Grammar Point for 4.17.17

Most verbs are modified by adverbs:

She played the flute badly. The teacher talked loudly. The tenor sings well.

However, there is a special class of verbs called linking verbs that are followed by adjectives. Linking verbs include all forms of the verb to be as well as verbs like seems, looks, feels, and smells. Most linking verbs that are not forms of to be indicate states of being and are followed by adjectives.

Examples:

1. She is beautiful.
2. She sews beautifully.

Is is a linking verb and takes the adjective. Sews is an action verb and is modified by an adverb.

2. The dog smells bad.  Smell describes a state of being and takes an adjective.

3. For the same reasons, we would say "I feel bad," not "I feel badly."
To say that someone feels badly is to say that they do not have a good sense of touch.

4. The word well is tricky because it may mean either that someone does something skillfully or it may mean that one is healthy.

Thus, in the sentence "The opera star sings well," well  is an adverb that describes the quality of the singing.

However, in "I feel well," well means healthy and is an adjective.

Because am is a linking verb, it is quite acceptable to say "I am good." If you say, " am well," you should be talking about your health.