how is this sentence wrong?

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<p>in the first prac. test of BB i found this identifying sentence errors question with this sentence in it : </p>

<p>"because our casserole was smelling surprisingly badly as it baked, the food science teacher came over to ask us what we had put in it. "</p>

<p>apparently the phrase "surprisingly badly" is wrong and should be "surprisingly bad", couldn't understand why. </p>

<p>isn't it the same deal with "i'm doing well" instead of "im doing good"?</p>

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<p>well smell is acting as a linking verb so only adjectives can be on the other side of a linking verb. I think it’s even considered a subject complement but I’m not sure. “bad,” that is.</p>

<p>so garbage can only smell bad; to say that it smells badly would mean that its olfactory functions are impaired–not the meaning most sentences involving garbage take on.</p>

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<p>actually garbage can also smell horrible… no im just kiddin</p>

<p>anyway i am kind of getting what you mean and i know you are right, we say that something smells bad, not badly, but if “smell” is a verb, or a linking verb as you said, it’s still a verb and should be modified by an adverb right?</p>

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Never assume that, but yes, for this instance, consider me right.</p>

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It’s still a verb but the predicate adjectives that follows linking verbs are not modifying the verbs; they are actually subject complements modifying the subject(s) (some noun).</p>

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<p>"they are actually subject complements modifying the subject (some noun). "</p>

<p>you just rang a bell for me, thanks a lot :slight_smile: i blame my own stupidity for not realizing that sooner</p>

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<p>Same point as made above, but a little more commentary:</p>

<p>“Smelling badly” means that the subject is having a hard time detecting smells accurately. This is the use of the verb smell that requires an adverb. If the item reeks, then it “smells bad,” and here smell is used as a linking verb like “is,” so it takes an adjective.</p>

<p>The same goes for “feeling bad” (i.e., has a cold) vs. “feeling badly” (can’t tell velvet from sandpaper).</p>

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<p>Lol. Nice example :D</p>

<p>OP: to quote you copy past what you want to quote inbetween (quote) and (/quote), only replace the paranthesis with brackets. </p>

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<p>thanks a lot QuantMech and RAlec114</p>

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<p>“well” can be an adjective there.</p>