Uploaded December 2024 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago

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Are you “good” or are you “well”? Did you do well on the exam or did you do good? Watch and learn how to use “good” and “well” correctly in English. I’ll explain the differences in an easy way, with lots of examples, so you understand clearly. I’ll also teach you the exceptions, with linking verbs, the verb “to be”, and more. We’ll practice together so you can speak and write English correctly and confidently at work, on exams, or with friends. Yes, you can master these two confusing words once and for all! engvid.com/good-or-well-whats-the-difference

Quickly fix even more common mistakes with my course, Correct Your English Errors in 10 Minutes a Day: 10.bexenglish.com
More lessons about confusing English words:
"SOME" or "ANY"? youtu.be/7A9MFMk8Kzg
"I" or "ME"? youtu.be/zVWoLoxcqqM

In this lesson:
0:00 "GOOD" & "WELL": What's the difference?
1:46 When to use "good" in English
2:39 When to use "well" in English
4:19 "Good" or "well"?
5:59 – Test Yourself –
8:31 Linking verbs go with "good"
10:12 "I'm good."

TRANSCRIPT:
I'm Rebecca from www.engvid.com. Today, we will learn the difference between two very
commonly confused words, and they are "good" and "well". Now, English learners at all
levels make mistakes with these very commonly used words because they kind of are similar
in meaning; however, grammatically, we have to use them very differently. So, let's understand
exactly what they mean, how to use them, and then you will be able to use them more
correctly and confidently. So, let's go.
Let's start with a little quiz first to see if you can tell which word to use. So, in
the blank space, should we be saying "good" or "well"? That's what you can tell me first.
Do we say, "She speaks _____ English"? What do we say there? And the second sentence to
think about, "She speaks English _____", okay? Let's go back to the first one. "She speaks
_____ English." Do we say "good" or "well"? Think about it. Pause the video for a second
if you need to. Or, "She speaks _____ English." The next one, "She speaks English good" or
"She speaks English well"? It should be, "She speaks English well." Okay. So now, not sure
if you got them right or wrong, but let's understand exactly why we chose those two.
So, first of all, "good". "Good" is an adjective, okay? So, an adjective describes a noun. In
this case, "good" is describing English, which is a noun. A noun is a person, place, thing,
or things like this, concepts like this, okay? So, it's an adjective. It describes
a noun. "Usually", "usually" comes before the noun. "Good English". And it answers the
question, "What kind?" So, for example, "She speaks English." What kind of English does
she speak? "Good English", alright? So, "good" will answer that question, "What kind?"
Let's look at the other one, "well". "Well" is an adverb. An adverb is going to describe
a verb, an action, okay? So, here, what is the - what is "well" describing? "Speaks",
the verb "speaks". "She speaks English." And it answers the question, "How?" "How does
she speak English?" "She speaks English well." Alright? But "well" is describing the verb
"speaks", and "good" is describing the noun "English". Got it? We're going to practice
it. It's really important that you stay with me here, because we need to practice this
part, which we're going to do, and then, at the end, I have the exceptions. You know
English has exceptions, where the rules are sometimes a little different, and it's important
for you to know them, so you won't be surprised, or you won't say, "Oh, no, I didn't understand
that." I want you to look at the main exceptions so that you'll also use those correctly. Okay?
So, stay with me so that you... You know, if you're going to watch something, watch
it all the way, get the full picture so that you're really using it correctly and confidently.
Okay? Alright. Now, what I have here, this "good" and "well" is also included in my online
course, Correct Your English Errors in 10 Minutes a Day. We look at common mistakes
like this and see how to correct them. Alright? So, if you're interested, I'll give you a
link. Please check out the course. Now, based on what you've learned, let's see if you can
tell me what's the right word to use in these examples. "John is a blank driver." and "John
drives blank." When do we say "good" and when do we say "well"? The first one, "John is
a good driver." Right? "Good" is the adjective that's describing which word? Driver. What
kind of driver is he? He's a good driver. "John drives", I guess you know that this
answer is "well". Okay? And "well" tells us about the verb. It tells us how does he drive.
He drives well. Okay? Good. Now, "good" and "well" don't just describe people as we did
in these examples. […]