Comments on: Feel Strong or Feel Strongly?

By: Kimberly

Kimberly — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 22:02:15 +0000

Is anybody out there know about the rule of the following grammar structure? I’d like to know the name of the rule. If there is no name for that at least regulations?

example: If I can, so CAN YOU. Where ….. , there AM I with them.

Putting a verb before the subject. What kind of rule is that?
Please let me know. I’d greatly appreciate it.

Kimberly

By: Philip Dragonetti

Philip Dragonetti — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 17:45:40 +0000

A quote from the DWT article:
“intr. To have the sensibilities excited; esp. to have sympathy with, compassion for (a person, his sufferings, etc.). .”

Note that this quote uses the word “have” regarding “sensibilities, sympathy, compassion, sufferings” which are all nouns—which can be modified by an adjective “strong”, not by an adverb “strongly”

Brad K makes my point exactly!!! To feel badly could be interpreted as mental disease–because Brad is acknowledging the fact that “feel” in this case is an intransitive verb. Touche`, Brad.

By: Rondy

Rondy — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 13:42:23 +0000

OK, then according to the extract from the dictionary, I can say: I feel all the amazing human beings who lived here once and did all these marvelous wonders, right?

By: Erik

Erik — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 10:58:36 +0000

Nice one, Brad! Thanks for the clarification.

By: Brad K.

Brad K. — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 03:56:50 +0000

Phil, just another thought.

“I feel bad about capital punishment.” “I feel bad” is a description of your feelings, your state of mind. The concept of capital punishment, or the reality of it, affects you by diminishing your sense of well being. You are harmed, because capital punishment exists.

“I feel strongly about capital punishment.” “I feel strongly” is a description of how engaged your thoughts and feelings are, about capital punishment. “I feel strong” would mean that your sense of well being, your feelings of physical or mental strength and robustness, are enhanced because capital punishment exists. This would sound morbid, no? “I feel strongly” expresses the degree that capital punishment engages your feelings.

“I feel bad” expresses the kind of effect something has on your feelings, which implies a rather strong degree of effect but doesn’t describe that. “I feel really bad” gets into degree of being affected as well as the type of effect you experience.

“I feel badly” would almost be symptomatic of mental disease – your feelings don’t engage in a normal or “good” fashion. The mildest form of this kind of disruption might be “I don’t know what I feel about . . .”

That is how I think of it. YMMV!