29 Jul

want bad or want badly?

My new car, GTI

There are a few expressions that are hard to find what is correct. The problem is mostly because people speak and write them in a different way.

A few weeks ago, I was texting James.

Me: “Wanna go to a VW dealership with me to test drive GTI?”

James: “I would like to but I hurt my back yesterday.”

After I go back from a dealership,

me: “Just got back from a dealership. I loved it. Want it ______”

At this point, I had to stop typing to think a little more. Instead of saying, “I want it so much,” I wanted to say, “Want it badly.” As I was typing, it felt weird to put badly there. I think I remembered some of my friends saying, “Want it bad.”

So, I stopped and started researching about the difference. Well, you know what! Basically, either one is fine when you speak but, when you write, badly would be better. However, according to Merriam-Wbester’s Dictionary of English Usage, “bad” is a special case and sometimes acts as an adverb. That means we do not need to really care about the choice here.

We can say, “I want her bad,” or “I want her badly.”

Which one do you use mostly, bad or badly?

I think I am going to stick with badly as I used in my text to James. At the end of the day, if we can deliver what I mean to my friends, it is pretty good enough, isn’t it?