She cooks well.

Question

I’ve been inspired by CJ, khoff and fivejedjon.

I’ve learned that “She is a good cook” is better than “She cooks well”.

Then, I’ve come up with a table as below.

I’d like some comments from you, and partial mentioning is also appreciated.

For example, I don’t agree with #7. Or #9 is possible in both ways.

		A				B
1	He	listens well.	?	He is	is a good	listener.
2		speaks well.				speaker.
3		lies well.				liar.
4		discusses well.				discusser.
5		works well.				worker.
6		pots well.				potter.
7		acts well.				actor.
8		shoots well.				shooter.
9		reports well.				reporter.
10		plays well.				player.
11		architects well.				architect.
12		sleeps well.				sleeper.
13		steals well.				stealer.
14		loves well.				lover.
15		rebels well.				rebeller. (rebel)
16		manipulates well.				manipulator.
17		mediates well.				mediator.

AlpheccaStars · Accepted Answer

Some can be used both ways, but the meaning changes.

12 She sleeps well.
not She is a good sleeper.

8. He shoots well.
not He is a good shooter. (different meaning, since "shooter" has an implied criminal context.)

1. He listens well.
OK (or better) He is a good listener.

7. She acts well.
Better: She is a good actress /actor.

2. He speaks well.
OK (or better). He is a good speaker.
He lectures well. OK (or better) He is a good lecturer.

5. This works well. (It is a good solution to a problem.)
OK: He is a good worker, but not "He works well."

He hears well. OK: He has good hearing. not: he is a good hearer
She sees well. (She has good eyesight.) "She is a good seer" has a different meaning.

The following are not verbs:
pot
architect (It can be used in the passive)

I don't use "well" with these:
steal (He is a good thief / robber.)
manipulate (He is a good manipulator.)
report (He is a good reporter.)
lie (He is a good liar.)
discuss ?
rebel ?

GPY · Answer

AlpheccaStarsThe following are not verbs:pot

Just a small observation ... The verb "pot" is used a great deal in the game of snooker, and, in fact, "He's a good potter" would be a normal thing to say in that context.

AlpheccaStars · Answer

GPYJust a small observation ..

Oh, so it's like the verb "put"
I'm not a snookerer.

Pructus · Answer

Oh, It's marvelous!!
Thanks so much, AlpheccaStars!!
It's really a great help....

Pructus · Answer

Thanks GPY...
I thought "pot" meant "pottery making, as with clay"....

GPY · Answer

pructusThanks GPY...I thought "pot" meant "pottery making, as with clay"....

Yes, it can mean that too ...

CalifJim · Answer

OMG, Pructus! This has become an obsession!

For one thing, I think the comparisons only make sense with ordinary acts that we expect or prefer people to have some competence at doing after having practiced doing them.

1) Mediating, manipulating, and rebelling are not very ordinary acts, and they are not the sorts of things we believe people practice doing or seek advice in doing so that they can improve their skills at doing them (with the possible exception of a professional mediator).

2) We don't want people to steal, rob, kill, manipulate, cheat, or lie, so we are unlikely to speak either of, e.g., killing well or being a good killer (with the exception of sociopaths). Other descriptors are available for these negative actions. a cold-blooded killer, to kill recklessly, a heartless manipulator, a filthy liar, ...

3) "architect well" doesn't work at all. "architect" is not a verb, or at least it's not used that way.

4) "discuss", "report", "love", and "sleep" don't fit the comparison either. People don't strive to be better at sleeping, for example. We never look at a person who is asleep and say, "Oh, how very skillfully he is able to sleep! I wish I knew how to sleep so skillfully."
In journalism we have reporters, editors, and so on, so in that case, you can have good reporters or good editors, but the words "reporter" and "editor" have very specialized meanings in journalism, so "a good editor", for example, doesn't even have the same meaning as "someone who edits well". Because "editor" has become a special term, it no longer has the common meaning of "someone who edits". I can edit my own reply here as I write it, and I may do it well, but that doesn't make me an editor.
"lover" has the same problem. One who is very loving toward others may "love well", but that's not at all the same as "a good lover", which brings in the idea of having sexual relations.

5) Some of the ideas presented above enter into most or all of the verbs you cited. The change from verb to noun doesn't necessarily preserve the exact meaning of the verb. In some ways, that change "professionalizes" the meaning, if you see what I mean. If I hear "speaks well" I think of an ordinary person who has clear pronunciation and a good vocabulary. If I hear "is a good speaker" I think of a professional speaker who arranges speaking engagements all over the country and charges a lot of money to do so.

CJ

AlpheccaStars · Answer

pructusThanks GPY...I thought "pot" meant "pottery making, as with clay"....

In that context, it is not a verb.
She makes pots.
She throws pots.

GPY · Answer

AlpheccaStarsIn that context, it is not a verb.

In fact, it can be a verb too in that context (whence the noun "potter", presumably).

AlpheccaStars · Answer

CalifJimWe never look at a person who is asleep and say, "Oh, how very skillfully he is able to sleep!

We cannot sleep well if we are sick, though. I do use "well" with sleep in the meaning of "soundly" or "comfortably" but not "skillfully."

People sometimes drink a hot toddy so they will sleep well.

She cooks well.

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