Tricky Rules

Good is an adjective. It describes nouns or pronouns. It may be used with descriptive linking verbs like look, feel, sound, taste, or be to describe the subject. Incorrect: The coffee tasted well this morning. Correct: The coffee tasted good this morning. Correct: The pitcher is looking good today. Well is normally an adverb. It

Incredible means “hard to believe,” literally “not able to be believed.” Incredulous means “skeptical” or “unbelieving.” It refers to a person’s response. The noun form of incredulous is incredulity. The opposite is credulous, or “gullible, believes anything.” Examples: Kim’s story was incredible. Arthur was incredulous as he listened to the story.

Lay means “to place something down.” It is something you do to something else. It is a transitive verb. Incorrect: Lie the book on the table. Correct: Lay the book on the table. (It is being done to something else.) Lie means “to recline” or “be placed.” It does not act on anything or anyone

Hanged means “executed by hanging.” Some authorities accept hung. Hung means “suspended” otherwise. Both are past tenses or past participles of the verb to hang, but each applies to specific cases. Examples: The five plotters in the Lincoln assassination were hanged. We hung the towels out on the clothesline to dry.

Indeterminate means “vague” or “unclear.” Indeterminable means “unable to find out or decide.” Both adjectives have similar roots, but the difference is in the suffix -able.