Good vs. Well

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I recently received this question, “You should do a grammar post on how to respond when someone asks, ‘how are you?’ or ‘how are you doing?’ The good vs. well answer is something that gets confused a lot, myself included.”

In short, the right answer to how are you, is I am well or I am doing well. Because well answers how. Good is an adjective that has to modify a noun.

This post from Grammar Tip of the Day delves into the topic a little further. “The answer ‘I am good’ is grammatically correct –and certainly a common, useful response in everyday conversation. But the grammatical meaning is just what it says— the person is good—a good person, a religious person, maybe. In the answer ‘I am well,’ well is an adjective meaning pretty much ‘in good health’.”

Hope that helps! Thanks for asking!

13 thoughts on “Good vs. Well

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