Good vs. Well

Good vs. Well
Paulo P Sanchez | August 2, 2011 at 2:58 pm | URL: http://wp.me/pMRGn-VA

Good is an adjective. We use good when we want to give more information about a noun.

For example:

My dog Sam is very good. He's a good dog.

She didn't speak very good English. Her English isn't very good.

Well is usually used as an adverb. We use well when we want to give more information about a verb.

For example:

He usually behaves very well.

She didn't speak English very well.

Note! The exception to this can be when you talk about someone's health:

For example:-

She wasn't a well woman.

and when you describe sensations:

For example:-

This pizza tastes/smells/ looks good.

If you say "You look good." It means they look attractive.

If you say "You look well." It means they look healthy.

Note! Younger people might reply to the question "How are you?" with "I'm good." This is what I call MTV English.

You may hear the saying "That's all well and good." It means something is basically ok, but with some shortcomings.

Say ot tell?

Say or tell?
Paulo P Sanchez | July 28, 2011 at 3:29 pm | URL: http://wp.me/pMRGn-PT

Word Explanation Example
say to say something (say is followed immediately by a noun clause). If you want to put a personal object after say, use the word to. Andrew said that he was right.He said to his father that he was right.
tell to tell someone something (tell is followed by an object noun or pronoun) Can you tell methe way to the station, please?

Note:
In formal situations, the verb must be formed in the past tense.
Andrew told me that he was right.

Informal it is ok to say:
Andrew told me that he is right.
Some might say that he was right. > some people believe
It is said to bring good luck. > in the sense of "always"
No one goes home without my say-so. > used as a statement
Let me have my say. > say is used as a noun





More:

Said v. is the past simple and past participle of to say.
It can be used in direct speech:
For example: "I am sorry", said the criminal.
It can be used in indirect (reported) speech (followed by that).
For example: "The criminal said that he was sorry.

Said adj. is used before the name of a person or thing you have already mentioned:
For example: "The said party denied the charges"

Told v. is the past simple and past participle of to tell.
It is normally used in reported speech, i.e. it is used to talk about what people say (followed by an object + that:):
For example: I told him that I would be late.

When told has the meaning of "instruct", it can be followed by an object and an infinitive.
For example: He told me to leave.