<p>Do you(A) feel good(B) enough to(C) go to the store(D)? No error</p>
<p>this is not a real SAT question, but... my sat teacher said that B is wrong because "well" is needed here. But don't we often say " I feel really good" ?</p>
<p>any explanation please</p>
<p>Just because we say something doesn’t make it correct. Your teacher is correct.</p>
<p>Your teacher is incorrect. I feel good and I feel well mean the same thing. In this context, both *good<a href=“%5Burl=http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/good]Good%20|%20Define%20Good%20at%20Dictionary.com[/url],%20look%20at%20entry%20#2,%20under” title=“adjective”>/i</a> and *well<a href=“%5Burl=http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/well]Well%20|%20Define%20Well%20at%20Dictionary.com[/url],%20look%20at%20entry%20#12%20[as%20well%20as%20#11]%20under” title=“adjective”>/i</a> are adjectives that mean roughly the same thing:
Notice how the definition of well actually includes the word good.</p>
<p>The notion that there is a distinction probably comes from the fact that, strictly speaking, in formal contexts, well can be an adverb while good cannot. But in this case both are adjectives and feel is a linking verb which can take adjectives, so the distinction doesn’t matter. If we are dealing with action verbs, which can only take adverbs, then there is a distinction, and I perform well would be correct and I perform good would be incorrect and informal in the same way I perform satisfactorily would be correct and I perform satisfactory would be incorrect.</p>
<p>From Merriam-Webster’s dictionary ([Good[1</a>] - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary](<a href=“http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/good[1]?show=0&t=1298246937]Good[1”>http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/good[1]?show=0&t=1298246937), or look up good on <a href=“http://www.m-w.com):%5B/url%5D”>www.m-w.com):</a>
Your story is just another case of how badly grammar is being taught by our teachers nowadays.</p>
<p>The SAT often prefers the formal context over the general, common usage; in common parlance, almost everyone says good over well. This is like a question I got in a practice book once: “They say(A): comedians…” Apparently they say is too ambiguous and is wrong; however, one frequently states “they say” when referring to a popular axiom. So look for anything that could be considered erroneous, not just the obvious/logical.</p>
<p>I agree with your point that what’s commonly used or said isn’t necessarily correct in formal contexts. But do you agree that theforbidden’s teacher is wrong in saying that in that particular sentence “good” should be “well”? In that case not only are they both commonly used (I don’t know about you, but “I feel well” is comfortably used and heard all the time), but they are logically interchangeable as well as formally (by definition) interchangeable.</p>
<p>True. Well, for all intensive purposes it’s irrelevant except on a grammatical test like the SAT; it’s not like in formal, non-letter writing you would ever say “I feel well”, except for in quotations.</p>
<p>But since this teacher is his SAT teacher, I think it is best that he stated that.</p>
<p>so would the SAT ever test something like good vs well?</p>
<p>Yes, it might, but probably not in the context of “I feel good” vs. “I feel well,” since there really is no difference, only in the context of adjective vs. adverb, e.g. “I drive good” (incorrect) vs. “I drive well.” Here’s a question from the blue book that tests adjectives/adverbs:
The answer is “cautious,” which should be changed to “cautiously.” The distinction is between an adjective and an adverb. In the same way “I drive well” is correct but “I drive good” is incorrect. But, to reiterate, if you are dealing with linking verbs (like in the sentences “I am good” and “I feel good”) then you use an adjective, not an adverb, so the distinction between adjective and adverb is irrelevant.</p>
<p>right. cautiously is an adverb that modifies driven</p>