Good vs. Well

[orozco]

Need help. Which would be grammatically correct?

 

I feel good.

or

I feel well.

[Kuovonne]

Depends on what you mean.

 

"I feel good" means that you are not sick. In this case "feel" is a linking verb, and "good" is a predicate adjective that describes the subject "I".

 

"I feel well" means your sense of touch is working. In this case "feel" is an action verb describing the action of feeling something. "Well" is an adverb describing how you do the action.

 

I heard this explaination from a presentation about grammar at a homeschool convention a few years ago. Wish I remember who the speaker was. He was funny and informative.

[ErinE]

Superman does good. You are well.

 

That's how I remember it...

[Tanikit]

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

 

Which is why I often stick to: I am fine/alright/okay thanks.

[Stina2000]

I've heard the Superman thing before. I wish grammar weren't so complicated to remember ;)

[orozco]

Depends on what you mean.

 

"I feel good" means that you are not sick. In this case "feel" is a linking verb, and "good" is a predicate adjective that describes the subject "I".

 

"I feel well" means your sense of touch is working. In this case "feel" is an action verb describing the action of feeling something. "Well" is an adverb describing how you do the action.

 

I heard this explaination from a presentation about grammar at a homeschool convention a few years ago. Wish I remember who the speaker was. He was funny and informative.

 

Thank you for your explanation. You worded it so well that it seems simple now. I had been confused by thinking that "feel" could only function as a linking verb. If you ever do remember the speaker, please drop me a note to let me know his name.

 

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

 

Which is why I often stick to: I am fine/alright/okay thanks.

 

Totally funny :lol:, so clever.

[Pen]

Need help. Which would be grammatically correct?

 

I feel good.

or

I feel well.

 

Both are nowadays commonly used as predicate adjectives to mean being in good health.

 

Either can be an adjective describing the subject "I". Well refers to health, as in "You look well." (This is not using "well" as an adverb to modify "look" in most cases.)

 

With proper grammar, "I feel well," is the most common way it would be used and most people using the choices above probably would mean "I feel well." --that is my health is well, I am not sick.

 

"You look good" would mean attractive. The word good can also be used after feel to modify the subject I, where it could mean that you feel like a good person in the moral sense, and it could also mean "good" in the sense of good spirits.

 

Good would never be an adverb. Well is an adverb also and could modify feel --meaning the sense of touch is fine, but that is less often the meaning.

 

Try substituting "am" for "feel":

 

I am well.

I am good.

 

In each case it is clear that the last word is a subject complement, but the meaning is probably now a little more clear.

 

But again, both are nowadays commonly used as predicate adjectives to mean being in good health.

Edited August 10, 2012 by Pen

[Pen]

"Well" is an adverb describing how you do the action.

 

.

 

;) It is also an adjective with the meaning of "healthy"--look it up in a dictionary. ;)