PH3: How Are You - Good or Well? Could You Be Advertising Your Soft Skin?

Life-Changing Information

I am about to tell you something.

If you don’t already know this, the information will probably change your life.

The change will be a small one — it may not change a thing you do. It will change you nonetheless, because . . .

I’m about to do the grammatical equivalent of sticking a song inside your head.

Every day people ask and answer the question, “How are you?”

The answer I most often hear uses the word, good, in something like “I’m good, and you?”

Good is a tricky word. It’s always an adjective, except when speaking about health. Then it becomes an adverb, which means when speaking of health, good is not the right word to choose. You might instead try well.

Here’s the picture. The conversation is

ME: How are you?
IT Man: I am good.

He could be saying he is good at gaming, good at talking, good at what most husbands are good at, or even saying good for nothing, but he’s not talking about his health.

And oh my, should the conversation be

ME: How are you?
IT Man: I feel good.

Now he’s commenting on the softness of his skin.

That’s a picture, isn’t it?

Know that it is good to say that you feel well and all will be fine in the end.

Of course, if you have soft, smooth skin, I have no problem with you advertising . . .

–ME “Liz” Strauss