Feeling bad about feeling badly

[Zathras]

I was taught that "I feel badly" is incorrect and one should always use "I feel bad" (unless one feels good, of course).

The adverb form refers to the quality of sensory perception, while the adjective describes inner thoughts or emotions.

Is this still correct?

Source: Morning discussion with spouse.

 

[sleipnir214]

My take on it has long been that "badly" is an adverb and as such modifies the verb. Thus, if you are wearing gloves and the gloves reduce the sensitivity of sense of touch, the sentence "I feel badly" is an accurate and grammatically correct description of your condition..

"Bad", though, is an adjective, and thus when used in the sentence "I feel bad" is a predicate adjective which modifies the subject of the sentence -- this is similar in usage to the sentence "I am bad", where "bad" modifies "I", not "am". If you have all the typical symptoms of the flu, it would be correct to say "I feel bad".



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[AnotherHiggins]

I agree with you, Zanthras.

There is a big difference between "you smell bad" and "you smell badly". The former implies that you stink. The later might indicate that you have a 'stuffy nose'.

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[tsdragon]

You could always avoid the problem and say "I don't feel well." Oddly, even though that should mean the same as "I feel badly", not "I don't feel bad", due to common usage that's not the case.


Tracy Dryden

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For you are crunchy, and good with mustard.

 

[sleipnir214]

It should be "I don't feel good", which puts a less ambiguous predicate adjective in the sentence.


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[SantaMufasa]

Actually, sleipnir, the modifier ("good"/"well") refers to "feel", a verb. Therefore, "well" (an adverb) should appear instead of "good" (an adjective). Here are a couple of comparisons for proper use of "well" and "good":

Person 1: "How are you?"
Person 2: "I am good. I feel well."

¿Está bien?

Mufasa
(aka Dave of Sandy, Utah, USA)

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[sleipnir214]

Again, what are you modifying?

"I am good" is correct. "Good" is a predicate adjective which modifies the subject of the sentence.

But in the utterance "I fell well", what is "well" modifying? I think "feel" is a copula, which connects the subject to a modifier. If the modification is to the subject, then you must use the adjective, not the adverb.


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[SantaMufasa]

I'll agree with that.

Also, complicating the matter is our treatment (in English) of the subject of "health" with the term "wellness" to describe our degree of health. Typically, if someone says "I am well," they mean "I am not sick and my wellness factor is high."

So, I believe that "a good case could be well-built" for using either "I am good" and "I am well."

¿Sí/No?

Mufasa
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[CajunCenturion]

To further confuse the issue, 'feel good' and 'feel bad' have connotations besides health and sense of touch. One can 'feel good' about something meaning they have positive feelings about it, and conversely, one can 'feel bad' from a position of guilt or sorrow.

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[AnotherHiggins]

I've got a bad feeling about this."


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[SilentAiche]

To sum up: If I smell bad and I smell badly, I would never know.

Tim

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[tsdragon]

Fortunately, since this is the Internet, neither would we!


Tracy Dryden

Meddle not in the affairs of dragons,
For you are crunchy, and good with mustard.

 

[AnotherHiggins]

Fortunately, since this is the Internet, neither would we!

That reminds me: what ever happed to "smell over internet" technology? I remember hearing about such technology being developed back about five years ago. It makes in into mainstream news every couple of years. It has always struck me as a likely hoax.

A couple of quick googles shows that this is still making it into the news.

So perhaps we can soon feel bad for Tim smelling so bad and we'll wish that we smelled badly so we wouldn't notice.

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[hotfusion]

All these bad smells are causing bad feeling and making me feel quite poorly...........

That last statement is quite obviously incorrect going by the grammatical rules posted earlier, but is nevertheless in common usage.

Regards, Andy.
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