Wednesday, March 16, 2016

TO BE GOOD AT/WITH (NOTE ON USE)


GOOD AT & GOOD WITH

1.    In general, "good at" is used with areas of expertise:

o    Stephen Hawking is good at physics.
o    Roger Federer is good at tennis.
o    Elementary-school teachers have to be good at child psychology.

"Good with" is used with specific objects or people:

o    Stephen Hawking is good with equations.
o    Roger Federer is good with a tennis racquet.
o    Elementary-school teachers have to be good with children.

The word "computers" can be treated as either an area of expertise or a set of individual objects. Therefore, it's permissible to say either "good at computers" or "good with computers".

Welcome to the forum!

Another note: Gerunds fall into the "good at" category since they're generalized actions:

o    Stephen Hawking is good at understanding complex equations.
o    Roger Federer is good at handling a tennis racquet.
o    Elementary-school teachers have to be good at dealing with children.

 

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