Verbs of the senses

  • B2+-C1
  • Grammar
  • Verbs and tenses

We use our senses on a daily basis, so it’s of great importance that you know how to use the verbs to describe them correctly in English. In article, you are going to look at the different sense verbs in English, so that you gain a greater understanding of how they are used in English.

hear, see, smell, feel, taste
  • I can hear a noise downstairs.
  • Can you see the blue circle at the top of the painting?
  • I can smell burning. Are you sure you turned the gas off?
  • I can feel a draught. 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 normally use verbs of the senses in the continuous form NOT I am hearing a noise. I’m feeling a pain in my back.
  • 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 Sylwia tonight. = I have arranged to meet her.
see / hear + infinitive or gerund
  1. I heard the girl play a piece by Chopin.
  2. I saw the man hit his dog.
  1. I heard the girl playing a piece by Chopin.
  2. I saw the man hitting his dog.
  • 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.
  1. see / hear + object + verb in gerund = you saw or heard an action in progress or a repeated action.
  2. The same distinction also applies to verbs after watch and notice.
look, feel, smell, sound, taste + adjective / noun
  1. You look tired. That smells delicious. This music sounds awful. These shoes feel uncomfortable. The soup tastes a bit salty.
  1. You look like your mother. It sounds like thunder. This tastes like tea, not coffee.
  1. She looked as if / as though she had been crying. It sounds as if / as though someone is trying to open the window.
  1. This smells / tastes of garlic. This smells / tastes like garlic.

When we talk about the impression someone or something gives us through the senses, we use look, feel, smell, sound and taste.

  • After these verbs we can use:
  1. an adjective.
  1. like + a noun.
  1. as if / as though + a clause.
  1. Compare smell / taste of and smell / taste like:
  2. It smells / tastes of garlic = it has the smell / taste of garlic.
  3. It smells / tastes like garlic = it has a similar smell / taste to garlic, but it probably isn’t garlic.
seem
  1. You seem worried. Is something wrong?.
  1. You seem to be a bit down today? Are you OK?
  2. The waiter seems to have made a mistake with the bill.
  1. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but in fact it wasn’t.
  2. It seems as if / as though every time I clean the car it rains.
  • We use seem when something / someone 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.
  • After seem we can use:
  1. an adjective.
  1. an infinitive (simple or perfect or continuous).
  1. like + noun or as if / as though + a verb phrase.
  • Grammar checkpoint
    ⚠ seem is not used in the continuous form.
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Nigel Bailey

Nigel is a qualified Teacher of English as a Foreign Language and has been teaching in Poland since 2003. He has been teaching over the Internet since 2008 and has taught more than 1,000 students in this way.

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