Verbs of the Senses
Master verbs of the senses in advanced structures to sound more natural.
- check_circleI can use verbs of the senses to describe impressions.
- check_circleI can distinguish between verbs of senses followed by adjectives, like, or as if/though.
- check_circleI can use see/hear/watch/feel + object + bare infinitive or -ing, and explain the difference in meaning.
Discover
Meet today's English in a real situation — no rules yet. Read it once and try to guess the pattern in the words in bold. Underlined words open a short definition.
Detectives At Work
Inspector Morse: What do you make of this room, Lewis? It smells like cheap perfume and old tobacco.
Sergeant Lewis: Yes, sir. And look at this carpet. It feels damp, as if someone tried to clean a stain recently.
Inspector Morse: Indeed. And listen to that hum. It sounds like a generator running in the basement.
Sergeant Lewis: Do you think the suspect is still here? The tea on the table tastes fresh.
Inspector Morse: He can’t be far. He looks as though he left in a hurry. Look at these papers scattered everywhere.
Sergeant Lewis: But wait, I hear a noise upstairs. It echoes as if the room is completely empty.
Inspector Morse: Let’s go check. Step carefully, the floorboards creak loudly. We don’t want to alert him.
Learn
Now the rules behind what you just saw — explained simply, with examples. Underlined words open a short definition — hover on desktop, tap on a phone.
Verbs of the senses are used to describe the impression something gives us through our five senses: sight (look), hearing (sound), smell (smell), taste (taste), and touch (feel).
In English, we use specific structures depending on what follows the verb of the senses.
1. Verb of sense + Adjective
We use an adjective (not an adverb) after a verb of the senses to describe the subject.
- This soup tastes delicious. (Not: tastes deliciously)
- Your idea sounds great.
Common mistake: Spanish speakers often use adverbs instead of adjectives with verbs of the senses, or use “how” instead of “what … like”.
That feels softly.→ That feels soft.How does it taste?→ What does it taste like?
2. Verb of sense + like + Noun / Pronoun
When comparing a subject to a noun or pronoun, we must use like.
- He looks like his father.
- What’s that noise? It sounds like a helicopter.
Use What does/do… look like? to ask about physical appearance or characteristics. Use How is/are…? to ask about condition, health, or personality.
3. Verb of sense + as if / as though + Clause
When following the verb with a full clause (subject + verb), we use as if or as though. In informal spoken English, like is also commonly used instead of as if.
- It looks as if it’s going to rain.
- She sounds as though she’s been crying.
- You look like you’ve seen a ghost! (Informal)
Advanced Verbs of Perception
Sometimes we use more specific verbs to describe sensory experiences:
- Seem / Appear: Give a general impression. (e.g. He seems tired.)
- Stink: To have a very bad smell. (e.g. This cheese stinks.)
4. See / hear / watch / feel + object + bare infinitive OR -ing
This is where verbs of perception get genuinely tricky at B2: see, hear, watch, feel, notice can take an object followed by either the bare infinitive (verb with no “to”) or the -ing form — and the choice changes the meaning.
- Bare infinitive = the complete action, start to finish: I saw him cross the street. (I watched the whole crossing, beginning to end.)
- -ing form = the action in progress, already happening when noticed: I saw him crossing the street. (I saw part of it — he was already halfway across.)
- I heard her sing the whole song. (I heard it from start to finish.)
- I heard her singing as I walked past. (I only caught part of it, in passing.)
- Verb + adjective: It looks good. (Never use an adverb!)
- Verb + like + noun: It smells like roses.
- Verb + as if/though + clause: He sounds as if he has a cold. (Informal: He sounds like he has a cold.)
- See/hear/watch/feel + object + bare infinitive: the whole action (I saw him fall).
- See/hear/watch/feel + object + -ing: the action already in progress (I saw him falling).
Practice
Try it yourself. You'll see right away whether you got it right, plus a short explanation of why.
Use It
Now make the language yours in a real task. Use the prompt below — the editor keeps a simple word count, and nothing is saved or graded.
Before you finish — be honest. Can you do these now?