 Bad versus Badly. This is another set of words we should take a closer look at to avoid confusion. Bad is an adjective indicating that something is not good. Such as, Jenny had a car accident today. This is bad. Badly is an adverb on the other hand. It describes something that is not well, done in a bad manner, harmfully, or incorrectly. For example, Austin behaved badly. I am sure you'll never confuse the two words again. That's it for today. See you next time!