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Well, Good, StrongBad
for
October 25, 2004
Okay, so I'm fairly familiar with the people who try to pass off that there is a difference between "I am good" and "I am well" when responding to the common politesse "How are you?" I take some umbrage as a grammar geek, since "good" is an adjective and it describes the speaker, "I", while "well" is an adverb modifying "am". Of course, my problem is that the second is both arrogant ("I am particularly talented at being") and doesn't really respond to the question, the main intent of which is to inquire after health and happiness; in other words, the question is about the inner state of the questionee, not about how gifted they are at living life. Nevertheless, taking that as a given, I had a further question: if you attempt to strip away the hubris with a little bit of self-deprecation, modesty, or understatement and choose to say "not too bad", you clearly violate the Good/Well Conundrum of Grammmatical Etiquette. "Bad" is an adjective, like "good". But no one ever says "I am not too badly", do they? Naturally, "I am doing badly" makes sense--everyone understands that you can "do well" and "do good", but only one asks for your status, while the other demands donning tights, cape, and mask. But the point is that no one--even those gross, self-centered misanthropes who insist on sharing misery with everyone--says "I am badly." So how come the grammar/etiquette folks aren't after us for this one?This was Wordplay , and it appeared on October 25, 2004 6:59 PM.
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Comments
Um, I can see that work was a little slow today.
Posted by: Torrie at October 25, 2004 11:20 PM
But “well” is the word people use when they are speaking specifically about health. If you’re warning people that you’re going to puke, you say, “I am unwell,” not “I am ungood.” Or to sound less NewSpeak, “I feel poorly.”
(Maybe “poorly” is just a trace Southernism in my vocabulary… “Is your mama still poorly?” “No ma’am, she’s getting well.”)
Posted by: PG at November 15, 2004 9:08 PM
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