The use of "badly"

Question

I often hear actors on tv repeat this line...."I felt badly" is this correct??? IT seems to me that if you substituted " gladly" or "sadly" that it wouldn't work...You wouldn't say.."I felt sadly, or I felt gladly" so...what is it?
tina

CalifJim · Accepted Answer

Here are the results of a survey of the Usage Panel of the American Heritage Dictionary.

"badly" meaning "ill" (I have a terrible sore throat. I feel badly.)
In writing: acceptable: 25% unacceptable: 75%
In speech: acceptable: 31% unacceptable: 69%

"badly" meaning "regretful" (I had to break my promise. I feel badly about it.)
In writing: acceptable: 39% unacceptable: 61%
In speech: acceptable: 55% unacceptable 45%

Conclusion.
The only case in which "badly" is accepted by more than half of the panel is when it has the meaning "regretful" and occurs in the spoken form.

MountainHiker · Answer

Hi CalifJim,

Can you elaborate more on "Here are the results of a survey of the Usage Panel of the American Heritage Dictionary"? Is this information given in the dictionary?

Thank you.

MountainHiker

CalifJim · Answer

Hi MH,
Yes. Sprinkled throughout the dictionary are "Usage Notes", typically at the end of the definitions for a troublesome word. These, in particular, were cited at the entry for "badly". Notes at the beginning of the dictionary explain the composition of the usage panel, mostly professional writers, many of them journalists.
Jim

Mister Micawber · Answer

Neat.  Now I see why you recommended that tome so strongly, Jim.  Guess I'm going to have to get one.

MountainHiker · Answer

Misters Micawber and CalifJim,

I use a handy software utility called [url="http"]//www.gurunet.com">GuruNet[/url] which in turn uses the electronic version of the American Heritage dictionary. I see some of the same material that you do. For example, for "badly" I see the following:

USAGE NOTE Bad is often used as an adverb in sentences such as The house was shaken up pretty bad or We need water bad. This usage is common in informal speech but is widely regarded as unacceptable in formal writing. In an earlier survey, the sentence His tooth ached so bad he could not sleep was unacceptable to 92 percent of the Usage Panel.•The use of badly with want was once considered incorrect but is now entirely acceptable: We wanted badly to go to the beach.•The adverb badly is often used after verbs such as feel, as in I felt badly about the whole affair. This usage bears analogy to the use of other adverbs with feel, such as strongly in We feel strongly about this issue. Some people prefer to maintain a distinction between feel badly and feel bad, restricting the former to emotional distress and using the latter to cover physical ailments; however, this distinction is not universally observed, so feel badly should be used in a context that makes its meaning clear.•Badly is used in some regions to mean “unwell,” as in He was looking badly after the accident. Poorly is also used in this way. In an earlier survey, however, the usage was found unacceptable in formal writing by 75 percent of the Usage Panel.

Our Living Language Most people might think that the slang usage of bad to mean its opposite, “excellent,” is a recent innovation of Black English. While it is of Black English origin, this usage has been recorded for over a century; the first known example dates from 1897. Even earlier, beginning in the 1850s, the word appears in the sense “formidable, very tough,” as applied to persons. Whether or not the two usages are related, they both illustrate a favorite creative device of informal and slang language—using a word to mean the opposite of what it “really” means. This is by no means uncommon; people use words sarcastically to mean the opposite of their actual meanings on a daily basis. What is more unusual is for such a usage to be generally accepted within a larger community. Perhaps when the concepts are as basic as “good” and “bad” this general acceptance is made easier. A similar instance is the word uptight, which in the 1960s enjoyed usage in the sense “excellent” alongside its now-current, negative meaning of “stiff.”

From what I have quoted, you note that I don't have your same specific information. But I do get the general flavor.

As a side note, GuruNet also has other helpful stuff.

I was curious as to how you got your information. Thank you for your information CalifJim.

MountainHiker

CalifJim · Answer

The difference is probably due to the fact that I have an earlier edition. How much earlier is going to remain my secret, if you catch my drift!

Also, the reason I got the dictionary was actually not the usage notes, but the dictionary of Indo-European roots in the appendices.

MountainHiker · Answer

Hi CalifJim,

Understood.

Thank you for your answer.

MountainHiker

Anonymous · Answer

0You're right. It should be "I feel bad" as in "I feel glad" as badly is an adverb. To say I feel "badly" in that situation is like implying that the emotional mechanism which allows one to feel at all is somehowe broken. So, with all confidence, always use: "I feel just so bad" about...02br
02br
00Capo 0-

Anonymous · Answer

0The "ly" makes this an adverb, which describes the way the verb works.  In this case, feel is the main verb, and if you say you "feel badly" you are actually saying that the way you physically "feel" something is done in a poor manner when you add the adverbial "ly".  If you leave it as "bad" it remains an adjective describing the subject "you"0-

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