'poor' vs 'poorly'?

Question

Hi,Please have a look at this:Asked about the impact of influenza A (H1N1) on the seat occupancy of AirAsia flights between Vietnam and Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur, Hanh said the impact was poorly compared with that of global economic downturn on air travel.Do you think 'poor' should be used instead of 'poorly'?Many thanks,Nessie.

Cool Breeze · Accepted Answer

nessie000Do you think 'poor' should be used instead of 'poorly'?

Yes, and the should be added before global.

CB

Yankee · Answer

Hi Nessie

Although the wording strikes me as odd, I would say that the writer intended to modify the word "compared" with the adverb "poorly" rather than to use an adjective to refer back to the noun "impact".In other words, I don't think the writer intended to say "the impact was poor" because that would suggest that the writer would have preferred to have additional negative impact -- and that doesn't make sense.

I think the writer probably means that "the impact that the flu has had does not compare well to the impact that the global economic downturn has had". In other words, he thinks it is not appropriate to compare the impact of those two things. I would interpret that to mean that the flu has had very little impact in comparison.

That's what I would understand.

Nessie000 · Answer

Asked about the impact of influenza A (H1N1) on the seat occupancy of AirAsia flights between Vietnam and Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur, Hanh said the impact was poorly compared with that of global economic downturn on air travel.

Hi Amy,

Yes, I suppose we can understand the sentence that way (because after all, we don't know what the writer really meant

). However, I still think the sentence is very vague that way. Instead I would prefer using 'poor' to emphasize that compared with the impact of the global economic downturn, the impact of influenza A (H1N1) is very small.

Yankee · Answer

You can choose to use word "poor" that way if you like, Nessie. However, don't be surprised if someone then finds your usage to be very strange as well.

Trying to use "poor" to simply mean "small" doesn't work here. As I said, using the word "poor" that way suggests that the writer would have preferred more negative impact from the flu than there actually was. In other words, he would have preferred to have lost more business than was actually lost. He thinks the negative impact of the flu was too small. That doesn't make any sense at all. Not to me.

But, hey, if you think losing business is good, go for it!

Nessie000 · Answer

Em... Don't say I'm so stubborn, Amy

but I think I still choose 'poor'. The impact of the flu isnot small, but the writer may want to emphasize (and exaggerate) that it is small compared to the impact of the global economic downturn.

Clive · Answer

Hi Nessie,

Asked about the impact of influenza A (H1N1) on the seat occupancy of AirAsia flights between Vietnam and Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur, Hanh said the impact was poorly compared with that of global economic downturn on air travel.

Do you think 'poor' should be used instead of 'poorly'? Yes.

But 'poor' does not seem like a good word to chose. What does it mean to say that the impact of H1N1 on seat occupancy was 'poor'. It sounds like it was disappointing. Does it mean that it reduced seat occupancy or increased it?

I'd prefer to say the impact was eg 'minimal', 'minor'.

Best wishes, Clive

AlpheccaStars · Answer

Hi Nessie:

I agree with Yankee, and choose "poorly". In spite of the downturn of the economy, and resultant drop in air travel, the flu has continued to spread vigorously in the southern hemisphere where it is wintertime.

The rate of the spread of the flu is poorly correlated with the economic downturn.

The writer is not comparing the effect of the flu and the effect of the economy on people, but that there is little correlation between the decrease in air travel and the rate of sperad of the disease.

The sentence is badly written, and a good example of the debates about meaning that happen when authors do not express themselves clearly.

Nessie000 · Answer

Hi Alpheccastars,
I'm afraid I still agree with Clive. Yes, 'poor' should be replaced with 'minor' or 'minimal' (this not-very-good word choice is understandable because the writer is not a native speaker).

The rate of the spread of the flu is poorly correlated with the economic downturn
=> No, these two things certainly don't relate to each other, but they both relate to the rate of air travel

The writer is not comparing the effect of the flu and the effect of the economy on people => No, he isn't. but that there is little correlation between the decrease in air travel and the rate of sperad of the disease. => Indeed there is. No doubt the spread of the flu has some impact on air travel, but it's just that that impact is almost nothing compared to the global economic downturn.

Just my two cents ^^

Anonymous · Answer

Which is correct?
Antia is afraid she did poor on her test.
Antia is afraid she did poorly on her test?

'poor' vs 'poorly'?

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