“I Am Well” vs. “I Am Good”

Oldest son and I have a running debate.  Whenever I say, “How are you?”, he replies, “I’m well.” I cringe, every time, because I don’t think that’s correct grammar, even though people frequently say “I’m well”.  He knows it irks me, and that’s why he says it.  But I’ve done some research, and I’m here today to finally prove that my way is the right way.

What was my word of the year?  Humble?  😉

Anyway, here’s the language low-down, with help from Grammar Girl.

Action Verbs vs Linking Verbs

Most verbs describe an action:

  • run
  • talk
  • drive

Adverbs modify, or describe, action verbs:

  • run well
  • talk quietly
  • drive carefully

Usually, adverbs end in -ly, but sometimes they don’t, which makes things tricky.

There are special verbs called linking verbs that connect words.  The most common linking verbs come in a form of the verb “to be”, however other verbs like “look” and “become” count as linking verbs too.

  • She is pretty.  (“is” links she and pretty)
  • The sky is blue.  (“is” links sky and blue)
  • He looks tired.  (“looks” links he and tired)

If you can substitute some form of “to be” for the verb in a sentence, and the sentence still makes sense, it’s probably a linking verb.

The Confusing Part

Usually, an adjective is used after a linking verb to describe the noun in front of the verb.  (FYI, it’s called a predicate adjective.  Use that at the next party you go to.)  In the examples above, pretty, blue, and tired are all adjectives.

Complication: “well” can be an adverb OR a predicate adjective.

  • He runs well  (well = adverb, describing run)
  • I am well (well = predicate adjective describing I, but most resources say that in this case “well” means “healthy”, not “I’m having a great day.” )

The thing to remember is linking verbs describe emotions or states of being.  So, when someone asks, “How are you?”, the proper way to answer if you’re having a good day is “I am good”, because “good” is a predicate adjective describing I.  Any adjective will do here… happy, tired, fabulous, etc.  Just not “well”, unless you’ve spent a month in bed with the flu and now you’re healthy again.

So, you know what that means, son…

One more thing

Good is an adjective, used to describe a noun.  Therefore phrases like “He did good” or “She swam good” are not grammatically correct.  “Did” and “swam” are action verbs, and therefore they need an adverb to describe them.  Something like “fabulously” or “well” works here.  😉

Of course, most of the time where I live, when people say this, they are offering a compliment, and I try to treasure the praise and ignore the grammar.

Word Nerd Workout

In the phrase Nobody is perfect

  • what is the verb, and is it an action verb or a linking verb?
  • what part of speech is “perfect”

Also, which of these sentences are grammatically correct?

  1. I am dandy.
  2. I drive awesome.
  3. He looks sleepy.
  4. She did great!

Thanks for getting nerdy with me.

Julia

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Julia Tomiak
I believe in the power of words to improve our lives, and I help people find interesting words to read. Member of SCBWI.

12 Comments

  1. Nice! Hope your son read this, Julia! I’ve always said “good”–and having been through a bout of sickness in our house, I can definitely say there’s a difference in replying with “well” versus “good.”

  2. Excellent lesson, Julia! I usually use the correct word; my brain (and ears) just seem to know which sounds right.

    Why is English so complicated? (Not intended as a question for you to answer in a post, but if you feel so inclined…)

    1. I know what you mean Dana, I feel like I have an “ear” for grammar too. I think English is so complicated because it’s an amalgamation of several different languages, but I’m not sure on this and might pursue research… 😉

  3. I’d take “I’m well” (grammar warts and all) from my oldest anytime since it would be 100% more words than he currently utters. lol Teen boys…don’t they know that we moms need some multi-syllable words strung together every now and then?

  4. I cringe at, “He did real good.” Thanks for all the nerdy info – great stuff! As for the grammatically correct workout…#2 does not look right to me!??? And the others? #1 might not be right. #3 & #4 appear to be correct or maybe I’m just used to speaking this way 🙂

  5. It is nice to know that my small great grandson, who is almost three years old is grammatically correct. When I ask, how are you? He responds, “Good”. I think I am is implied!

  6. Thank you for this! I have always said “I am good” out of habit but thought it was grammatically incorrect. So excited to know I can say it without guilt now.

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