Writing Tip - The Well-Good Conundrum

By Steve Osborne

Let's start with a quiz. Which of the following sentences is correct?

1. I did a good job.

2. I did the job well.

Actually, both sentences are right. To understand why, let's look at the rules:

- Use "good" as an adjective (to describe a noun or pronoun).

- Use "well" as an adverb (to describe a verb).

In the first sentence, "good" is an adjective that describes the noun "job." In the second sentence, "well" is an adverb. It describes the verb "did."

Can it really be as simple as that?

Of course not. In fact, the well/good conundrum can be mind-numbing if you drill too deeply into it. For example, although the rule books say "good" should not be used as an adverb (as in "Emma Sue did good in the spelling bee"), they flip-flop when it comes to expressing how you feel. Look at the following two sentences:

I feel good.

I feel well.

Which is correct? According to the rules we just mentioned, "I feel well" should get the gold star. This is because both "good" and "well" are used here as adverbs, and "well" should be used as an adverb - not "good."

But no. "I feel good" is perfectly fine in this context. The rule-makers rationalize this with two arguments. First, they say "I feel good" is really like saying, "I am in good health," where "good" is in fact an adjective.

For those of you who feel that this reasoning is more than a bit of a stretch, their second argument is not much better. "'I feel well,'" they say, "could be interpreted as meaning that your sense of touch is good."

In other words, if you say "I feel well," that's okay. But keep your hands in your pockets or someone might take it wrong.

Let me subject you to one more quiz. Which of the following sentences is correct?

1. I did good.

2. I did well.

The answer? Both sentences can be either correct or incorrect depending on the meaning. If, by "I did good," you are implying that you are going to get 100 percent on the test, then you are using "good" as an adverb to describe the verb "did." And as we all know by now, using "good" as an adverb is a no-no, except for the exceptions - and this isn't one of them. So it should be "I did well."

On the other hand, if you are trying to say "I did something that will benefit mankind forever," then "I did good" is correct because "good" is a noun. Or it could be an adjective to an implied "something," as in "I will do something good."

Brilliant.

Steve Osborne is author of "Writing Tips for the Real World," a blog at http://www.thewritersbag.com

He is an award-winning freelance writer and writing instructor. His blog teaches writing tips, techniques and strategies designed to help people from all walks of life turn the written word into a powerful success tool in their careers and personal lives.

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