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Bad vs. Badly 1452 Views


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Description:

We really want you to watch this video. Badly. It's not bad, we swear.

Language:
English Language

Transcript

00:04

Bad versus Badly, a la Shmoop. Mary's date with Jim went badly because Jim’s

00:10

B.O. was bad. Poor Mary. But hey, at least she knows her grammar.

00:15

Here's the rule for “bad” and “badly”...

00:18

...use the adjective “bad” after linking verbs...

00:21

...and the adverb “badly” to modify action verbs.

00:26

Now, if you’re wondering what the heck a linking verb is...

00:29

...allow us to explain. A linking verb is a verb that is less about action and more

00:34

about connecting words together.

00:35

“To be” is the linking verb extraordinaire, so let's look at it in an example with “bad”

00:41

and “badly”. When you say “Tim is bad”...

00:44

...you mean that Tim is a horrible person, or amusingly naughty, or maybe his health

00:49

has even taken a turn for the worse.

00:52

You'd never say “Tim is badly”, because then the adverb “badly” would be modifying

00:58

the verb “is”...

00:58

...and your sentence would essentially mean that Tim isn't managing to exist very well.

01:03

On to the action verbs! These are easy.

01:06

You wouldn't say “Tom ran bad”. You'd say “Tom ran badly”.

01:10

You wouldn't say “Pete sang bad”. You'd say “Pete sang badly”.

01:14

In these examples, the adverb “badly” is modifying the action verbs “ran” and

01:19

“sang”. Verbs that could be seen as either linking

01:21

verbs or action verbs, like “to feel” or “to taste”, can be tricky.

01:26

But, never fear! We have an example. When you drink milk that's gone sour, you

01:32

say “It tastes bad”, meaning the milk reminds you of rat poison.

01:37

You wouldn't say “The milk tastes badly”, because then you'd be implying that the milk

01:42

was in possession of a tongue...

01:44

...and was very bad at tasting things. Remember, the rule is...

01:49

...use the adjective “bad” after linking verbs...

01:51

...and the adverb “badly” to modify action verbs.

01:54

Keep this rule in mind, and no will ever be able to apply these two b-words to your grammar.

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