Can you speak good English? Do you speak English well? In terms of using "good" and "well", there are certain rules. For example, you can speak good English but you cannot be well at English and you cannot speak English good. Let's look at the rules in more detail.

"Good" is an adjective and "well" is an adverb. For example, you can write a good essay. The word "essay" is a noun and the adjective "good" describes the noun. Using "well" as an example, you can write well - here, "write" is a verb and "well" describes how the task was carried out and is called an adverb. Adverbs describe and modify ADjectives and VERBS, hence the reason they are called adverbs. Adverbs describe how a task was performed and, unlike "well", they usually end in a "ly" suffix (really, quickly, slowly, greatly, sadly and so on).

There can be some confusion as to when you use either "good" or "well". If we go back to the first sentence "Can you speak good English?" you will see that "good" describes the language English, which is a noun. In "Do you speak English well?" you can see that "well" describes "speak", which is a verb.

There are also some rules when we deal with the four senses of look, taste, smell and feel and whether we use good or well:

He looks good for his age! (Here, the man is not actually using his eyes to look, which would make "look" a verb. Instead, "look" is used as a reference to his appearance and becomes a noun, so "good" is an adjective.)

She smells good. (In this example, "good" describes the woman, not how you sniff!)

He smells well for someone with 'flu! (This describes the activity of smelling, how he uses his nose, so "well" is an adverb describing the verb "smells".)

When you talk about the state of your or someone's health, always use "well":

She does not feel well.

He does not look well today.

So, if someone asks you "How are you?" and you think they are referring to your physical well-being you can answer "I feel well" or "I don't feel well."

However, if you are describing someone's emotional state, you need to use "good":

She doesn't feel good about breaking up with her boyfriend.

He feels good since going to see a counsellor.

If you are ever unsure about when to use "good" or "well" in these circumstances, you can always say "I feel great", "I feel fine" "I feel awful" and "I feel sick". Take your pick from many adjectives!

KJ Hutchings is the founder of KJ Language Services, offering editing, writing and proofreading services and advice on how you can make your English language documents the very best they can be. For more information, visit http://www.kjlanguageservices.com/