If the sentence still makes sense, then the verb is a linking verb.
- Example:
- The soup tastes good.
- The soup is good.
Well
- Well is an adverb. Use it to describe verbs, adjectives or other adverbs.
- Example:
- Michaela plays tennis well.
- the adverb well describes the verb plays
- Use well with past participles to describe nouns.
- Example:
- The tennis racquet is well-made.
- Use well as adjective that means in good health.
- Example:
- Michaela isn’t feeling well today.
