In this installment of Word Knots and the next we’ll focus on a word and then a phrase that are often used incorrectly, both in written and spoken English.

Our source for this installment is The Dictionary of Disagreeable English by Robert Hartwell Fiske (Chicago: Writer’s Digest Books). This is a great book to browse: I highly recommend it.

From Fiske:

Bad

Solecistic for badly.

As Fiske writes (excerpted):

Bad is an adjective; badly an adverb. Sensory verbs like feel, taste, and smell are followed by the adjective bad, not the adverb badly.

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Here are the most relevant Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary definitions (excerpted):

bad

adjective

1 a : failing to come up to or achieve a certain standard : failing to display or attain the worth, quality, shape, or appearance proper or appropriate to its type or species : poor, worthless, blemished

   b : unfavorable or derogatory in significance or tendency

badly

adverb

1 : in a bad manner: such as 

    a : poorly, faultily, defectively

    b : unfavorably

    c : wrongly, evilly

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These two words are often confused: in my experience the error comes up most often when people use bad when it should be badly. The error has become so common that many people would never notice it.

Let’s look at example of each used correctly.

He was considered a loyal employee who never spoke badly about the company.

When he suddenly resigned, everyone felt bad.

After a strong start to the season, the Yankees suddenly began playing very badly.

She felt bad when it rained on the day of the barbeque.

The differences are clear, but one must be careful with both of these words: word choice matters.

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