Good, Well, Bad, and Badly

Four common adjectives and adverbs have irregular forms: good, well, bad, and badly.

Forming Irregular Comparatives and Superlatives

  COMPARATIVE SUPERLATIVE
ADJECTIVE    
good better best
bad worse worst
ADVERB    
well better best
badly worse worst

People often get confused about whether to use good or well. Good is an adjective, so use it to describe a noun or pronoun. Well is an adverb, so use it to describe a verb or an adjective.

ADJECTIVE image
ADVERB image

Well can also be an adjective to describe someone’s health: I am not well today.