1. General English
  2. Video series
  3. Word on the Street
  4. Paris Scene 2 Language Focus

Paris Scene 2 Language Focus

Rob gives us some good advice for speaking well, and then he and Ashlie talk about good and well.

Task 1

Exercise

Task 2

Remember, after verbs like 'look', 'feel', 'sound', 'smell' and 'taste', we use adjectives not adverbs:
     Anna looks good in that new dress.
     (= She has a good appearance.)

'well' is usually an adverb but sometimes it's an adjective which means 'healthy':
     The cat doesn’t look well.
     (= It doesn’t look healthy, it looks ill.)

Exercise

Task 3

Exercise

Download
Download Support Pack (588KB)588.02 KB
No votes yet

Submitted by niloofar 64 on Sun, 25/08/2019 - 16:44

Permalink
Hello English Team I would like to know is there a difference between the meaning of these two sentences?" you speak good English. " and " you speak English well." thank you

Hello niloofar 64,

Both sentences are correct and can be used interchangeably. 'Good' is an adjective and describes the noun 'English', which 'well' is an adverb and describes the verb 'speak'.


Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Profile picture for user musashow17

Submitted by musashow17 on Wed, 30/01/2019 - 17:16

Permalink
Hello English Team Could you explain me that using thinking words which our language such as 'eee' 'mmm' in speaking English is bad idea? For example : A: How many different countries have you visited? B: Well ... Thirteen? Fourteen? Definitely more than ten. Is it problem to use 'ee' or 'hmm' etc. instead of 'Well' In my language 'hmm' and 'hmm' are used to in same way with 'well'

Hello musashow17,

It's hard for me to comment on this as I would need to hear the actual speech in order to judge if the interjections are confusing, irritating, too frequent and so on, but in general there is nothing wrong with using sound such as these. Many native speakers use sounds like 'mmm' when they need to hesitate but want to signal that they have not finished speaking.

 

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Do you need to improve your English?
Whether you need better English to travel or meet new people, our online English courses will give you real practice. Join thousands of learners from around the world who are making great progress with their English level with our online courses.
Find out more