Bad vs. Badly
The word bad is an adjective used to modify nouns and pronouns.
Example: She was in a bad accident.
Adverbs often end in ly. The word badly is an adverb that answers how about the verb.
Example: She was hurt badly in the accident.
The confusion comes with four of the sense verbs: taste, look, smell, and feel.
When we use these verbs actively, we should follow them with adverbs. (Hear is always used actively.)
When we use these verbs descriptively, we should follow them with adjectives.
Example: I feel bad about having said that.
I am not feeling with fingers in the above example; I am describing my state of mind, so the adjective is used (no ly).
Example: She feels badly since her fingers were burned.
She feels with her fingers here so the adverb (ly form) is used.
You can use this same rule about sense verbs with adjectives and adverbs other than bad and badly.
Example: The mask over his face made him look suspicious to the police.
He did not look with eyes. Look describes his appearance so the adjective is needed.
Example: She looked suspiciously at the $100 bill.
She looked with eyes so the adverb is needed.
Example: She looked good for someone who never exercised.
She didn’t look with eyes. Good is describing her appearance so the adjective is needed.
Example: He smelled well for someone with a cold.
He is actively smelling with his nose so the adverb is needed.
Rule: Well is used when referring to health.
Example: He doesn’t feel well enough today to come to work.
Quiz
1. Please don’t feel bad/badly about forgetting to call me.
2. His face looked bad/badly bruised after being punched.
3. She looked cautious/cautiously at the man ahead of her.
4. She feels cautious/cautiously when walking alone at night.
5. She smelled good/well after spraying perfume on her neck.
6. If you feel good/well enough on Saturday, we hope you will join us for dinner.
Answers
1. bad
2. badly
3. cautiously
4. cautious
5. good
6. well
Posted on Friday, July 6th, 2007, at 2:50 pm
21 Responses to “Bad vs. Badly”
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Hi,
Thanks for the examples. However, I have one that I’m not sure of.
“I want money so bad I can taste it.”
“I want money so badly I can taste it.”
Which of the two is correct? If my guess is correct, the first sentence should be used as “want” is a state of being/mind (right?).
You need to use a word that describes the verb want. The word badly is an adverb that answers how about the verb want.
I want money so badly I can taste it.
Gosh, I am reluctant to mention this, because you are the expert, Jane, and I’m probably about to make a fool of myself. But in the sentence ‘I want money so bad or badly’, I thought ‘want’ was a linking verb (state-of-being verb), and, therefore, the adjective bad must be used. Isn’t the rule that you use adjectives to modify linking verbs and adverbs to modify action verbs?
Can you help me understand my mistake, please.
The word want is not a linking verb. Linking verbs are forms of to be or “sense” verbs such as look, feel, smell, taste, appear, seem, and sound. Adjectives do not modify verbs, but adjectives follow linking verbs and modify the noun that comes after the linking verb.
I want money so badly.
The meat tastes bad.
Thanks, Jane. That helps a lot.
You are welcome.
I want money so badly.
This is interesting. I always thought that this would mean that they weren’t very good at wanting money, so I would have used bad.
Grammatically speaking, badly is an adverb modifying the verb want. One of the definitions given in Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary is ” to a great or intense degree .” Likewise, Dictionary.com‘s definition is “very much; to a great extent or degree: a house badly in need of repair; to want something badly.”
There is also an interesting definition of the word bad on Dictionary.com. It is listed as an “informal” adverb meaning “badly.” The example is “He wanted it bad enough to steal it. ” I would not recommend using it this way in formal writing.
How do you know when to use bad and when to use badly?
If you want to modify a noun or pronoun, use the adjective bad.
We had a bad storm.
If you want to modify a verb that is not a sense verb, use the adverb badly.
She was hurt badly in the tornado.
Jane,
I want to tell you so bad that you are wrong. Want is not an action verb… You do not want badly. That would mean your ability to want is flawed, which it is not. The expression “so bad” can be replaced with “to such extent”, in this case he describes a degree of desire, or, more specifically, “want.” Now stop badly helping people.
I am unable to find a single authoritative source that lists want as a linking verb. Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary defines badly as “to a great or intense degree .” Obviously, they consider want an action verb rather than a linking or “sense” verb. Bad is also considered acceptable usage as Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of English Usage says, “Bad sometimes acts as an adverb and is interchangeable with badly after the verbs want and need.” Most authorities, however, consider “want bad” to be informal usage. You may also find this discussion useful: http://www.grammarphobia.com/blog/2010/10/bad-badly.html.
I’m so glad to find this site. I was always taught there are very few time the word “badly” can be used. I hear it repeatedly on every TV show on these days and it drives me nuts. People have just decided it is correct grammar to use “badly” as a adverb whereever they please. It is one of my biggest “pet peeves” and I hear it more and more.
I really feel bad for the writers of today !!!
“I want money so bad I can taste it.”
“I want money so badly I can taste it.”
I don’t know the rules. But if you switch the words around:
“I bad want money I cant taste it.”
“I badly want money I can taste it.”
It’s easy to hear which word to use. It’s badly, here.
It does make it easier to recognize badly as an adverb when it is next to the verb want. As a mental device, it’s fine. However, if written, follow Rule 1 of Semicolons, which is “Use a semicolon in place of a period to separate two sentences where the conjunction has been left out.”
I badly want money; I can taste it.
I am confused about the sentence. AJ did extremely well on the geography test. What would the opposite be? AJ did extremely bad or badly on the geography test.
Our blog Bad vs. Badly says, “Adverbs often end in ly. The word badly is an adverb that answers how about the verb.” The verb in your sentence is did. Badly answers how about the verb did. Therefore, “A. J. did badly (or poorly) on the geography test.” (You can see how this opposite sentence is parallel to your first sentence since good is an adjective and well is an adverb.) Since I assume the letters AJ are somebody’s initials, we recommend following Chicago Manual of Style’s rule 10.12 which says, “Initials standing for given names are followed by a period and a space.” Since the Associated Press Stylebook recommends no space, you may see it written that way in newspapers.
Would you say;
Do you know how BADLY I want to just get up and go home? or Do you know how BAD I want to just get up and go home?
The word badly is an adverb that answers how about the verb want.
Do you know how badly I want to just get up and go home?
How about this one?
Missing my brother so bad? Or
Missing my borther so badly?
You need to use the adverb badly to describe the verb missing. To make this a complete sentence, you could write “I am missing my brother so badly.”