Learn English – When to use “so much” & when to use “so bad” or “so badly”

word-choiceword-usage

Here is my feeling, but I am not sure I am right

I would say "so much" is used for positive words such as "love, like" & "so badly or so bad" is used for words that are selfish such as "want, need"

Ex:
I love it so much

I like it so much

I want it so bad/ so badly

I need it so bad/ so badly

I seldom hear people say:

Ex:
I love it so bad/ so badly

I like it so bad/ so badly

I want it so much

I need it so much

When to use "so much" & when to use "so bad" or "so badly"?

I would appreciate if you provided "referenced source" to your answers.

Best Answer

Seriously speaking both:

  • I like/love it so bad
  • I like/love it so badly

Sound really strange to me. Bad and Badly just don't sound okay with the words "like" or "love".

In the meaning of "very intensively, so much" the phrases given below sound fine to me:

  • I want it so badly
  • I need it so badly

I often hear people say:

  • I want it so much
  • I need it so much

They are both definitely correct and there's nothing wrong with them.

A good explanation is here: http://data.grammarbook.com/blog/definitions/bad-vs-badly/

The word bad is an adjective used to modify nouns and pronouns. Example: She was in a bad accident.

Adverbs often end in ly. The word badly is an adverb that answers how about the verb. Example: She was hurt badly in the accident.

The confusion comes with four of the sense verbs: taste, look, smell, and feel. When we use these verbs actively, we should follow them with adverbs. (Hear is always used actively.) When we use these verbs descriptively, we should follow them with adjectives. Examples: I feel bad about having said that. I am not feeling with fingers in the above example; I am describing my state of mind, so the adjective is used (no ly).

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