“I love Owen, and I felt bad that he had to deal with all the outside bulls––.” - Ben Stiller, about friend Owen Wilson’s attempted suicide, in Playboy
Ben has correctly used the adjective “bad” after the linking verb “felt.” A common error is the use of the adverb “badly” with a form of the linking [...]
“If I hit a bad shot, people five fairways away know it because I’m yelling [his favorite curse word], but if I hit a good shot, I’m yelling too. Everybody knows the difference in the yelling. Either Sam is playing well, or he’s playing bad.” - Samuel L. Jackson, in People, about his behavior on [...]
“I sing to myself and my sister looks at me weird.” - Dakota Fanning in BOP
This quote contains a modifier confusion error.
Dakota used an adjective to modify a verb, and only adverbs can modify verbs.
“Weird” is an adjective used, in this sentence, to describe how Dakota’s sister looks at her. Since “looks” is a [...]
“I definitely cook pasta the best, but I’ve learned to walk away and let him get on with it. It’s a metaphor for our relationship.” - Ellen Pompeo, in Eve, about her boyfriend Christopher Ivery and their competition in the kitchen
Ellen has used a superlative adverb in place of a comparative adverb.
In the clause [...]
Kirsten Dunst and Jason Schwartzman comment on the costumes of Marie Antoinette:
Kirsten: “Milena [Canonero] built my character through my clothing and I felt differently in every dress that I wore.”
Jason: “The vests hug you in strange places, and they’re very tight in the back and just you have to act different.”
Both Kirsten and Jason [...]
“Her organization got a Nobel Peace Prize nomination a couple of years ago for the work they did in Afghanistan. She goes on speaking tours and gives lectures. I’m quite proud of her. We have the sort of relationship I’ve always wanted. I’m the stupid guy who tells jokes, and then she contributes the give-back-to-society [...]
“If it’s about my family, I feel really differently about it and much more proprietary. I don’t think it’s appropriate. It’s a weird life, it’s a very weird life and I would like something a little bit more normal.” - Ben Affleck, about photographers who try to take pictures of his eight-month-old daughter Violet
Ben has [...]
Beyonce Knowles says she feels badly about her behavior during a duet performance with Prince at the 2004 Grammy Awards. She explains that the reason she did not share the microphone with her singing partner is because her diva alter ego, who she refers to as “Sasha,” took over her body and stole the show.
These [...]
An adjective modifies a noun. An adjective cannot modify another adjective. Only an adverb can modify an adjective.
Bob gave Sam a cake special baked for him.
“Baked” is an adjective. “Special” is an adjective describing “baked.” Change “special” to the adverb “specially” to correct the sentence.
Bob gave Sam a cake specially baked for him.
An [...]
