Question

Which best completes the sentence?

Those muffins in the oven certainly smell __________ .

A.
good

B.
well

A?

Answer 1

Yes, it is A. B when read aloud doesn't really make sense and sounds fairly awkward

Answer 2

A is incorrect.
Good: to be desired or approved of.

Answer 3

If you were in Britain you could have said, "They smelled rather swell."

Answer 4

I think it depends on the context. If you are using grammatically correct English, you would say it smells well. But in day to day English it would be "smells good".

Answer 5

Well: in a good or satisfactory way.

Answer 6

It depends on whom you are talking to.

Answer 7

On the grammar plate it must be "well"
On the social plate use "good" just to avoid sounding awkward:)

Answer 8

I agree with Robert. In English context it really depends on the audience as well as social setting

Answer 9

Communication is the very first priority of any language. Grammar comes second.

Answer 10

Being of English origin myself, I would have changed the context to "well" and I would have said "...smells rather well.." but since I'm trying to appeal to the American way of communication I would say "...smells good."

Answer 11

American English tends to be more blunt and intuitive... Whereas British English still carries the influence of Shakespear.

Answer 12

Exactly. Sometimes I have to stop and ask myself how American English would put it. It gets me into trouble at school sometimes

Answer 13

Thanks! ^.^

Answer 14

You're welcome, dear. Have a good day

Answer 15

In American English using "well" would have meant the muffins performing an action. Whereas "good" would mean a third party making an observation.

Answer 16

@ANA789 You too! :)

Answer 17

so what's the final answer? just to be sure. :)

Answer 18

"The muffins in the over certainly smell good"

Answer 19

It's not about how you use the two word; it's how you should use them. Therefore saying A would be nothing but incorrect. @ANA789

Answer 20

Okay! Thank You! ^.^

Answer 21

@NeonStrawsForever just to be sure, i emailed my own English teacher and she says that in this case, "good" would be the correct one because in this case is talking about how something is. For instance, if we were having a conversation, and lets say you made food, i wouldnt say "Neon, your food is well." In typical American English, as Robert said above, it depends upon the context and usage of the word. So, I would tell you "Neon, your food is good"