behaving

[Offroad]

Dear teachers

What would be the best tenses to describe this fact that happens all the time?

She bas been behaving most(ly) bitchy.
She has been in a bad mood since I met her.
She has been behaving cranky since she moved here.
She has behaved badly since I started hitting on her.
She has behaved bitchy all day [for].

Many thanks

 

[Raymott]

Dear teachers

What would be the best tenses to describe this fact that happens all the time?

She bas been behaving most(ly) bitchy [Lately]
She has been in a bad mood since I met her. Yes.
She has been behaving cranky since she moved here. Yes
She has been behaving badly since I started hitting on her.
She has behaved bitchy all day [for]. - not sure what [for] means.
She has been behaving badly all day.

Many thanks

It depends what you want to say. If you merely want to say that it happens all the time, you use the simple present tense.
She behaves bitchy all the time.

But you seem to want to say other things, for which other tenses are necessary, as above.

 

[Tullia]

It depends what you want to say. If you merely want to say that it happens all the time, you use the simple present tense.
She behaves bitchy all the time.

But you seem to want to say other things, for which other tenses are necessary, as above.

Wouldn't that be better adverbially?

She behaves bitchily all the time.


If you wanted to use "bitchy" then it would need to be something like:

She is really bitchy all the time.

 

[Offroad]

Wouldn't that be better adverbially?

She behaves bitchily all the time.


If you wanted to use "bitchy" then it would need to be something like:

She is really bitchy all the time.

That caught my attention too. However, people tend to use both.

I want that really bad(ly).

 

[Tullia]

That caught my attention too. However, people tend to use both.

I want that really bad(ly).

Hmm.

I would say that "wanting something bad(ly)" is quite a colloquial phrase anyway, so a potential grammatical error in that specific phrase likely enough wouldn't be the end of the world for the speaker anyway. (Much as it would always grate on my ears, I appreciate some people wouldn't be very bothered by it!)

If we are in a formal context, though, the error should be avoided wherever possible.

 

[bhaisahab]

I would go with "bitchily" and "crankily" too.

 

[Barb_D]

Neither of those sound natural to me. I agree with the grammar, just not with the likelihood of ever hearing or saying them.

 

[Offroad]

Neither of those sound natural to me. I agree with the grammar, just not with the likelihood of ever hearing or saying them.

How would you say it?

Many thanks.

 

[Raymott]

How would you say it?

Many thanks.

I've never heard 'bitchily', though it would be correct theoretically.
If you want to be grammatical and colloquial at the same time, you can say:
"She's been behaving like a bitch recently." or
"She's been a real bitch recently." or
"She's been very bitchy lately."

 

[Barb_D]

How would you say it?

Many thanks.

Just as Ray said.

For cranky: She's been cranky since she moved here.

You do know, by the way, that "bitch" and "bitchy" are considered offensive to varying degrees, depending on your audience? While I do occasionally drop the "f-bomb" at work shock: - yes, I know!), I really don't use "bitch." It's a different kind of offensiveness.

She's a shrew, she's been acting like a shrew, she's a bear to work with, she's been acting like she commutes by broomstick (i.e., acting like a witch), etc. Very occasionally, I might used the modified "bee-yatch."

Anyway, just a side note to be careful with this word in the U.S.