bad, badly

bad, badly
Bad is an adjective, badly an adverb. Despite this clear grammatical distinction, people tend to say "I feel badly" about as often as the more correct "I feel bad." In time, distinction between the forms may break down further, but as of now "I feel bad" is preferable. When the verb is to be modified, that is, when one is referring to a sense of touch, or feel, only badly is accurate: the student learning braille might say,"I feel badly this morning."

Dictionary of problem words and expressions. . 1975.

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  • bad - badly — ◊ bad Something that is bad is unpleasant, harmful, or undesirable. I have some very bad news. Candy is bad for your teeth. The weather was bad. The comparative and superlative forms of bad are …   Useful english dictionary

  • bad / badly —    Bad is used after some verbs like am to indicate the condition of the subject: They felt bad. (Using badly here would mean that their skill at feeling is poor).    Badly is used to indicate the manner in which the action of the verb is carried …   Confused words

  • badly — bad, badly 1. After the verb feel, bad is an adjective complement (meaning either ‘guilty, ashamed’ or ‘unwell’) rather than an adverb: • To be absolutely honest, what I feel really bad about is that I don t feel worse Michael Frayn, 1965. After… …   Modern English usage

  • bad — bad, badly 1. After the verb feel, bad is an adjective complement (meaning either ‘guilty, ashamed’ or ‘unwell’) rather than an adverb: • To be absolutely honest, what I feel really bad about is that I don t feel worse Michael Frayn, 1965. After… …   Modern English usage

  • badly — See bad, badly …   Dictionary of problem words and expressions

  • bad — See bad, badly …   Dictionary of problem words and expressions

  • badly — /bad lee/, adv., worse, worst, adj. adv. 1. in a defective, incorrect, or undesirable way: The car runs badly. 2. in an unsatisfactory, inadequate, or unskilled manner: a vague, badly written letter; He paints badly. 3. unfavorably: His neighbors …   Universalium

  • badly — bad|ly [ bædli ] (comparative worse [ wɜrs ] ; superlative worst [ wɜrst ] ) adverb *** 1. ) in a way that is not skillful, effective, or successful: She spoke French so badly I couldn t understand her. a badly organized meeting do badly… …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • badly — bad|ly W3S2 [ˈbædli] adv comparative worse [wə:s US wə:rs] superlative worst [wə:st US wə:rst] 1.) in an unsatisfactory or unsuccessful way ≠ ↑well ▪ The company has been very badly managed. ▪ The novel was translated badly into English. ▪ badly… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • badly — bad•ly [[t]ˈbæd li[/t]] adv. worse, worst, adj. 1) in a defective or incorrect way 2) in an unsatisfactory, inadequate, or unskilled manner 3) unfavorably: She spoke badly of him[/ex] 4) in a wicked, evil, or morally or legally wrong way 5) in a… …   From formal English to slang

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