Good or well

Question

HI, everybody!1.  "well" or "good""You do it well"  or "You do it good."2.  Present tense or Past tense should i use in this sentence?  "do" or "did"?     When we say you do something good, the action has already past.  So, which tense should i use in common?

Canadian45 · Accepted Answer

miyabiHI, everybody!

1. "well" or "good"

"You do it well." [Y]

2. Present tense or Past tense should i use in this sentence? "do" or "did"? When we say you do something good, the action has already past. So, which tense should i use in common?

If it was done one time, say 'You did it well.'

If it is done repeatedly, say 'You do it well.'

Miyabi · Answer

Ok, i see. Thank you!

So, as in the same form. It is correct for me to say, "You sing well.", "You swim well.", "You cook well."?

Canadian45 · Answer

miyabiOk, i see. Thank you! So, as in the same form. not a sentence
It is correct for me to say the following?

"You sing (very) well." [Y]

"You swim (very) well." [Y]

But it is also very common to say 'You are a (very) good (singer)(swimmer).

"You cook (very) well." This one is different. It sounds odd and is not generally said.

'You are a (very) good cook.' [Y]

Do you know why the 'cook' sentence is different? What is the difference between singing and swimming and cooking?

c45

Miyabi · Answer

I'm sorry, but I really don't know why "You cook well" sounds odd. And I don't know what's the different between singing, swimming and cooking.

Could you explain it to me? Thank you so much!

Canadian45 · Answer

miyabiI'm sorry, but I really don't know why "You cook well" sounds odd.
And I don't know what's the difference between singing, swimming and cooking. Could you explain it to me?

When you listen to someone sing or you watch someone swim, you can more or less immediately make a judgement as to how well they sing or swim.

But you can't decide about a cook until you eat their food. They could seem to be 'cooking very well' (however you would define that), but the food might not actually taste very good.

So if we like the food, we say that '(S)he is a (very) good cook.' [not '(S)he cooks (very) well.']

Thank you so much!

Miyabi · Answer

That's right!  Your explanation is very clear.  Thank you so much <img class='emoticon' style='Width:19px;Height:19px;' data-delaysrc='https://uat-englishforward-forums-backend.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Emoticons/1.gif' src='https://uat-englishforward-forums-backend.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Emoticons/1.gif' alt='Emotion: smile'/>

Vivianna · Answer

both are right.I think

Good or well

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