#2
This title is so bad I had to use it.
Note: dictionary.com’s usage note says “feel badly” is standard, but “feel bad” is better. Grammar Girl agrees.
Bad vs. Badly Quiz
Fill in the blank with bad or badly. Post your answers in the comments!
- Those muppets treated Jake so ____!
- You can’t skate down Devil’s Backbone because you skate ____.
- How ____ do you want to eat those noodles?
- You look really ____ ensconced in velvet.
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6 Responses to “Adverbsaries (bad vs. badly)”
Himmelhoney
I often use this word badly.
Himmelhoney
Alright, here goes.
1) Badly 2) Badly 3) Badly 4) Bad
My answers aren’t carefully thought out, I just filled them as I would normally say them in conversation. I thought the answer to 1) is could be “Bad” because it follows a linking verb (right?), but it’s referring to an action verb. That sentence just sounds bad when it ends with “bad.” Oh dear…sounds badly?
For number 3, I had sort of the same question – what happens when there’s an action verb in there, but not just preceding bad/badly? Would one way mean they very much want to eat the noodles, and the other that they wish to do a poor job eating them?
Boy, this grammar stuff is tough!
surgeon
1. badly 2. badly 3. badly 4. bad
Agree with Himmelhoney!
Why on #3. is it badly and not bad? Because WANT is an abstract verb. and an abstract verb always has an imperfective aspect. Which in this case implies a continuous or repeated sensation… of wanting to eat noodles. It is not concrete.
How badly do YOU want to eat those noodles now?
Though, I would also say, this is using some slang friends…properly, we ought to say: How much do you want to eat those noodles? Or even better, How much would you like to eat these noodles? Very much. Thank you.
Tommy Gun
Yep, and that was intentional. Don’t want to make it too easy! :)
Christopher Brewster
Part of the confusion about “feeling badly” is because of the word well, which is, well, both an adverb and an adjective. Well, well! That is, I both draw well and feel well, but they don’t mean the same thing. The adjective use may even derive from some old habit similar to “I feel badly”. I’ve even seen the usage “I feel poorly” meaning I feel sick. So, like most grammar issues, the confusion seems to have been around for a long time.
Bonnie
Gosh, now I feel poorly, too, even though my health is once again excellent!