Is 'it hurts so bad' or 'it hurts so badly' proper English? ?

Question

I've always wondered. :)

Answer 1

It hurts so badly.

Answer 2

"it hurts so badly" sounds correct to me.

badly describes how much it hurts. "it hurts so bad" just sounds strange.

Answer 3

"It hurts so bad" is appalling English and quite incorrect.

"It hurts so badly" is the correct form; "badly" is an adverb referring to the verb "hurts". The contributor who said that "badly" should not be used BECAUSE it is an adverb, really needs to go back to school.

Answer 4

Good question...neither one of them sounds right to me, so I always end up avoiding the question altogether by using "it hurts so much."