0

According to my study, "good at something" means "can do something well"

and "good at something" means "can use something well".

So, "She is good at English words" might mean she know a lot of English words

and "She is good with English words" might mean she is good at manipulating or using English words

Is that explanation acceptable?

1 Answer 1

3

We use "good at" with a skill, that is something you can do, and do skillfully:

She is good at programming. She is good at tennis. She is good at English.

But it wouldn't make sense to say "She is good at cats" (for example) because you can't "do cats".

So "She is good at English words" is rather odd. It doesn't mean anything. It doesn't mean that she knows lots of English words.

On the other hand you can say "good with" a tool or something that you can use, control, or guide skillfully

She is good with a pen. She is good with children. She is good with cats.

So it would be correct to say "She is good with English words". It means that she is skillful at using English words.

1
  • 1
    Dropped verbs. She is good at [playing] tennis. She is good at [speaking] English. Without a verb you can't be good at it.
    – EllieK
    Commented Apr 21, 2022 at 12:50

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .