Good vs. Well

[bnrmom]

How are my kids supposed to learn how to use them correctly when they are misused by practically everyone we know?!?! It's making me crazy! Every adult we are around uses "good" instead of "well" at least several times when we see them. I hear it being misused on tv all the time! I correct my kids constantly, and I joke with them that if they graduate this year knowing nothing other than how to use good and well properly, they get an A.

 

But I feel like it's an uphill battle. They are surrounded by these words being interchanged, and I seem to be the only one who notices or cares. It is so rare that I hear someone say "You did well." Really smart, educated adults are always saying to my kids "You draw really good!" :banghead:

 

Dh and I go around quoting my all time favorite scene from 30 Rock: "Superman does good - you do well."

[Changed]

I hear ya! It's so often used incorrectly that I interchange them at times. :001_huh:

[inmyopinion]

My husband broke me of that habit by correcting me all the time. Now, I do good at getting it right! :lol:

[2_girls_mommy]

I hear ya. I have the same issues with Me and I. I have yet to see a T.V. show or listen to just about anyone talk that doesn't say "Me and so and so were going to blah blah blah... " I can't get past it.

[edelweiss]

Fortunately, I am a stickler for grammar and have drilled this one into my daughters' heads. I've corrected them since toddlerhood. And I always, always point it out when someone says it on TV or in a movie (which sadly is often :glare:). I, of course, never correct people in real life and neither would my daughters, but they certainly notice it now. My younger daughter, especially, is always telling me (once we get in the car or get home) that so-and-so said "good" when they should have said "well". :001_smile:

[bolt.]

At a certain point in language development -- that which is the vernacular use gets knighted and becomes a proper use. If the interchange of 'good' and 'well' tends to be common, it won't be long before dictionaries and grammar books begin to reflect it. Language evolves. Schoolmarms and maiden aunties haven't managed to stop it so far!

[The Girls' Mom]

I was one that used good incorrectly all. the. time. When we moved to TX, I tried to correct myself, and actually got into the habit of using well. (Most of my friends there were not originally from the south and had much better grammar habits than I.) Now I am back in TN, and honestly I feel weird when I say well. It just isn't used here in that way. So, I'm slipping back into it. :glare:

[LizzyBee]

I love listening to Grammar Girl, because her voice is just right for pleasant listening, so I tend to remember the information.

 

http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/good-versus-well.aspx

[Ester Maria]

Correct it every time when you hear it misused at home, just like you would do with any other language inaccuracy that is particularly irritating to you. :D

[Halftime Hope]

Keep correcting. At some point they'll choose what to do, but I am convinced that our chidlren need to be able to don the mantle of correct usage at any time without hesitation, should they need it. We will have failed if they do not have that choice.

[pitterpatter]

Not quite the same, but everyone here "warshes" clothes. Drives my batty.

[bnrmom]

Oh, if only it was considered polite to correct people on their grammar! I correct my dh and my mom when they do it, and the kids obviously, but I certainly can't correct our friends, the store clerk, the parents of their friends, etc.

 

I actually did read that it's now considered grammatically correct to say "I'm good" in response to "How are you?" simply because it has become such a part of our culture.

 

I guess I'm going to just have to drill it into them at home and hope they pick it up at some point. I even offered them each a quarter if they catch someone using it incorrectly (although they have to tell me in private if it's outside of our immediate family).