Stop Feeling Badly

Have you ever heard someone say, “I feel badly for her (him, them, or myself )” and wondered what, exactly, happened to the speaker's feelings or their fingers?

I have. I have heard presidents, congressmen, religious leaders, and television personalities say that. When they do, I cringe. I will admit it is one of my pet peeves.

Why? Well, if you mean that you feel sorry for someone, you should say:

“I feel bad for her.”

Why? Because feel is a linking verb in this sentence. Linking verbs connect the subject to a word that describes the subject. That means bad is describing how you feel.

I feel bad.
She feels sad.
He feels terrible.

But badly is an adverb, and it describes how an action is performed:

I played badly.
She sings badly.
He drives badly.

So if you say, “I feel badly for you,” you're technically saying that your ability to feel is defective. Perhaps your fingertips are numb. Maybe you've misplaced your emotions. Or perhaps you need to see a doctor about your faulty feeling mechanism!

If you mean “I feel sorry for you,” simply say:

👉 “I feel bad for you.”

Your grammar—and your feelings—will be just fine‼︎

Click here for an easy way for your students to practice using bad and badly correctly.

Thanks for reading,

Charlene