Commonly Confused Words: I Feel Bad(ly?)

If you’re feeling sorry for someone, do you feel “bad” for them? Or should you feel “badly” instead? I’m writing about these two because I hear them get mixed up ALL THE TIME. I never judge people who mix them up, though, because it’s usually a result of hypercorrectness. That just means they’re trying extra hard to be grammatically correct—so hard, in fact, that it ends up turning on them and they’re actually wrong. But I will never fault someone going above and beyond in striving to make their language perfect!

It’s All About Adjectives vs. Adverbs

So which one is actually correct? It all has to do with what bad/badly is describing. “Bad” is an adjective, and “badly” is an adverb. An adjective is used to modify or describe a noun or pronoun. An adverb is used to modify or describe a verb, adjective, or another adverb.

Let’s look at the case of “I feel bad/ly.” In the sentence “I feel bad,” “bad” is an adjective that modifies the pronoun of the sentence (in this case, “I”). So this sentence means that you’re a little sick or maybe feeling sorry or guilty about something. Most of the time, this is what people mean, even if they incorrectly tack that “-ly” onto the end of “bad.”

In the sentence “I feel badly,” “badly” is an adverb, which means it must modify a verb, adjective, or another adverb. In this case, it modifies the verb “feel,” so this sentence literally means that your ability to feel things is not good. “Feel” must be an active verb for the sentence to make sense, so what you would be saying is that you’re not good at feeling things. There aren’t very many cases when this sentence would make sense.

Almost 100% of the time, “I feel bad” is correct and “I feel badly” is not. The only time that “I feel badly” is correct is when you are bad at physically feeling things, as in your ability to feel is not good. If you’re trying to say you feel sorry for someone or you’re feeling sort of sick, it’s “I feel bad.”

Here are a few examples:

When she tripped and spilled her lunch all over the floor, I felt badly for her. (Since “badly” is an adverb, it is modifying “felt,” meaning my ability to feel is bad. In this case, I clearly mean to say that I felt sorry for the girl, so we need the adjective “bad.”)

When she tripped and spilled her lunch all over the floor, I felt bad for her.

Although I enjoy it as a hobby, I must admit that I paint badly. (This is correct because “badly” is modifying the verb “paint” so the adverb form “badly” is necessary.)

Although I enjoy it as a hobby, I must admit that I paint bad. (“Bad” is an adjective, but here it is modifying a verb, and adjectives should only modify nouns or pronouns. We need the adverb “badly” here instead.)

I see badly. (This is correct because “badly” is an adverb modifying the verb “see.” This means my eyesight is poor.)

The Rule

So to decide whether “bad” or “badly” is correct, look at what you’re trying to describe. Are you describing a noun, as in a person, place, or thing? If so, you need the adjective “bad.” But if you’re describing a verb, as in an action, you need the adverb “badly.”

Another Common Mistake: Good vs. Well

The problem of adverbs and adjectives getting mixed up is not limited to just “bad” and “badly.” Another common example is “good” and “well.” In this case, “good” is traditionally the adjective and “well” is the adverb. “She’s a good teacher” (“good” is describing “teacher,” which is a noun); “She explains things very well” (“well” is describing “explains,” which is a verb).

When talking about health, though, “well” has been used so often as an adjective that it’s common to hear “I feel well,” meaning “I feel healthy.” This has happened so frequently that “well” as an adjective to mean “healthy” is now standardly accepted as grammatically correct.

How Can You Spot an Adverb?

A simple way to differentiate between adverbs and adjectives is to look for that -ly suffix. If there’s an -ly, there’s a good chance that you’re dealing with an adverb. (Of course, this isn’t an infallible rule: “Manly” and “scholarly” are adjectives, despite their -ly suffixes.)

Hypercorrectness

When people mix up adverbs and adjectives, it might be because they don’t know all the rules but they want to sound intelligent. Generally, if someone is nervous about being correct, they’ll choose the more complicated way of saying or writing what they want to communicate (because, let’s be honest, usually the technically correct way to say something sounds complicated and maybe even a bit strange).

According to Ebbitt & Ebbitt, “Hyppercorrect forms are used by speakers and writers who work so hard at being correct that they end up being wrong.” Some common cases include using “I” as an object when “me” should be used instead (“Do you want to go to the gym with Kate and I?”) and using “whom” when “who” is necessary (“She often ridicules the other girls in her class, whom she thinks aren’t as smart as her”). There’s no shame at all in trying extra hard to be right, but by taking the time to learn about the rules of grammar (like you did just now by reading this post—way to go!!), you can make sure that you’re always making the correct choices in your speech and writing!

If you’re looking for some serious grammar brownie points, learn how to use the subjunctive case here!

Sources:

• Ebbitt, D. R., and W. R. Ebbitt. Index to English. 8th ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 1990.

• The Chicago Manual of Style. 17th ed. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press, 2017.