appropriate response isI am good,although the inherent ambiguity here is in-
teresting. It could mean that one is virtuous, which certainly is a state of be-
ing, but perhaps one more often desired than attained. If, however, one
responds in a way that signifies health, the appropriate response isI am well.
In the United States, such exchanges are nearly always for social recognition
rather than for serious inquiry into one’s health, so we rarely hear the re-
sponseI am well.In Britain, the situation is different, and the response,Ve r y
well, thank you,is common.
The linking verbfeelis associated with another problem that we observe in
the language people use, a problem that can be humorous the first couple of
times one thinks about it. When people learn of someone’s hardship or acci-
dent, it is natural for them to want to express their sadness, sympathy, or re-
morse, but doing so can be problematic. There are two possibilities:
- I heard about the accident. I feel badly.
53a. I heard about the accident. I feel bad.
But look carefully at the construction.Feelis a linking verb when referring
to one’s state of being, so it must be followed by an adjective.Badis an adjec-
tive, butbadlyis not—it’s an adverb. Consequently,badlydoes not make any
sense, really, because it does not refer to a state of being. In fact, if we took sen-
tence 53 literally, it would mean that the speaker has lost his or her tactile per-
ception: When touching something, the speaker simply cannot feel it. This is
not a state or condition that people experience very often, and it certainly isn’t
related to remorse. Thus,I feel badreflects standard usage when expressing re-
morse or when describing one’s health.I feel badlyis, of course, grammatical,
but only in the context of tactile sensitivity; and in this case,feelis not function-
ing as a linking verb.
We can differentiate those who useI feel badorI feel badlyby their level of
education. However, the results are not what one might expect. Generally, peo-
ple who have less education will apply standard usage and stateI feel bad.
Those with education, including well-educated PhDs and MDs, are much more
likely to useI feel badly.Reality thus thwarts our expectations.
Function Words
A characteristic of subjects and predicates and most of the words that make up
subjects and predicates is that they convey meaning, or what sometimes is re-
82 CHAPTER 3