teach their kids how to eat healthy or teach their kids how to eat healthily

[chanhwee]

I'm in here first.

" teach their kids how to eat healthy or teach their kids how to eat healthily "

which one is correct sentence ? or If both are correct , could you explain the differences ?

[TheParser]

***** NOT A TEACHER *****


Good morning, Chanhwee:

You have asked a great question.

1. I did some googling, and I think that if you wish to make your teacher happy, you should use "healthily."

a. The usual reason is quite clear: How to eat? In a healthy manner. "Healthily," as you know, is an adverb that means "in a healthy manner." It modifies the verb "eat."

2. Here in the United States, many people simply say, "Eat healthy." Why?

a. Well, some people think that it is a short way to say "Eat healthy food."

i. Remember Mr. Steve Jobs's famous "Think different"?

3. I found a very good excuse for using "healthy" instead of "healthily." It comes from an expert named Jan Freeman:

"Eat healthy" isn't missing an adverb; it just happens to have borrowed "healthy," the adjective form, to serve

in place of "healthily" or "healthfully." That doesn't make "healthy" an adjective though; it's the job, not the

uniform.

Many years ago, a famous leader said something like this: It doesn't matter whether the cat is black or white; the only thing that

matters is whether the cat catches the mice.

So Ms. Freeman is telling us that if "healthy" is being used as an adverb, then it is an adverb.

*****

In summary (My opinions only):

a. If you want to use "book English," follow the rule and use "healthily."

b. If you want to speak like many Americans, use "healthy."

c. If you want to make almost everyone happy, use "healthfully."



James

Source of Ms. Freeman's opinion: Mortal Syntax by Ms. June Casagrande (Google books).

[chanhwee]

I can't thank you too much.

I entirely understood. !!

[JarekSteliga]

Here in the United States, many people simply say, "Eat healthy." Why?

Well, some people think that it is a short way to say "Eat healthy food."

Would a native speaker like yourself be very hard put to make a list of adjectives which (never taking off their own uniforms) "like" to take on the job of adverbs? I suppose any such list should include verbs which they collocate with.

sleep tight
drive safe
eat healthy
think different
...
...

I suppose - in the absence of rules - learners have no option but to learn the list by heart.

[emsr2d2]

Would a native speaker like yourself be very hard put to make a list of adjectives which (never taking off their own uniforms) "like" to take on the job of adverbs? I suppose any such list should include verbs which they collocate with.

sleep tight
drive safe
eat healthy
think different
...
...

I suppose - in the absence of rules - learners have no option but to learn the list by heart.

In BrE, you'll hear "Sleep tight" but not "Drive safe". We say "Drive safely" or "Drive carefully". If we use "safe", it's in "Safe journey" where "Have a" is omitted at the beginning of the sentence.

[5jj]

To me, 'eat healthily' suggests that one would have to eat (chew?) in a healthy manner. It suggests that I would need to floss and (possibly) disinfect my mouth before and after ingesting.