1. Look, feel, smell, sound, taste You look tired. The dog smells awful. The fish tastes delicious.

2. Look, feel, smell, sound, taste She looks like a model. This fabric feels like silk. The cake tastes like coffee.  I feel like playing cards tonight.

3. smell of, taste of vs. smell like, taste like The greengrocer’s smells of strawberries. This shampoo smells like strawberries. This soup tastes of chicken. Frog tastes like chicken to me.

4. Look, feel, smell, sound, taste He looks as if [he’s had a hard day]. It smells as if [something’s burning]. It sounds as though [someone is spanking the dog].  It sounds like [it’s raining]. (informal)

5. Seem Seem + adjective: You seem eager to learn new grammar! Seem + like + noun: It seemed like a good idea. Seem + as though/as if + clause: It seems as if [every time I clean the car it rains]!

6. Seem Seem + infinitive: He seems to be a nice man. He seems to have had a hard day at work. He seems to be having a busy week at the office. Take notice: there are other forms of infinitive besides the simple infinitive:  to write: simple infinitive  to have written: perfect infinitive  to be writing: continuous infinitive  to have been writing: perfect continuous infinitive  to have been written: perfect passive infinitive  and so on…

7. See, hear, watch, notice I heard the girl play a piece by Chopin. I heard the girl playing a piece by Chopin. I saw the man hit his dog. I saw the man hitting his dog every day.

8. Verbs of the senses can’t be continuous! I am seeing Fulvio coming down the corridor.  I am hearing people talking outside the room.  I can see Fulvio coming down the corridor. I can hear people talking outside the room.

9. …except, of course, if they’re not verbs of the senses. I’ve been hearing good things about you. (hear = learn, come to know) I am seeing Maria tonight. (see = meet)