SEE, FEEL, LOOK, SMELL and TASTE used in the continuous

A. SEE

see can be used in the continuous when it means “meet by appointment”

I’m seeing the rector tomorrow.

It can be also used in the continuous in the following combinations:

see smb out = escort him/her to the door

see smb home =escort him/her home

see smb to + place= escort him/her to + place

Ann: Is Bill seeing you home after the party?

Mary: No, he’s just seeing me to my bus.

see someoneoff = say goodbye to smb at the station or airport

We’re leaving tomorrow. Bill is seeing us off at the airport.

B. FEEL

1. feel, when followed by an adjective indicating the subject’s emotions or
physical or mental condition, e.g. angry/pleased, happy/sad, hot/cold,
tense/relaxed, nervous/confident, is normally used in the simple tenses
but can also be used in the continuous:

How do you feel/are you feeling? - I feel/am feeling better.

feel meaning ‘touch’ (usually in order to learn something) can be used in
the continuous:

The doctor was feeling her pulse.

Similarly, feel for meaning ‘try to find something by touching’:

He was feeling for the keyhole in the dark.

2. But feel is not used in the continuous when it means ‘sense’:

Don’t you feel the house shaking?

when it means ‘think’:

I feel you are wrong

and when it is used as a link verb:

The water feels cold.

C. LOOK

The continuous is not used with look used as a link verb, e.g. That cake looks
good, or with look on(=consider), look up to(=respect) and look down on
(=despise). But look (at), look for/in/into/out and look on (=watch) are
deliberate actions and can be used in the continuous tenses:

He is looking for his glasses.

I’m looking out for a better job.

D. SMELL

The continuous is not used with smell meaning ‘perceive a scent/an odour’,
e.g. I smell gas, or with smell used as a link verb, but can be used with smell
meaning ‘sniff at’:

Why are you smelling the milk? Does it smell sour?

E. TASTE

taste as a link verb is not used in the continuous:

This coffee tastes bitter. (has a bitter taste)

But taste meaning ‘to test the flavour of’ can be used in the continuous:

She was tasting the pudding to see if it was sweet enough.

The Continuous and Non-Continuous Uses of Certain Verbs

What are you thinking about? I thinkyou’re right.

I’m feeling fine. I feelwe shouldn’t do it.

Why areyou smellingthe meat? Is it bad? The meat smells bad.

‘What are you doing with my whisky?’ - ‘I’mjust tasting it.’

The cake tasteswonderful.

The scales broke when I was weighing myself this morning.

I weighed68 kilos three months ago - and look at me now!

Why isthe man measuringthe street?

I measure75 centimeters round the waist.

THE SIMPLE PRESENT TENSE

Form

In the affirmative the simple present has the same form as the infinitive but
adds an s for the third person singular. The negative and interrogative are
formed with do/does:

I work I don’t work do I work? Don’t we work?

he works he doesn’t work does he work? Doesn’t he work?

Spelling Notes

A. Verbs ending in ss, sh, ch, xando add es, instead of s alone, to form the third
person singular:

I kiss, he kisses I box, he boxes

I wash, he washes I do, he does

I watch, he watches I go, he goes

B. When y follows a consonant we change the y into i and add es:

I carry, he carries I try, he tries

but verbs ending in y following a vowel do not change:

I say, he says I play, he plays

Date: 2015-12-11; view: 1247