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Mari Kim
Could you help me?
Hello
I came across a sentence like ”I was pretty good at studying”.
Does it make sense?
I learned in order to describe that someone gets good grades in school, I can say ”he is a good student in school”, ”he does very well in school’.
I also learned ”be good at” means you’re doing good something. For example, he is good at playing poker.
Could you please help me?
Feb 25, 2020 3:21 AM
Answers · 3
1
Hello Mari Kim
There is a good answer to that.
In your example "he is a good student in school" you explain that the person is a student. 'Student' is the noun here, serving as an object. The adjective "good" describes what kind of student he is: a good one.
In your other example "I was pretty good at studying" you use the verb "studying" as a noun, which we call a gerund. The purpose of this is that you focus the attention to the act of studying instead of to the person.
He's a good student. But if he's "good at studying" he isn't just intelligent, but his method of studying is good.
I hope this helps.
February 25, 2020
1
The sentence is correct. You can be good at anything, and studying is not an exception :)
February 25, 2020
It makes sense. It is just in the past tense (specifically the past simple).
While the later examples you gave were in the present tense.
February 25, 2020
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Mari Kim
Language Skills
English, Korean
Learning Language
English
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