When your coworkers or friends say, 'How are you?', how will you reply? Which one (of the following) do you prefer? 'I am Good' or 'I am Well'.
Are they the same? Absolutely not. 'I am well' has something to do with your health, which is why you hear people say: I am not feeling well. So when people say, 'How are you?', the usual reply is: 'I am good.'
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Got it, right? But there is something more about 'Good VS Well'. They (Good & Well) live in two totally different worlds. How totally different are they? 'Good' lives in the Fantasy Land of Baby Verbs but 'Well' lives somewhere else.
A. The Fantasy Land of Baby Verbs
Where on earth is the Fantasy Land of Baby Verbs? Do you still remember Snow White? When she was in the forest with the seven dwarfs, what did she do? Almost nothing, except singing and doing some housework. (I guess she was the one who inspired Japanese to invent karaoke!)
Oh, sorry, I almost forgot to introduce to you the family of Baby Verbs. Who are they? They are: be, is, am, are, was, were, being, and been.
So what does this family have to do with 'good'? Baby Verbs and 'Good' live in another fantasy land, similar to where Snow White lives. (Have they ever met? Who knows?) But just like Snow White, Baby Verbs do almost nothing. What do 'Baby Verbs' do? Or, what does 'almost nothing' mean?
B. Baby Verbs & 'Good'
What exactly do Baby Verbs do in their fantasy land? Look at the pic and you'll get it:
Yes, they suck their fingers and are just STICKY. That is, as Baby Verbs are so sticky that what they do is: 'connecting' two things'. Which two things? Their fingers and mouths? No, but things on the left and things on the right. Am I kidding? Of course not.
Read the 'table' below:
Left
|
+
|
Right
|
I
|
< -----am----->
|
good
|
'Am' is a Baby Verb that links the things on its left to the right. A piece of cake, right? Yet, not 'everybody' is allowed to get into the Fantasy Land of Baby Verbs.
C. The Citizens of the Fantasy Land of Baby Verbs: NAP
As babies take a nap (a small rest) all the time, they only welcome NAP to enter the land. What does NAP stand for?
Baby Verb
|
+
+
+
|
Noun
Adjective
Preposition
|
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So how does NAP enhance your English?
C1. Citizen N: Nouns
To make sure you write and speak good English, add no other verbs but just NOUNS after a Baby Verb.
Baby Verb
|
Noun (a loooong one)
| |
The business process
|
is
|
the link between the business strategy, business models and day-to-day operation.
|
(Does anyone say you can't add a loooooong noun after a Baby Verb?)
C2. Citizen A: Adjectives
When making an offer to a company, you may give them time to think about it. This is exactly the time when Citizen ‘A’ comes to the stage: The offer is firm (for 5 working days).
C3. Citizen P: Citizen P(s) are special.
Before you know how, meet the following team:
for +++++++ of
How to use them in your presentation?
a. This is for the benefit of our team.
b. For the sake of clarity, I will make a long story short.
'For + of' is not the only team. Another team includes:
in ++++++ with
in accordance with
in common with
in compliance with
in connection with
in line with
This team is special too. You may use it to agree with somebody (in a meeting), for example:
We are in line with your team (on the issue of having a pay rise).
You think that's it. Not yet! Level II is waiting for you. Are you up to the challenge?
D. Baby Verbs & Complex Sentences
Though Baby Verbs are just sticky and take a NAP all the time, they can help you build complex sentence structures in your presentations or meetings. Read the following simple sentence and you will know how.
Looks easy, right? But you can make it complex by changing the first part of the sentence, ‘I am going to talk about'. How? There is a two-step method for you.
---------------------------------------------------------
Step 1. Use 'Wh' word to start the sentence:
What I am going to talk about
Step 2. Add the Baby Verb 'is', so the sentence becomes:
What I am going to talk about
is how to change the world.
You think it's still a bit complicated. The whole thing is summarized in the following table for you:
| Simple | I am going to talk about | how to change the world. |
| Complex | What I am going to talk about is | how to change the world. |
In other words, you just have to add 'What' and the Baby Verb 'is'.
(Click the link if you want to know more about Baby Verbs?)
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References
Biber, D., et al. (1999). Longman Grammar of Spoken and Written English, Pearson Education Limited.
Parrot, M. (2010). Grammar for English Language Teachers, Cambridge University Press.
Yule, G. (1998). Explaining English Grammar, Oxford University Press.
Additional Sources
Nelson, S. "10 Useful Hints for Everyday Grammar." The Stranger, September 26, 2002. www.thestranger.com/seattle/Content?oid=12084
Boyanova, M. "English Grammar and Writing Tips: Using 'Good' and 'Well' Correctly."
www.studyenglishtoday.net/english-grammar-using-good-and-well.html
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Pic sources
http://www.flickr.com/photos/aheram/5345121635/sizes/z/in/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/donabelandewen/3756224577/sizes/z/in/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/76029035@N02/6829422155/sizes/z/in/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/76029035@N02/6829451467/sizes/z/in/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/76029035@N02/6829471407/sizes/z/in/photostream/
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