Clear, concise expression of approval or acknowledgment, often used to describe something favorable you’ve done for someone else. The phrase combines Good with Of You, functioning as a polite, evaluative remark in informal and semi-formal speech. It emphasizes the beneficial nature of your action toward the listener and is commonly used in conversation and written acknowledgment.
"I’m glad you stepped in; good of you to help with the project."
"That was good of you to call and check in during the storm."
"Well, that was good of you—thanks for picking up my mail while I was away."
"If you stay late again to finish the task, that’s very good of you."
The phrase Good Of You is a collocation built from the adjective good and the prepositional phrase of you, functioning as a public-facing evaluative compliment. Its core meaning rests on the sentiment of benevolence attributed to the listener’s action. Etymologically, good as an evaluative adjective has a long history in English, tracing back to Old English god, with semantic shifts to moral quality over time. The construction of “of you” as a complement to adjectives expresses a subjective judgment about someone’s behavior; this pattern appears in phrases like “kind of you” and “nice of you,” which likely evolved in the Early Modern English period as courtesy language between social equals. The exact pairing “Good of you” rose to prominence in 20th-century informal speech, particularly in American and British English, as a softer, socially tactful response emphasizing gratitude without overt praise. First attested written uses appear in mid-20th-century correspondence and dialogue in media, but the exact idiom became common in spoken English as a pragmatic response to helpful actions, prioritizing politeness and acknowledgment over strong sentiment. The evolution shows a shift from moral evaluation to social lubricants that facilitate courteous interaction, especially in professional or semi-formal contexts. Today, it’s widely understood across varieties of English, though the exact tonal weight may differ by region and register. In some dialects, you may hear it more often in casual speech, whereas in formal contexts it may be softened or rephrased as “That was very kind of you.”
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Words that rhyme with "Good Of You"
-you sounds
Practice with these rhyming pairs to improve your pronunciation consistency:
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Pronounce as two primary chunks: /ɡʊd/ + /əv/ + /juː/. Stress falls on the first syllable of Good, with a light schwa in of. The sequence sounds like: g·ood (short u as in book), uhv (schwa), you (yoo). In connected speech, the /d/ in Good may link to the /ə/ lightly, so it sounds like /ɡʊ.dəv juː/. Pay attention to the vowel quality in Good (short, rounded /ʊ/) and the long /uː/ in You. For clarity, keep the /ə/ between good and of short and unstressed.
Common mistakes include: 1) Doubling the T-like stop in of: pronounce /əv/ with a clear schwa, not /of/ or /əv/ with a strong vowel. 2) Tensing the vowel in You: avoid turning /juː/ into an /uː/ or /ju/ diphthong mismatch; keep the long /uː/ quality. 3) Linking too strongly between Good and Of: practice light, fast transition /ɡʊ.dəv juː/ to avoid a clipped, separate words effect. Correction cues: relax jaw for Good, use a neutral schwa for of, and glide into You smoothly.
Across accents, expect minor vowel shifts: US speakers tend to reduce the /ə/ in of more than UK, making it sound like /ə/ with a lighter schwa; UK speakers may have a crisper /ɡʊd/ and softer /juː/ in You, with a slightly shorter /əv/; Australian speakers often merge /əv/ toward a shorter, less centralized /ə/ and maintain the long /uː/ in You. Rhoticity doesn’t change these segments much, but US rhotic speech may reflect a subtle /ɹ/ presence in You. In all, the main variance is the quality of the middle vowel and the pace of the linking; aim for consistent /ɡʊd/ + /əv/ + /juː/ across accents, with nuanced vowel coloring.
The difficulty lies in the quick sequence and weak mid-weak vowels. You have three adjacent phonemes: /ɡʊd/, /əv/, /juː/. The /ə/ in /əv/ is a reduced vowel that often vanishes in fast speech; the final /juː/ requires a smooth glide without inserting extra vowel sounds. The transition between the final consonant /d/ of Good, the schwa-like /ə/ in of, and the initial glide into You is susceptible to over-articulation or under-articulation. Practicing with connected speech drills helps stabilize these linkages.
There are no true silent letters in the standard pronunciation of Good Of You. Each segment contributes a sound: /ɡ/ in Good, /ʊ/ in Good, /d/ final, /ə/ in of, /v/ as the voiced labiodental fricative, and /juː/ in You. In casual speech, the /ə/ in/of may be reduced or clipped towards a near-schwa, making it sound like /dəv/ or /d v/ in rapid speech, but the consonants remain audible. Stay mindful of retaining the /v/ in Of You to keep the phrase's meaning clear.
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