Once again a message, or rather a question, from Marc, from Belgium. I was wondering, what is correct
1°) He’s looking good or he’s looking well
2°) I’m feeling well or I’m feeling good
In both cases I’ve heard them on television by native speakers, however, in the first case I thought ‘He’s looking good’ was correct (the meaning in the film was looking handsome) and in the second I thought that both may be correct. Are the verbs used in these sentences copular verbs? I mean, it would be wrong to say: ‘She sings beautiful’ it should be: ‘She sings beautifully’ right? Now, I’ve already found out that ‘well’ is often used when talking about one’s health. Would that mean, if I use the second sentence of the first case proposed here, I would actually be saying that he looks ‘healthy’ or also ‘handsome’? Please, tell me something more, it’s keeping me sleepless!
By the way, in September, I will become a member of the BATS, this is the British and American Theatrical Society in Belgium, consisting of British and American people, who always do plays in order to collect money for multiple sclerosis patients. I think I’m going to enjoy this.
Looking good means looking attractive/well-dressed/fine
Looking well means looking healthy
Feeling well means feeling healthy
Feeling good means feeling contented/happy/satisfied
Hello
Mr. Alan
How about this,
if someone asked me “Are you okay?”
the question means she/he want to know about my health condition, right!
So, it’s that correct if i answered “I’m very unwell and don’t know whats going on”
Sometimes that is correct – for example, if you were in obvious distress or looked unwell a concerned person may well ask ‘are you okay?’ seeking a genuine answer. In this situation, your response is appropriate.
However, if someone greets you in general terms with ‘are you okay?’ they may be using it in the same way as ‘how are things? / ‘how’s life?’, etc. They don’t really expect or want a detailed breakdown of your health, but are opening polite conversation. At these times it is best to be general or to be dismissive of any small ailments: ‘Not so bad’ / I’m fine / not too good, but that’s life’ ‘could be worse’.
this could be if you see someone in what appears a difficult situation. For example you could see someone has fallen over and you go up to them and want to know if they have hurt themselves. If you want to know if they are in good health, the question invariably is: How are you? If you are not well, the answer could be: I’m not at all well.
I disagree that the question is ‘invariably’ how are you? Nowadays there are many informal variations to ‘how are you?’ including the phrase under discussion.
All right?
How are things?
How’s life?
Everything okay?
The original query doesn’t make it clear whether the person asking the question is aware of the ‘health condition’, but no matter… Naen is now informed of the various possibilities.