It seems like there's a growing misuse of the phrase "real good" by many Americans, even those on television. I've been hearing a lot of individuals, both on tv and real life, use the phrase "real good" like in these sentences:
"I'm not feeling 'real good' today"
"That horror movie scared those kids 'real good'"
"He's a good quarterback because he can throw the ball 'real good'"
"When cooking spaghetti sauce, you have stir the pot 'real good' like this."
2007-03-13 17:09:58 · 6 answers · asked by Roland 4 in Education & Reference ➔ Words & Wordplay
Strictly speaking, neither "real good" nor "real well" are correct. Real is an adjective and thus modifies a noun rather than an adjective (such as good) or an adverb (such as well). However, we frequently hear both these phrases in informal spoken English. Remember that language is not a stagnate unbending thing that never changes. On the contrary, language is constantly in flux and what makes it endlessly facinating and somewhat confusing is this tendency to change over time and in different situations.
If you want to correct the sentences, you would have to change "real" to "really" and also consider whether good or well works better. "Good" is an adjective and modifies nouns. "Well" is usually an adverb, so it can modify verbs or adjectives. When "well" means "not sick" it is an adjective. So the first sentence could read either "really good" or "really well" depending on what you are trying to say. Be careful; the verb feeling is a linking verb here, so we are not modifying it but rather "I."
In the second sentence, "scared" is being modified so it would have to be "really well."
The last two sentences also call for "really well" since the verbs are being modified rather than the subjects. In one, the sentence describes how the ball is thrown and in the other, we are directed as to how to stir the pot.
2007-03-13 18:47:42 · answer #1 · answered by whatevawhateva 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
(-: slang. Not much you can do about it, except monitor your own English.
I'm not sure "real well" is a good substitute. "I don't feel really well" is better (to me), but I'd say, "I don't feel very well."
(-: I don't know what to substitute for the horror movie. "That horror movie scared the bejeebers out of those kids!" would work, but I don't think it's much better than your example.
For me, I can understand what the speaker is trying to convey in each sentence you give, so I'd be inclined to live and let live. What annoys me are the times you can't understand what a person is trying to say because of bad grammar, or too, too new syntax. (ne1 up for that?)
2007-03-13 17:43:54 · answer #2 · answered by Madame M 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Good Vs Well Grammar
2016-11-16 17:10:34 · answer #3 · answered by goolsbee 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There is no correct grammatical way to use each, but no one speaks real good english 24/7.
2007-03-13 17:14:18 · answer #4 · answered by gravytrain036 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Both "real good" and "real well" are informal, similar to saying "wicked good" or "hella good".
2007-03-13 17:20:40 · answer #5 · answered by ILookGuilty 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
They are both wrong.
It should be 'really well'.
Do not say 'We done real good'. Say 'We did really well'.
.
2007-03-13 22:20:27 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋