Bad or badly?

I have been mulling this over in my head all evening. I am convinced I fell asleep from 3:50 - 4:20. Bottom line is that Rebecca was correct. Actually, both Rebeccas are correct.

I feel bad.
-Feel is being used as a linking verb, not an action verb. That makes "bad" a subject complement/the predicate adjective. Bad is describing "me," not the verb.

I feel badly.
-Badly is an adverb describing an action verb. This usage implies that I have done a poor job of feeling something (fur, for example).

What makes this situation so confusing is that there is a list of words that could be either action or linking. These are called resultative verbs. Verbs related to the five senses often function in this way. They are: grow, look, prove, remain, smell, sound, taste, turn, stay, get, appear, feel.

And there you have it. I do know my grammar, but clearly was in a brain fog.

Let's do something creative and fun with this. Here's that list again. Choose one of the words with which to begin a sentence as a command. As each of us adds a line, we will see the makings of a collaborative poem.


Grow! For the sun caresses your sweet limbs and dew drops glisten atop your leaves.
Look
Prove
Remain
Smell
Sound
Taste
Turn
Stay
Get
Appear
Feel