{"id":49,"date":"2007-07-06T14:50:44","date_gmt":"2007-07-06T14:50:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/?p=49"},"modified":"2021-05-12T10:56:09","modified_gmt":"2021-05-12T15:56:09","slug":"bad-vs-badly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/definitions\/bad-vs-badly\/","title":{"rendered":"Bad<\/em> vs. Badly<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

Proper use of certain English adjective and adverb forms of a word can be elusive because of what they describe. One such pair is bad\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0badly.<\/em><\/p>\n

The word bad<\/em> is an adjective that modifies nouns and pronouns: She was in a <\/em>bad accident.<\/em><\/p>\n

The word badly<\/em> is an adverb that conveys the manner or degree of a verb’s action: She was hurt <\/em>badly in the accident.<\/em><\/p>\n

Bad vs. Badly: Why the Mix-Up?<\/h2>\n

Confusion about the two words typically arises when they accompany the sensory linking verbs taste, look, smell<\/em>, and feel<\/em>.<\/p>\n

When we use these verbs actively, we should follow them with adverbs. (Hear<\/em> is always used actively.)<\/p>\n

When we use these verbs descriptively, we should follow them with adjectives.<\/p>\n

Examples<\/strong><\/em>
\nI feel bad<\/span> about having said that. (I am not feeling something physically but rather describing something emotionally, so the adjective bad <\/em>is used.)<\/p>\n

She feels badly<\/span> since her fingers were burned. (She is feeling something physically with her fingers, so the adverb form is used.)<\/p>\n

The same interpretations of adjectives and adverbs apply with the other linking verbs mentioned.<\/p>\n

Examples<\/strong><\/em>
\nThe mask he wore made him look suspicious<\/span> to the police. (He did not look with his eyes; look<\/em> describes his appearance so the adjective is used.)
\nShe looked suspiciously<\/span> at the $100 bill. (Her appearance is not being described; she looked with her eyes so the adverb is needed.)<\/p>\n

Because Richard had such a bad cold, all food tasted\u00a0poor<\/span> to him. (Poor <\/em>describes the taste of the food so the adjective is used.)
\nRichard’s bad cold caused him to taste food poorly<\/span>. (Poorly <\/i>modifies the physical tasting of food so the adverb is needed.)<\/p>\n

The perfume Janine is wearing smells strong<\/span>. (Strong <\/em>describes the perfume so the adjective is used.)
\nJanine can smell scents so strongly<\/span> you’d almost think she has a dog’s nose. (Quickly<\/em> relates to the physical act of smelling so the adverb is needed.)<\/p>\n

Bad vs. Badly: A Note on Current-Day Usage<\/h2>\n

GrammarBook.com aims to maintain distinctions that uphold more-precise usage and meaning in American English. At the same time, we recognize that some resources for style guidance adapt to contemporary tendencies. Merriam-Webster online, for example, currently accepts bad<\/em> as an informal, colloquial form of badly, <\/em>thereby making the words interchangeable: “bad: badly<\/em> (doesn’t want it\u00a0bad<\/em> enough).”<\/p>\n

The American Heritage Dictionary<\/em>\u00a0further explains that the use of\u00a0badly<\/em>\u00a0with\u00a0want<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0need<\/em> was once considered incorrect, since in these cases it means “very much” rather than “in an inferior manner or condition” or “immorally.” Today, however, such usage is prevalent even in formal contexts and so considered standard.<\/p>\n

Consequently, we acknowledge that bad <\/em>and badly <\/em>can both be used as adverbs with verbs of strong emotion (e.g., want<\/em>, need<\/em>)\u00a0although we prefer differentiating them for greater precision.<\/p>\n

\"bad<\/p>\n

Pop Quiz<\/h2>\n

1. Please don\u2019t feel [bad \/ badly] about forgetting to call me.
\n2. Loretta wants the new kitchen-table set [bad \/ badly].
\n3. That coyote is looking at us [bad \/ badly].
\n4. You probably shouldn’t have baked the cake so long, because it smells really [bad \/ badly] now.
\n5. David says his Denver omelet tastes [bad \/ badly] so he’s going to ask them to make it again.<\/p>\n

Pop Quiz Answers<\/h3>\n

1. Please don\u2019t feel bad<\/strong> about forgetting to call me.
\n2. Loretta wants the new kitchen-table set bad<\/strong> (or badly<\/strong>).
\n3. That coyote is looking at us badly<\/strong>.
\n4. You probably shouldn’t have baked the cake so long, because it smells really bad<\/strong> now.
\n5. David says his Denver omelet tastes bad<\/strong> so he’s going to ask them to make it again.<\/p>\n

\n
Are you ready for the quiz?<\/h6>\n

Bad vs. Badly Quiz<\/a><\/br>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Proper use of certain English adjective and adverb forms of a word can be elusive because of what they describe. One such pair is bad\u00a0and\u00a0badly. The word bad is an adjective that modifies nouns and pronouns: She was in a bad accident. The word badly is an adverb that conveys the manner or degree of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-49","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-definitions"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4809,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49\/revisions\/4809"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}