The Good, the Bad, and the Badly
I feel good today. I also feel well. Sometimes, I feel bad, but I rarely feel badly.
The grammar discussion over when to use the adjectives good and bad versus their adverbial counterparts is a tough one. Thanks, Mom, for this topic.
The word “good” is an adjective meaning “of high quality.” Here are some examples:
Their artwork is good.
He has done a good job.
She is a good preacher.
According to some dictionaries, we can use “good” informally as an adverb, as in “They draw good” or “She preaches good.” Please don’t. To my purist ears (second-grade Catholic-school grammar), those expressions need the adverb “well,” which means “in a positive way”:
They draw well.
He has done his job well.
She preaches well.
Things are going well.
One issue that can stump us is when our bodies or minds feel a certain way, either positive or negative. In addition to being an adverb, the word “well” is also an adjective meaning “in good health.” Thus, when you are feeling healthy, you can say one of these two things:
I feel good, meaning the adjective “good” is describing you.
I feel well, meaning the adjective “well” is describing your health.
It gets even more confusing when you are not feeling healthy. The adjective to use is “bad,” not the adverb “badly.” The word “bad” describes you. You feel yourself to be a good you or a bad you. If you say, “I feel badly,” the adverb “badly” describes the verb “feel,” so you’re actually modifying your ability to feel. So “I feel badly” only works if your sense of touch isn’t working or you have a psychological inability to feel emotions.
On a different front, I think it’s time for a snippet to remind you wonderful loyal readers that this is all about writing. Next month, I’m planning an interview with an award-winning romance writer. Stay tuned.
For book 4, which I hope I can launch by the end of the year, the following scene takes place in the gym, where Sofia (new, more authentic spelling of our heroine’s name) and Nathan have serendipitously ended up working out at stair steppers next to each other:
With a quick sideward glimpse toward Sofia, Nathan saw that she grinned when he made the comment about nice lawyers, so he wasn’t surprised when her response touched on that point.
“Wait,” she said, and he could hear the teasing in her voice. “Lawyer types who are nice? Are you sure you don’t think that because you yourself are a lawyer type?”
“Touché.” He blew a flubbery breath through his lips. “Although after yesterday’s dawn-to-dusk marathon and the promise of several more days like that, I may be painting a different picture by the end of this week.”
Sofia made a little sound of sympathy, and Nathan held back raising a fist in the air. The possibility was growing that this “feisty” woman he talked to his sister about was actually warming up to him.
And that was a good thing. He didn’t know her well, having crossed paths with her only a few times so far, but as his grandpa would say, she seemed like “good people.” She was beautiful but wore that beauty simply, with neither pride nor false modesty. Even with her dark hair pulled back into a high ponytail and no makeup on, she looked comfortable with who she was. She was strong—he peeked at her athletic legs but went right back to his stepping—but not just physically. Although always polite and professional, her banter with him revealed a quick wit and deeper intelligence. And she knew her way around a gym, that was for sure. In addition, he had seen her closeness with Pete, which gave him a glimpse into her—hmmm, what was the word: friendliness? ability to have a relationship? intimacy?
He felt his face warming at that thought and determined to cover it by saying something. But before he could, she took a breath, indicating she was about to speak.