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| re: Grammar in "Left in the Dark" | |
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The_Count 08:13 pm UTC 01/26/07 |
| In reply to: | re: Grammar in "Left in the Dark" - Vin 06:28 pm UTC 01/26/07 |
| AAAARRRRRRGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The minutiae is killing me! > Needing her "bad" wouldn't necessarily mean that he needed > her to be a bad person. It could refer to THE DEGREE OF > NEEDING, as opposed to the ACTUAL ACT OF NEEDING, which is > what the adverb "badly" modifies. > > Example: > > Hey, dude, how do you need her? > > I need her bad. ("Bad," in this case, having the > colloquial/contextual meaning of "a lot.") > > "I need her badly," while gramatically correct, as you > point out, technically means, "I'm not good at needing > her." > Its pretty safe to assume that this is not what Jim's > speaker means in LitD. > > Another example: > > "The man dying in the desert needed water bad." (He > didn't need bad water. And there surely is nothing wrong > with his ability to need the water; he's needing it just > fine. Its the degree to which he needs the water that is > being described.) > > And this chestnut from Jim's own catalog probably best > illustrates the difference: > > "Tonight I really got it bad." > > Is Jim saying that the way in which she obtained it is > sub-par? No, because that would be "Tonight I really got > it badly." He's describing the degree to which she got > it: "bad." > > > Not that I honestly give a shit. Language is a mutable > body of work, most of us butcher the rules routinely, > accidentally or otherwise, and as long as we effectively > communicate, it doesn't really matter. If we butcher the > rules long enough, the butchering becomes the rule, so > there. > > Still, I've always had a soft spot for debating minutiae. > > > > > Badly is correct. It describes how he needs her. If he > > needed her bad then bad being an adjective would say that > > he needs her to be a bad person... or a naughty person. > > For an adverb you ask does it desc ribe the verb. How did > > he need her? He needed her badly. > > > > > Listening to LitD this morning, and this line struck me: > > > > > > I needed you oh so badly tonight > > > > > > "Badly" being an adverb, doesn't this mean that the > > > speaker is doing a poor job of "needing." > > > > > > Shouldn't this properly be "needed you oh so bad" ? | |
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