adjectives - "I feel bad for you" versus "I feel badly for you"


What is the correct usage? Apparently it is "I feel badly", but but wouldn't that mean you have an inadequate ability to feel?



Answer



Assuming you're talking about a situation where something bad has happened to your friend, and you're saying you feel unhappy on their behalf, then "I feel bad for you" is correct.


You are right that "I feel badly" would mean you are having difficulty in feeling at all - which would be a rather unusual thing to say :)


In general the verb "to feel" will take an adjective (happy, sad, good, bad, angry, relieved) after it to indicate the feeling, rather than an adverb.


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