Within the United States, inappropriate just as well as appropriate usage of the English language in some cases blindly enables us to categorize people in an identical position. Consider this example: "How are you?" - "I’m doing good." Such a commonly-used greeting or compasionate expression of awareness! Grammatically, though, quite a no-no. But which is more commonly spoken: "I’m doing well." (appropriately, with an adverb); or "I’m doing good." (inappropriately, with an adjective).
Say the correct form of that sentence in many social-circles within the United States and be typecast as a snob; as pompous or pretentious; or otherwise as a person who looks down on others. Spoken incorrectly, as strange as it is so frequently accepted, this grammatically incorrect verbal form seems more commonplace. Yet still, oddly, speaking in correct grammatical construction, in the case of "I’m doing well," within many social circles the speaker may fall into an unwarranted typecast.
Even worse, though as grammatically incorrect as doing good, if we were to say "I am well," we would be using an adverb to serve where an adjective-complement belongs. Moreover, the speaker would hold a sense of higher priority by using incorrect English grammar. Am would be the copulative verb here. In the case of copulative verbs and complements, as a rough and general rule, think of the copulative verbs as equal signs ("=") to join the subject to the noun or adjective standing in the place of the object. Notice that the components of sentences with copulative verbs and complements are interchangeable, too. Simply recalling a "this" is "that" construction with these sentences makes copulative verbs easy to distinguish between sentences containing transitive and intransitive verb constructions.
(For more on verbs, go here: Verbs: Difference between Copulative, Transitive, and Intransitive …)
Getting back to being typecast in accordance with English grammar, consider how these sentences can hold the ability to draw quite opposing subconscious reactions to the same sentence:
"Are you planning on going to the concert with Susan and I this evening?"
And "Are you planning on going to the concert with Susan and me this evening?"
In the case of the first sentence, though grammatically incorrect, some people fall into the habit of placing the subjective use of this pronoun (I) where the objective (me) is needed. Funny how human psychology, and psychological faults, at times can be depicted in accordance with bad grammar. Or unwittingly, we may place these same speakers in a bracket of "superiority" just as easily.
Either way, holding conscious focus on where to place adverbs as opposed to adjectives, or likewise, can be beneficial in our spoken and written presentations alike, actually. Likewise, in regard to spoken usage of the English language, knowing where to place subjective and objective pronouns can assist in maintaining a confident and assured posture. However, perceptions in the ways we can be judged in accordance with our usage of English grammar, accuracy not pending, can at times make others feel the right to judge us psychologically. Social acceptance of how others corectly or incorrectly speak on occasions seems a double-edged sword.
