Learn English – What’s the difference between “That is not good” & “That is not well”? In what context each expression should be used

adjectivesadverbsword-difference

What's the difference between "That is not good" and "That is not well"? In what context should each expression be used or does it not make any difference?

Example:

That's not good. He should do the right thing.

and

That's not well. He should do the right thing.

Best Answer

These are the differences:

"That's not good"- correct

"That's not well" - weird

Normally and generally, the word "good" is used to be an adjective (describes nouns) while the the word "well" is to be an adverb (describes verbs).

For example:

I saw (verb) it well. (rather than "I saw it good").

It's a good thing (noun). (rather than "It's a well thing").

But when you are talking about "well" in the meaning of healthy then there is twist and it also describes a noun. For example: "She is well" (she is healthy) or "She is not well" (she is not healthy).

For more information, read here and here.