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Usenet Posted 22 years ago
Usage
Doing OK/fine/good
I realize that the sentence 'I'm doing good' is wrong as 'good' is an adverb, yet I also hear 'I'm doing fine/OK' or indeed 'She did OK' etc. Are these equally wrong for the same reason? I ask because ('fine' particularly) sound reasonably OK to my ears. Thanks.
Top answer
[nq:1]I realize that the sentence 'I'm doing good' is wrong as 'good' is an adverb,[/nq] Your thought is okay, but I think you probably meant to say "good is an adjective". Anyway, "good" is a good adverb in informal usage, and I, for one, think it should be acceptable in formal usage, just as "slow" and "fast" are accepted as in "drive slow" and "drive fast". It seems inconsistent to me to accept "slow" and "fast" as unexceptionable adverbs as the Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary , for one, does and then label as informal "good" as an adverb.
- [nq:1]I realize that the sentence 'I'm doing good' is wrong as 'good' is an adverb,[/nq] Your thought is okay, but I think you probably meant to say "good is an adjective".
- Anyway, "good" is a good adverb in informal usage, and I, for one, think it should be acceptable in formal usage, just as "slow" and "fast" are accepted as in "drive slow" and "drive fast".
- It seems inconsistent to me to accept "slow" and "fast" as unexceptionable adverbs as the Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary , for one, does and then label as informal "good" as an adverb.
- [nq:1]yet I also hear 'I'm doing fine/OK' or indeed 'She did OK' etc.
- Are these equally wrong for the same reason?
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6 Answers
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[nq:1]I realize that the sentence 'I'm doing good' is wrong as 'good' is an adverb,[/nq]
Your thought is okay, but I think you probably meant to say "good is an adjective".
Anyway, "good" is a good adverb in informal usage, and I, for one, think it should be acceptable in formal usage, just as "slow" and "fast" are accepted as in "drive slow" and "drive fast".
It seems inconsistent to
Your thought is okay, but I think you probably meant to say "good is an adjective".
Anyway, "good" is a good adverb in informal usage, and I, for one, think it should be acceptable in formal usage, just as "slow" and "fast" are accepted as in "drive slow" and "drive fast".
It seems inconsistent to
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[nq:1]I realize that the sentence 'I'm doing good' is wrong as 'good' is an adverb, yet I also hear 'I'm ... Are these equally wrong for the same reason? I ask because ('fine' particularly) sound reasonably OK to my ears. Thanks.[/nq]
All three words, "OK," "fine," and "good" are used as adverbs, as in the examples you give. "Fine" may be used in both formal and informal speech and writing, wh
All three words, "OK," "fine," and "good" are used as adverbs, as in the examples you give. "Fine" may be used in both formal and informal speech and writing, wh
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[nq:2]I realize that the sentence 'I'm doing good' is wrong ... because ('fine' particularly) sound reasonably OK to my ears. Thanks.[/nq]
[nq:1]All three words, "OK," "fine," and "good" are used as adverbs, as in the examples you give. "Fine" may be ... in the *Online Merriam-Webster Dictionary,* where theeditors point to circumstances where the adverbial use of "good" is preferable to "well.
[nq:1]All three words, "OK," "fine," and "good" are used as adverbs, as in the examples you give. "Fine" may be ... in the *Online Merriam-Webster Dictionary,* where theeditors point to circumstances where the adverbial use of "good" is preferable to "well.
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Though
'How are you?'
'Good'
is increasingly being pushed by pratty Radio 1 DJs.
DC
'How are you?'
'Good'
is increasingly being pushed by pratty Radio 1 DJs.
DC
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I agree that these are inconsistencies. However, I wonder whether consistency should be given any normative weight here.
Mike Nitabach
Mike Nitabach
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[nq:2]I realize that the sentence 'I'm doing good' is wrong as 'good' is an adverb,[/nq]
[nq:1]Your thought is okay, but I think you probably meant to say "good is an adjective". Anyway, "good" is a ... Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary , for one, does and then label as informal "good" as an adverb.[/nq]
I find it totally normal of you to be so pedantic about some points of Engl
[nq:1]Your thought is okay, but I think you probably meant to say "good is an adjective". Anyway, "good" is a ... Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary , for one, does and then label as informal "good" as an adverb.[/nq]
I find it totally normal of you to be so pedantic about some points of Engl
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