it turned out good / well

If the weather can turn out to be fine, then a cake can turn out to be good!

It's funny you should mention the weather, because "It's turned out nice again", relating to the weather, was the first thing that came to mind when trying to justify the use of "good" in relation to a cake

But would you actually say that the weather had 'turned out good'? iT

I can see what you mean, MamaCaz by being able to justify both 'well' (it turned out exactly as it was supposed to) and 'good' (as opposed to bad!). The latter sounds rather American to me, though...

No. You can only say 'it turned out well'.

In my humble opinion I think.......good is an adjective and well is an adverb. If you extend the sentence to "It turned out to be a good cake." then it works as you are describing the cake. If you are talking about the verb - turned out - then it should be "well". I agree with Jingle.

So do I.

Me too!

Rockgran: In a round-about way, I think you have hit on the reason why "the cake turned out good" sounded ok-ish to me. I definitely interpret it as shorthand for "It turned out to be a good cake". In other words, I see it as a description of the end result, the cake itself, whereas "it turned out well", to my muddled brain, says more about the action leading up to that. I'm not saying that my reasoning is grammatically acceptable (and from all the answers, it seems that it definitely isn't), but simply that I've now managed to work out why both seemed possible to me.

Thanks for all your answers, everyone

I guess it's just the way we talk these days. Grammar has gone down the pan. I don't reckon it matters too much. So long as teachers drum the correct grammar into kids,' probably reluctant, heads. We can't let it all go completely.

" I don't reckon it matters too much"

How's that for fantastic grammar? It works though. I think.

If you know what "it turned out good" means, what's the problem? Language is about communicating effectively.

The word good is now used as an adverb as well as an adjective. The sentence "I'm good", Minibags informs me, is shortspeak for "I'm feeling well" and is regarded as equal to "I'm well" or "I'm fine" when someone asks "How are you?"

We can all use our preferences but I think we have to accept that
American speakers of English can modify the language as well as us. There are more of them anyway, so we don't really have a choice.

As well as we ?? tut tut

Actually, I'll stick with us

I don't think grammar has gone down the pan. Good writers still write with good grammar. The spoken language doesn't need to be so strict.

My old and much revered English teacher told us that even though some words and phrases may be grammatically correct if they don't read and flow well then there are better words to use so I would say 'the cake turned out well'. I prefer the phrase ' it was a large room' to ' it was a big room', just as an example - sounds better on my ear.

However what I cannot abide is 'that was so fun'. Aaargh!!!

In "The cake turned out to be good" good applies to the noun "cake" - it describes the finished cake. A noun takes an adjective - so it is good.

In "The cake turned out well" well applies to the verb "turned out" - it describes the way the cake developed. A verb takes an adverb - so it is well.

But these days good is used all over the place instead of well, so objecting is like farting in the wind.

Teaching English here to the locals- it can take a while to explain the difference between 'good' and 'well'. Mind you, it shouldn't really, as it is the same principle in French.

And then we pick up their school book and a conversation in the USA:

How are you Jonny?

I'm good, thanks!

GRRRRRRRR

The thing is, if "I'm good" is what native speakers of English say, then it is correct. That's what people say. It's the idiom now whether people like it or not and it's what people who are learning English will hear so they'll say it too. Pedantry all very well when meaning may be compromised but in instances like this it's just grumpiness.

Teetime "so fun" really grates with me too, it just doesn't sound right.
I do believe that language evolves constantly though, so I'll suck it up!

If language is about communicating then "The cake turned out well," although grammatically correct is confusing, as it could refer either to the finished cake or to the action of taking the cake out of the baking tin. "The cake turned out good" is just lazy and needs "to be" before good. But language does change so probably it is acceptable. Gone are the days when people scrutinize every word. I remember being pulled up as a child for using the word "can" instead of "may" and when I asked"Can I go to the toilet?' or some other request being told- "You are physically able to do this, but the question you are asking is have you permission to do it and that needs"May". How times change!

I still stick to that rule trisher. Was drummed into me. (can/may)

'Can I get a coffee' is always going to grate with me, it doesn't matter how language evolves! It's just silly.

Does the job though, that Can I get a coffee, thing, dunnit? Gets one a coffee.

So would 'Could I have a coffee, please?'. And it would be more polite.