Proofread Bot
Blog / Good or Well? Real Mistakes and How to Fix Them
Good or Well? Real Mistakes and How to Fix Them
Good is an adjective: it describes a noun ("a good book"). Well is an adverb: it describes how something is done ("she writes well"). The confusion runs in both directions, as these real sentences from Proofread Bot users show.
The corrections are written in formal, academic English, so contractions are spelled out in full. Where a contracted or colloquial form is common in everyday writing, it is shown underneath as the informal version.
1. "Good" where an adverb is needed
After an action verb (speak, do, go, play, write), you need the adverb well.
✓ I want to speak English well.
✓ His day went well.
✓ I believe I performed well on my mathematics test.
Informal: I think I did pretty well on my math test.
✓ I am doing well.
"I am doing good" is extremely common in conversation, but in writing well is the standard answer to "How are you?" ("Doing good" can also mean "doing good deeds," which is a different meaning entirely.)
2. "Well" where an adjective is needed
After linking verbs that describe a state or a sense (be, seem, look, feel, taste, smell, sound), you need the adjective good, because you are describing the subject, not the action.
✓ This lunch tastes good.
✓ The beet and mushroom soup tastes very good.
Test: replace the verb with "is." "This lunch is good" works; "this lunch is well" does not. So the correct word is good.
3. "Well" meaning healthy
Well is also an adjective meaning "in good health." "I feel well" means you are not ill; "I feel good" means you are in a good mood or physically comfortable. Both are correct, with slightly different meanings.
4. The same rule for other adjectives
✓ To live life to the fullest, one must live simply.
✓ The cat is better than the dog.
"Live" is an action verb, so it needs the adverb simply. And the comparative of "good" is always better, never "more good." See more comparison mistakes.
Note on intensifiers
In formal writing, "really good" and "pretty good" are best replaced with a single precise word: "excellent," "satisfactory," or "very good." Proofread Bot flags both good/well confusions and informal intensifiers like these.