Good morning, friends.
Someone asked me to cover this topic, and I must admit, when I’m speaking, I sometimes have to stop and think to make sure that I get this one right. I think I have a lingering fear that Mrs. Forbrag will pop up and correct me in front of everyone—again.
The question is, “How do I know if I should use the word bad or badly?”
Well, first, don’t worry about Mrs. Forbrag, she’s a bully. She made fourth grade a nightmare for many Chesterton Elementary schoolchildren.
Now, here’s the scoop. When you’re writing or talking about how you feel, use bad. For example, “I feel bad about eating my husband’s secret chocolate stash.”
And when you’re writing or talking about how you did something or about how you performed or reacted to something, use badly. For example, “My husband reacted badly when he realized all his chocolate was gone.”
I’m not saying that my husband and I won’t get over this, but the present situation is not so good (or is that goodly?).
Donna Bradley Burcher | Senior Technical Editor | Symitar®
8985 Balboa Ave. | San Diego, CA 92123 | Ph. 619.278.0432 | Ext: 765432
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