Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[TALA]

I'd like to ask the following question.

which is the correct phrase : well-paying jobs or well-paid jobs? Why?

Any other phrases that give similar meaning?

thank you

[hitori2k6]

Tala,

As far as your question goes, you'd say the
job "pays well". I'm not sure how natural it is to say
"its "well paying job". That doesn't sound very natural.

The person doing the job is well paid.

I hope that helps.

Hitori2k6

[TALA]

Thank you hitori2k6, but what I mean is..

This is a well-paying job or a well-paid job.

Which one sounds natural?

Thank you

[LucentShade]

"good-paying job" / "high-paying job" are more common, but we'd say that a person is "paid well" for what they do.

[asterix]

He has a well-paying job.
He had a well-paid job.

Under no circumstances, use good- paying
, except when writing dialogue or reporting speech.
Good is an adjective and cannot properly be used to modify a verb.

[hitori2k6]

Tala,

Hi, sorry. Perhaps I wasn't quite
understanding your question then.

The most natural sounding answer is
"This is a well-paying job".

As for why... I'm not sure why.
I think it has to do with the conjugation
of the verb. But also maybe has to do
with "job" being a noun.

Strange as it sounds, I'm a native
English speaker, but not 100% grounded
in English grammar. I can only tell you
that the phrase sounds more natural
than the other answer.

Sorry I can't give you a better reason.

Often times though, native English speakers
don't speak in a grammatically correct manner.
They speak in a a way that is more natural sounding.

Ok. Take care.

Hitori2k6

[TALA]

Thank you for all of the answers.