Can you be good "about" or good "with" something?

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xiph

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kct webber

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They are both fine. I wouldn't say "I'm good about mathmatics," however. It just sounds strange. And to me, "I've been very good with being quiet" sounds odd as well.

I may just be a regional thing, but if I were to say "I'm good with being quiet" it would mean I have no objection to being quiet. If I'm good with taking the dog out every day, I have no objection to it. If I'm good about taking the dog out every day, I actually do it. Again, it may just be a regional thing. The grammer gods will have to give you the actual rules.
 

Judg

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I'm very good about being quiet - means you don't object to being quiet.

I'm very good at being quiet - means you do it well.

I'm very good with being quiet - doesn't mean much. Being good with something means you are good at handling it/them. So you can be good with children, with numbers, with dogs, with engines...

Hope this helps.
 

slcboston

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Somehow "being good about being quiet" sounds British to me. I have no idea whether it actually is, but it seems like the kind of construction that would be at home in a Monty Python sketch (which is how I judge British-ness). :D
 

Danalynn

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Both of those examples "sound" fine to my ears.



;)

And THIS is a great place for these kinds of questions.
(I LOVE the Grammar for Grasshoppers section! lol!)


:D
 

Duncan J Macdonald

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There is a colloquial and/or slang meaning to the phrase "good with". It means that you agree, or have no objection.

Example:
Thug 1: I split the money into three piles.
Thug 2: But there are two of us, not three!
Thug 1: <brandishing a pistol at Thug 2> Two for me, one for you.
Thug 2: I'm good with that.

So, from the OP "I'm good with mathematics." would translate to "I have no objections with/to mathematics."
 

kct webber

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There is a colloquial and/or slang meaning to the phrase "good with". It means that you agree, or have no objection.

Example:
Thug 1: I split the money into three piles.
Thug 2: But there are two of us, not three!
Thug 1: <brandishing a pistol at Thug 2> Two for me, one for you.
Thug 2: I'm good with that.

So, from the OP "I'm good with mathematics." would translate to "I have no objections with/to mathematics."

Yeah, that's what I was saying. It doesn't mean it's correct, but people do say it where I'm from.
 

Duncan J Macdonald

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Yeah, that's what I was saying. It doesn't mean it's correct, but people do say it where I'm from.
Heh. It's entered main-stream usage. I've heard it in various TV shows and cinema releases.

There are days when I mourn the death of English, and place flowers on its grave.
 

Judg

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The inversion of "That's fine with me" to "I'm fine with that" and by extension "I'm good with that" has happened under my startled eyes in my lifetime. I'm fine with that. ;) But as far as I know, it's still considered slangy or at least colloquial.

When I was younger, I used to sneer at the old fogies who would grumble about contact being used as a verb. And then impact shifted from noun to verb and I howled. Privately. To myself. I didn't want to become one of those old fogies who wanted a language to be a museum piece instead of a living thing.

But I still refuse to use impact as a verb. I'll just listen to you do it without cringing.
 

ErylRavenwell

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Good at maths. Good with animals. Maths here is a skill, animal a tangible thing. Following this simple rule, you write: Good at handling animals.

But the bottom line is, there's no simple rule governing preposition usage; you just have to read more.
 
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Priene

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To my British ears, good about works only when followed by a participle. So you could say

She's good about helping around the house

but not

*She's good about mathematics
 
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