Are you feeling good or well?

If someone asks after your health and, assuming you feel okay, do you say, you're feeling good, well or fine?

Good is an adjective. It could relate to one's behavior in relation to an ethical norm or to the degree of skill one has in a specific area or endeavor.

Well is an adverb. It describes how one feels and is the word one usually uses to communicate that one is in good health.

Fine is an adjective that means of superior quality, admirable, consisting of small particles, refined and delicately fashioned. It has other uses, as well. For example, a fine musician is one of high quality. However, a fine musician is  a better musician than a good one.

 

So, when someone asks you how are you, how do you answer?

If you are feeling chipper, the standard answer is "I'm fine," picking up on the superior quality meaning of that word. However, if you want to emphasize that you are in good health, you could say, "I'm well." The answer "I'm good," is not appropriate. If you are a baby sitter you could tell the parents after they return that their children were good as a way of indicating that they were well behaved.

Of course, if you're really feeling great, you could always say, "I'm super."