Mr. Tom  +  768279 Sat, 06 Jun 09 11:06 PM Hi   I have a few questions regarding the use of "bad".   1) How does the word "badness" sound in everyday English?   A- I cannot stay here. The room is bad. B- Hey, forget about the badness. We have no choice right now.”   How often do native speakers use "bad" as an adverb--and is it very informal?   We need the water bad. ”   Is the idiom "in bad" also common?   Thanks,   Tom Mr. Tom Joined on Sun, Feb 4 2007 Regular Member 710 Tom Adverbs, Idioms, Countries, United Kingdom, Great Britain, Languages

	RayH  +  768280 Sat, 06 Jun 09 11:15 PM Mr. Tom “ A- I cannot stay here. The room is bad. B- Hey, forget about the badness. We have no choice right now.” ” I'm not sure I would ever use "bad" as in these examples. Mr. Tom “ How often do native speakers use "bad" as an adverb--and is it very informal? We need the water bad. ” ” This is a fairly informal use of "bad." Not uncommon. Mr. Tom “Is the idiom "in bad" also common?” I'm not sure what you mean here. Something like "in a bad way", maybe? If so, it's also farily common. RayH Joined on Sat, Mar 22 2008 Contributing Member 1,555 Native speaker of U. S. English. Not a grammar expert. Adverbs, Idioms

	Yankee  +  768285 Sat, 06 Jun 09 11:20 PM Hi Tom I'm quite sure I have used the word "badness" from time to time. Not often, though. Your mini-dialogue is possible, I suppose. Nevertheless, it doesn't strike me as particularly natural/typical. Using "bad" as an adverb is pretty common in informal English (here in the US, anyway). How did you want to use "in bad"? Yankee Joined on Sat, Apr 15 2006 Connecticut, USA Veteran Member 6,502 Amy "You can't depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus." - Mark Twain Adverbs, Countries, United Kingdom, Great Britain, Languages

	AlpheccaStars  +  768660 Sun, 07 Jun 09 04:59 AM In some slang dialects, bad means "very good, admirable".  The pronunciation is specific, though - the "a" is pronounced like "a" in "cat", but held for a long time. I've never heard an idiom "in bad" But you can have: in bad weather in bad times in bad condition in bad shape in bad faith etc. etc. etc. AlpheccaStars Joined on Sun, Oct 12 2008 Senior Member 3,508 The pen is mightier than the sword. Edward Bulwer-Lytton (1803-1873) Dialects, Idioms, Pronunciation, Speaking

	Mr. Tom  +  769451 Sun, 07 Jun 09 08:40 PM Many thanks to all of you.   By "in bad" I meant "in trouble".   http://www.thefreedictionary.com/badness   ...but now I assume that it is NOT common in the US.   Tom Mr. Tom

	Yankee  +  769689 Mon, 08 Jun 09 12:47 AM Mr. Tom “ By "in bad" I meant "in trouble". http://www.thefreedictionary.com/badness ...but now I assume that it is NOT common in the US. ” Where did you hear that usage and in what context, Tom? (I presume you heard or read it somewhere prior to looking it up in a dictionary.) Yankee Context, Usages

	Mr. Tom  +  770426 Mon, 08 Jun 09 12:29 PM In a short story written by an Indian author--I think R.K Narayan.   ...he uses "in bad" in the sense of "in trouble"   Tom Mr. Tom