www.GrammarInfo.ca

by

Carolanne Reynolds
COMMON MISUNDERSTANDINGS EXPLAINED

--------------------------------------------
good/well

THE MOST COMMON AND MOST EGREGIOUS
(It's really driving me crazy.)

good
is an adjective (what something is like)

well
as an adjective refers to health and as an adverb explains how

EXAMPLES

+  How are you?
The answer is:  Well, thank you.
because
the person is asking you about your health, not your morals.
There is a difference between a person who is well and a person who is good.
Just as there's a difference between 'doing well' (rich) and 'doing good' (a missionary).
To expand a bit, good actually refers to: morals, ethics, ability, and expertise.
if someone says they're good, it's tempting to ask, "and how good are you?"
Of course there are many answers besides 'well': fine, wonderful, fantastic, or if it must start with G, then say 'great'

+  How are things going?
Things are going well
because
well, an adverb, answers how something is
and
+  How are things?
Things are good
because
good is the adjective modifying the noun 'things'.


He is a good violinist; he plays the violin well.
She is a good swimmer; she swims well.


Linguistic Note

French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, and Romanian as well as English have both good and well.

OTOH, German, Russian, Hebrew, Chinese, and Arabic for example, have not.

It's only the last few years that this mistake has crept in.  It is, happy to say, being beaten back by the CBC in their guidelines to staff -- and others in the grammar trenches.

UPDATE
2013 September 4: Great news! on CBC' radio (On the Coast) this afternoon, Stephen Quinn and Johanna Wagstaffe referred to good/well and this website, grammarinfo.ca (because I write to OTC, Matthew Lazin-Ryder too). Join the good/well ranks -- spread the word(s)! [with the explanation helps]

--------------------------------------------

I/me

I = subject of a verb, called the subject pronoun
me = object of a verb or a preposition, called the object pronoun

between you and me........
I'm going home.
Mary and I are going home
                  =  no problem there.
I is the subject pronoun; me is the object pronoun.
He's going with me.
He's going with Johnny and me.
IOW, it doesn't matter if you're alone, with one other person, or with a crowd.
If you leave out the other people you won't make a mistake between you and I  :-)  I'm talking about the words only, if a sentence, "it is a secret between you and me."
You can attend with one million others and me!?


reflexive pronouns

They do not replace the subject or object pronouns -- they turn back on themselves and must have a subject to reflect.

[See below]


--------------------------------------------



best/most -- think/prefer; love/like

judgement/preference vs amount

I think this is best; I like/love this the most

The first is preference, the second is amount, not opinion

Remember it is:
    I like the dog more, I like the cat most.
The opposite is: I like the dog less, I like the cat least of all.
Because it's amount it has to be more and less, it cannot be better/best and worse/worst.

If you think of the opposite, you probably won't make the mistake.

 
less/fewer  -- uncountable (amount) / countable


less and fewer differentiate between uncountable and countable

so

it's less forest, fewer trees; less ice cream, fewer ice cream cones


--------------------------------------------