2

For sentences like "I smell bad" I'm confused on the role.of the word "bad" and whether it requires a suffix. On the one hand it seems that the properly formed sentence should be "I smell badly" but on the other hand it seems to mean something entirely else.

Are these two different, well-formed sentences (bad vs badly)? Is the first (bad) just a convention of conversation and only the latter form (badly) valid but just ambiguous (do I mean that I smell of badness or that I have no talent for scent?)?

Jonline
  • 131

2 Answers2

4

If you smell badly, your olfaction skills are poor. If you smell bad, the odor you emit is distasteful.

Michael Lorton
  • 28,092
  • 1
    I.e. you stink. You need a shower. – aparente001 Oct 01 '16 at 18:45
  • 1
    @Jonline - but note, a very common mistake that one frequently hears is "I feel badly about it," when what is really meant is "I feel bad about it." ... It's probably best not to correct the person who makes this mistake (unless it's someone close to you who should really learn the correct expression). – aparente001 Oct 01 '16 at 18:47
  • 2
    @aparente001 -- “No, Madam,” Samuel Johnson supposed retorted to a woman who told him he smelled. “You 'smell', I 'stink'.” – Michael Lorton Oct 01 '16 at 18:53
2

In your example, bad is a complement, because the verb smell is a copula.

1,TRANSITIVE verbs:

I draw portraits.
I write poems (I write poems badly)
I smell sulphur, (I smell mint / sulphur faintly)
'I smell badly or well' is the transitive or intransitive homonym.

the adverb describes the verb

2. INTRANSITIVE verbs:

I stare / I stare vacantly.
I meditate / I meditate profoundly.

the adverb describes the verb

3.COPULAs (not long ago called copulatives) can be followed by complements which can be nouns or adjective:

I am (+adjective) aware / fully aware.
I smell bad / I smell really bad.
The meat smells bad / the meat smells slightly bad.

(the adverb describes the complement not the verb)

I am (+ noun) a student / I am an overage student.
I smell a rat / I smell a figurative rat.

(the adjective describes the complement)

Hugh
  • 8,360
  • 1
    This is the answer I was looking for; I don't know the finer grammatical jargon but I understand it. I lacked the vocabulary to ask for this answer but it's the one I was hoping for (ie. one replete with the information needed to understand the question in the general case). – Jonline Oct 06 '16 at 14:28