The other day a subscriber to my free monthly newsletter, Better Writing at Work, wondered whether this month's "Error Quest" paragraph had two errors rather than one. Donna wrote:
Isn't there another error in the paragraph? What about "I feel bad"? Shouldn't it be "badly"? (I feel HOW? badly—an adverb.)
Maybe I am wrong, but that is how I taught it in my English classes.
Here is the sentence that made Donna wonder: "I feel bad about how the feedback was handled."
Would you use bad or badly?
I just checked to be sure the experts still agree with my view. Garner's Modern American Usage, Fowler's Modern English Usage, and The Gregg Reference Manual all agree: I feel bad–not badly.
Yes, "I feel bad about how the feedback was handled" is correct.
Feel in this instance is a linking (state of being) verb rather than an action verb. That is why it does not take the adverb form. Bad is correct with feel just as it is with these linking verbs:
- I look bad.
- I smell bad.
- I sound bad.
- I seem bad.
If it helps, think of "I feel bad" the same way you think of the expressions below. We don't use the adverb forms wonderfully, happily, proudly, or sadly in these instances:
- I feel wonderful.
- I feel happy.
- I feel proud.
- I feel sad.
Badly is correct with action verbs:
- I sing badly.
- I write badly.
- I play tennis badly.
- I lie badly.
Of the many reference books in my office, the only one that supports "feel badly" is The American Heritage College Dictionary. It states:
This usage ["feel badly"] is now widespread and is supported by analogy to the use of other adverbs with feel (as in We feel strongly about this issue). In an earlier survey a majority of the Usage Panel accepted this use of badly in speech, though bad is less likely to occasion objections.
I will stick with "feel bad" although I would much rather feel good, great, terrific, and beautiful. Notice that they are all adjective forms.
For more on bad/badly, read my 2006 blog post Bad or Badly?
I hope you are feeling great!
Lynn
Syntax Training
