Certain sets of words in the English language tend to confuse people. I have found the following to be among them:
BAD / BADLY
The confusion here often comes when you talk about how you feel. The verb to feel is intransitive like the verb to be. Would you say, “I am beautiful” (or handsome) or “I am beautifully” (or handsomely)? Just as beautiful is an adjective describing something or someone, so is bad. Therefore, you would say “I feel bad” if you are trying to say that you are sick or sad or sorry. To say “I feel badly” would mean that your sense of touch is out of whack.
INCORRECT: I feel badly that I didn’t go see my grandmother while she was in the hospital.
CORRECT: I feel bad that I didn’t go see my grandmother while she was in the hospital.
ALSO CORRECT:I feel bad this morning; I have an awful headache.
INCORRECT: I accidentally grabbed hold of a hot oven door and burned my fingertips so badly they’re just big blisters now.
CORRECT: I accidentally grabbed hold of a hot oven door and burned my fingertips so bad they’re just big blisters now.
(If you had burned your fingertips badly, then you wouldn’t have blisters because you would have done a bad job of burning your fingers!)
NOTE: The same holds true for smell bad or badly. If you have just run a marathon and haven’t had time to shower yet, you may smell bad. If, on the other hand, your nose is stuffed up, you may smell badly.
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