Real Grammar - Susan Conrad, Douglas Biber 2009

The Adjectives Good and Nice
Unit 24 He did a nice job

What have you learned from your grammar textbook?

Adjectives are words that are used to modify nouns, giving extra information about them. They can be placed (1) before a noun or (2) after a non-action verb (be, seem, sound, etc.):

1. The tall man caught my eye.

2. That computer is expensive.

What does the corpus show?

A

The adjectives good and nice are very common in conversation. They have an imprecise, positive meaning. (See Unit 20 for more about imprecise words in conversation.)

B

Four words are commonly used to modify good and nice in conversation:

C

The expressions not very good and not very nice are also common in conversation, especially for describing people or their behavior. These expressions are softer than saying not good or not nice.

D

Good and nice are often used in expressions that have important social purposes in conversation. They are often in reaction to something the other person said or did.

Note: Also see Unit 25 on the use of good instead of the adverb well.

Activities

1 Notice in context: Read the conversation, underline good and nice. Look for examples of the four modifiers (real, really, very, and pretty) and circle the ones you find.

Two friends are discussing the weather and their recent vacations.

Pavlo: It’s been such a long winter with the weather.

Ana: Yes, we need some sun.

Pavlo: I did have a break in the sun. I went to Puerto Rico for one week and that was nice. But other than that I’ve been here pretty much for the whole winter.

Ana: Yeah. I have too. I went to California for Christmas, and of course it’s not very good for Christmas down there. It rains a lot of time. But it was nice to be there and, uh, I haven’t been anywhere else since.

Pavlo: I have three cousins that moved to Florida.

Ana: Oh, nice. What part?

Pavlo: Um, De Monto, uh D something. It’s on the Atlantic side.

Ana: Uh huh. Well, that’s nice.

Pavlo: I haven’t seen them for about twenty years, so I’m going to go down there right after the Easter break.

Ana: That’s good, all the crowds will be gone. That’s a good time to enjoy Florida. I really like Florida in the spring.

2 Practice conversation: Complete each conversation with the best ending from the box. Then practice the conversations with a partner.

1. Akiko: You rode in an uncovered pickup?

Sami: Oh yeah.

Akiko: ...

Why didn’t he uh, take you in the front?

Sami: I just don’t know.

Akiko: Unless he didn’t trust you.

2. John: I saw this cat with no home, and I went up to him and I brought him in the house.

Carl: ...

3. At the dinner table.

Evelyn: Hey, the eggplant is good!

Tomas: Oh, glad you like it.

Evelyn: ...

4. Mom: Kids, wake up. It’s Friday.

Son: ...

5. Lin: Where are you staying in Santa Fe?

Wan: The LaFonda Hotel.

Lin: ...

a. And good job on the sweet potatoes.

b. That’s a nice place. It’s right downtown.

c. Her husband is a really good friend of mine.

d. Oh, good. That’s a good day.

e. That’s a pretty good guess.

f. Well, that was a really nice thing for you to do.

g. That’s not very nice of him.

3 Practice conversation: First, go back to the conversation in Activity 1 and practice it with a partner.

Then write a conversation between two friends. This conversation should include at least four different uses of good and nice. Use the suggestions in the box and also add your own ideas. Practice your conversation with a partner.

• Greetings or closings

• A question and answer about a mutual friend

• Talking about vacation plans

• A compliment

• Expressing approval

A: ...

B: ...

A: ...

B: ...

A: ...

B: ...

A: ...

B: ...