She looked at me funny.

J

JungKim

Senior Member
Korean
She looked at me funny.

The M-W Learner's Dictionary, which shows the above example sentence, classifies the "funny" as an adverb (definition: in an odd or strange way)
So does our own WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English (definition: oddly; strangely; peculiarly: a stranger who talked funny).

On the other hand, "funny" is not even classified as an adverb in any of the British English dictionaries that I know of, such as Oxford Dictionaries Online, Oxford Learner's Dictionary, Cambridge Dictionaries Online or Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English.

Normally, even if some expression is AmE, these British English dictionaries would at least show them and mark them as "Northern American English" or something like that. But this time none of the above British English dictionaries even show that "funny" can be used as an adverb.

Is this use of "funny" as an adverb as in the above example sentence purely AmE?
 
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    • I'm in North America, JK, but I think you'll find that informally, some common adjectives get used
    as adverbs, esp. where the adverb would sound or look strange, e.g. "funnily"
    (looked at me funnily?). I'm pretty sure it's not just Americans who do this.
    "How are you doing?" "I'm doing good." (commonly heard in AE at least).
     
    IF "funny" being used as an adverb is comparable to "good" being used as an adverb and the adverb "funny" is not limited to AmE, then why would all the BrE dictionaries that I listed in the OP not even list the adverb "funny" when they all list the adverb "good"?
     
    You should note that when "someone looks at you funny", it is not that person that is funny looking, it is an expression on that person's face that indicates that something is odd/wrong/strange about you.

    I guess I would re-write it as, "She looked at me [as though I appeared] funny [or strange or odd]."
     
    JungKim said:
    IF "funny" being used as an adverb is comparable to "good" being used as an adverb and the adverb "funny" is not limited to AmE, then why would all the BrE dictionaries that I listed in the OP not even list the adverb "funny" when they all list the adverb "good"?
    Click to expand...

    We don't really explore the methodology of dictionary-makers in this forum. Suffice it to say that in AE, "funny" can be used as an adverb, although generally only with certain verbs (look, stare, peer, etc.).
     
    JungKim said:
    Normally, even if some expression is AmE, these British English dictionaries would at least show them and mark them as "Northern American English" or something like that.
    Click to expand...
    I'm sorry, but I think this is not always true. For example, we use the days of the week adverbially (I went there Sunday) where BrE would say (I went there on Sunday). The American English sections of the WRD list Sunday as a noun and an adjective but not an adverb. The British section says it's only a noun.
     
    Packard said:
    You should note that when "someone looks at you funny", it is not that person that is funny looking, it is an expression on that person's face that indicates that something is odd/wrong/strange about you.

    I guess I would re-write it as, "She looked at me [as though I appeared] funny [or strange or odd]."
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    According to the M-W dictionary, I thought that it was the way she looked at me that was funny, not that I looked funny. No?
     
    Myridon said:
    I'm sorry, but I think this is not always true. For example, we use the days of the week adverbially (I went there Sunday) where BrE would say (I went there on Sunday). The American English sections of the WRD list Sunday as a noun and an adjective but not an adverb. The British section says it's only a noun.
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    I really can't speak for the WRD, but the Oxford Dictionaries Online lists Sunday as an adverb:
    chiefly North American
    1 On Sunday:
    the concert will be held Sunday
    Click to expand...
     
    JungKim said:
    According to the M-W dictionary, I thought that it was the way she looked at me that was funny, not that I looked funny. No?
    Click to expand...

    That's right. "She" is the one who has something funny about her expression. It may have nothing to do with me. Perhaps she's unwell or drunk.
     
    The Newt said:
    We don't really explore the methodology of dictionary-makers in this forum.
    Click to expand...

    Neither do I.
    The only reason I showed that all the BrE dictionaries failed to list the adverb "funny" was because I was wondering if there was a BrE vs. AmE divide.

    Maybe we should wait for a BrE speaker to weigh in.
     
    JungKim said:
    According to the M-W dictionary, I thought that it was the way she looked at me that was funny, not that I looked funny. No?
    Click to expand...

    "She looked at me funny" refers to both her appearance as an indicator, and my appearance as what she is indicating.

    In other words, there is something in the manner in which she is observing me (with a curious look, a head cocked to one side, etc.) that indicates that something about me is odd.

    If I were walking down 5th Avenue in Manhattan in just shoes and socks and no other clothing nearly everyone would "look at me funny", but it is me that is the one that is really odd. Their "looking funny" is an indication of either their surprise, shock or amusement.
     
    The Newt said:
    That's right. "She" is the one who has something funny about her expression. It may have nothing to do with me. Perhaps she's unwell or drunk.
    Click to expand...

    I would tend to disagree.

    If she "looked to me..." then it is she that is not quite right.

    If she "looked at me..." then it is me that is not quite right.
     
    "She looked at me funny" instead of 'in a funny way' or 'with a strange expression' and "I'm doing good" meaning 'I am doing well' as opposed to 'doing good deeds' are typical Americanisms. I am sure these are creeping in here, especially the latter, but I associate their use with people who neither know nor care any better. I can't bring myself to use those two but no doubt they will all come into accepted use eventually because they simplify the language. I might well say "Sunday we went to the festival". What else could it mean but "On Sunday .... "

    I have read that it's so common in AE because of the influence of languages like German which tend to use adjectives as adverbs.
     
    Hermione Golightly said:
    "She looked at me funny" instead of 'in a funny way' or 'with a strange expression' and "I'm doing good" meaning 'I am doing well' as opposed to 'doing good deeds' are typical Americanisms. I am sure these are creeping in here, especially the latter, but I associate their use with people who neither know nor care any better. [...]
    Click to expand...

    :( Ouch! But yes, "she looked at me funny" is virtually standard AE now. "I'm doing good" is borderline standard, not accepted universally.
     
    Hermione Golightly said:
    "She looked at me funny" instead of 'in a funny way' or 'with a strange expression' and "I'm doing good" meaning 'I am doing well' as opposed to 'doing good deeds' are typical Americanisms. I am sure these are creeping in here, especially the latter, but I associate their use with people who neither know nor care any better. I can't bring myself to use those two but no doubt they will all come into accepted use eventually because they simplify the language. I might well say "Sunday we went to the festival". What else could it mean but "On Sunday .... "

    I have read that it's so common in AE because of the influence of languages like German which tend to use adjectives as adverbs.
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    Thanks. That's very helpful.
    Would you ever say "She looked at me funnily"?
     
    JungKim said:
    On the other hand, "funny" is not even classified as an adverb in any of the British English dictionaries
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    I'd say that "She looked at me funny" is very unusual in BE. I'm sure there are examples to be found, but not many.
    JungKim said:
    Would you ever say "She looked at me funnily"?
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    Yes, that's possible. I think "... in a funny way" is more usual. I feel that "She looked at me very funnily" is more likely than the simple form.
     
    The Newt said:
    Speaking as an American, no, or hardly ever,
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    I'm going to go with "never." Well, I mean, if a very persnickety English teacher went berserk and said "Say it correctly or I'll kill you," I'd do it then. But other than if I were put under extreme duress, my answer is "never."

    I know it's technically correct, but there are some things that sound completely wrong no matter how correct they might be, and this is one of them.
     
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    I think the only context in which I would ever use "funnily" would be in something like "funnily enough, that was just what I was thinking."
     
    I definitely wouldn't say "She looked at me funny". But I'd be almost as unlikely to say "She looked at me funnily". Instead, I'd say "She looked at me in a funny way" or (more probably) "She gave me a funny look". If I needed to use an adverb for some reason, then I'd use a different one: "She looked at me oddly/strangely."
     
    The Newt said:
    :( Ouch! But yes, "she looked at me funny" is virtually standard AE now. "I'm doing good" is borderline standard, not accepted universally.
    Click to expand...

    But I think it is not quite the same.

    I don't think it is an error of "funny" vs. "funnily", but rather a dropping out of some words in the sentence:

    "She looked at me [in a] funny [way]."

    Note: "funnily" is a word that I would never use. It is simply not a part of my vocabulary.

    Conversationally I think I would say, "She gave me a look; I didn't know what to make of it." or "She gave me a funny look; I didn't know what to make of it." or "She gave me a strange look; I didn't know what to make of it."

    Of the choices above think I would go with: She gave me a strange look; I didn't know what to make of it.
     
    I been surprised on a trawl through the BNC, the British Corpus, to find that nearly all of the 104 examples using funnily, do so in the phrase funnily enough.

    The exceptions are:

    It's very funnily printerly about it in its odd way.
    You do talk funnily.

    I could quite happily say the second, but not the first.

    I could use funnily to modify a passive - it was very funnily composed - just. I'd be more likely to say strangely.

    I think part of the problem may stem from the obvious double meaning of funny - peculiar or ha-ha - and the wish to avoid ambiguity.

    Like Loob, I'd be much more likely, needing an adverbial, to say in a funny way.
     
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