Complement of American English File 5 - Grammar Presentation

1. 7B verbs of the senses
I can hear a noise downstairs.
Can you see the blue circle at the top of the painting?
I can smell something burning. Are you sure you turned the stove off?
I can feel a draft. Is there a window open?
I can’t taste the garlic in the soup.
• The five basic verbs of the senses, hear, see, smell, feel, and taste are stative
(non action) verbs. We normally use can with these verbs to refer to something
happening at the moment.
• We don’t usually use verbs of the senses in the continuous form.
NOT I am hearing a noise. I’m feeling a pain behind my eye.
• hear and see can also be dynamic verbs and used in the continuous form,
but with a different meaning:
I’ve been hearing good things about you recently. (= I have been receiving
information.) I’m seeing James tonight. (= I have arranged to meet him.)
hear, see, smell, feel, taste

2. 7B verbs of the senses
We often use see / hear + object + verb in the infinitive or gerund. The
meaning is slightly different:
1 see / hear + object + verb in infinitive = you saw or heard the whole action.
I heard the girl play a piece by Chopin.
I saw the man hit his dog.
2 see / hear + object + verb in gerund = you saw / heard an action
in progress or a repeated action.
I heard the girl playing a piece by Chopin.
I saw the man hitting his dog.
• The same distinction also applies to verbs after watch and notice.
see / hear + infinitive or gerund

3. 7B verbs of the senses
When we talk about the impression something or someone gives us through the
senses, we use look, feel, smell, sound, and taste.
• After these verbs we can use:
1 an adjective
You look tired.
That smells delicious.
This music sounds awful.
These shoes feel uncomfortable.
The soup tastes a little salty.
2 like + a noun
You look like your mother.
It sounds like thunder.
This tastes like tea, not coffee.
look, feel, smell, sound, taste + adjective / noun

4. 7B verbs of the senses
3 as if / as though + a clause
She looked as if / as though she had been crying.
4 Compare smell / taste of and smell / taste like:
It tastes / smells of garlic (= it has the taste / smell of garlic).
It tastes / smells like garlic (= it has a similar taste / smell to garlic,
but it probably isn’t garlic).
When we talk about the impression something or someone gives us through the
senses, we use look, feel, smell, sound, and taste. After these verbs we can use:
look, feel, smell, sound, taste + adjective / noun
This smells / tastes of garlic. This smells / tastes like garlic.

5. 7B verbs of the senses
• We use seem when something / somebody gives us an impression of being or
doing something through a combination of the senses and what we know, but
not purely through one sense, e.g., the visual sense. Compare seem and look:
You look worried. (= I get this impression from your face.)
You seem worried. (= I get this impression from the way you are behaving in
general, e.g., voice, actions, etc.)
seem

6. • After seem we can use:
1 an adjective
You seem worried. Is something wrong?
2 an infinitive (simple or perfect or continuous)
You seem to be a bit down today. Are you OK?
The waiter seems to have made a mistake with the bill.
3 like + noun or as if / as though + a verb phrase
It seemed like a good idea at the time, but in fact it wasn’t.
It seems as if / as though every time I clean the car it rains.
• seem is not used in the continuous form.
7B verbs of the senses
seem