Can you feel that?
In English, a question like this is easy to understand because the idea of FEELING something is related to anything outside the range of, SMELL, TASTE, SEE, HEAR.
Did you FEEL that bump? Did you FEEL that cold breeze? How do you FEEL? Do you FEEL happy, well etc?
Portuguese, on the other hand, uses SENTIR - FEEL for everything as in the above, plus; Do you FEEL that smell? Do you FEEL that taste? And Do you FEEL that noise?
In fact, when using Portuguese it actually seems to make sense, and this is where it leads to problems in English.
In fact, when using Portuguese it actually seems to make sense, and this is where it leads to problems in English.
--ooOO\\//OOoo--
Firstly with smell
Can you SMELL that? What is that horrible smell? I do not like the smell of that. I like the smell of your perfume. What is it? Can I SMELL it again?
Can you SMELL that? What is that horrible smell? I do not like the smell of that. I like the smell of your perfume. What is it? Can I SMELL it again?
FEEL relates to touch, so in this context if I ask, Can I FEEL your perfume? There is a great deal of confusion. How can you FEEL a smell? Most often there is no physical presence that can be determined through TOUCH. It is only your sense of SMELL that can really distinguish among so many different scents around us.
So too with TASTE
You have just made a delicious cake and you ask, How does it FEEL to you? In English, our automatic response is related to texture, consistency. It FEELS soft but dry. So you ask, But what about the flavour? (This was really what the first question was related to.) Oh it is delicious, so tasty. It TASTES as if you used real oranges (NOT - It FEELS as if you used real oranges.
You have just made a delicious cake and you ask, How does it FEEL to you? In English, our automatic response is related to texture, consistency. It FEELS soft but dry. So you ask, But what about the flavour? (This was really what the first question was related to.) Oh it is delicious, so tasty. It TASTES as if you used real oranges (NOT - It FEELS as if you used real oranges.
Then there is SOUND
This is the new album by Pink Floyd. How does it FEEL to you?
This is the new album by Pink Floyd. How does it FEEL to you?
It FEELS heavy. But do you like it? What about the quality? (How does it SOUND to you is the best question to ask here.)
That Radio FM station SOUNDS out of tune (Not FEELS out of tune.)
Of course, when it comes to SOUND, we experience the physical feeling that comes from powerful sound systems. This is something I FELT when accompanying a Sound truck in Salvador Bahia. I could FEEL the SOUND shaking my body. Sounds can affect your emotions so, in this case; How does that SOUND FEEL actually makes sense, but is specific to the emotional feeling, not the sense of hearing.
What was that noise? Did you FEEL that? is WRONG. Did you HEAR that? is the CORRECT way of using the sense of hearing.
--ooOO\\//OOoo--
Putting it all together results in a few other things to remember.
Firstly, the differences between certain VERBS when performing an act and describing the result.
LISTEN TO that! What did you HEAR? is the clearest yet hardest part of English usage.
The physical act, the action you have to perform, is the LISTENING. You are not LISTENING TO me is a common problem among people in all types of situations.
If you are not LISTENING, you are not going to HEAR what was intended.
We always use HEAR to describe what the result of LISTENING was.
I was LISTENING TO the radio and I HEARD the announcer say it was going to rain today.
Please note that LISTEN should always use TO, as in, LISTEN TO the music, LISTEN TO that Engine.
--ooOO\\//OOoo--
LOOK AT that! What do you SEE? This is quite similar to LISTEN and HEAR.
LOOK is the action and SEE is the result.
LOOK should always use AT, as in, LOOK AT that car, LOOK AT that flower.
There is though another form of LOOK that we use for LOOKING AT things in movement, WATCH.
WATCHING TV can be fun and also very boring. We WATCH films and Sports on TV. We WATCH football games at Football Stadiums.
Usually after WATCHING an event, we describe what we SAW.
Did you SEE the last goal in that football game last night? No. I was WATCHING the game, but I didn't SEE the goal because I fell asleep.
Come and LOOK AT my TV, means you want someone to SEE your new TV.
Come and WATCH my TV, means that you want someone to see something playing on your TV.
--ooOO\\//OOoo--
The other SENSES are easier.
SMELL that! What do you SMELL?
TASTE that! What do you TASTE?
FEEL That! What do you FEEL?
Good luck with this. I would be happy to add Portuguese equivalents if anybody wants to take the time to document them for me.
That Radio FM station SOUNDS out of tune (Not FEELS out of tune.)
Of course, when it comes to SOUND, we experience the physical feeling that comes from powerful sound systems. This is something I FELT when accompanying a Sound truck in Salvador Bahia. I could FEEL the SOUND shaking my body. Sounds can affect your emotions so, in this case; How does that SOUND FEEL actually makes sense, but is specific to the emotional feeling, not the sense of hearing.
What was that noise? Did you FEEL that? is WRONG. Did you HEAR that? is the CORRECT way of using the sense of hearing.
--ooOO\\//OOoo--
Putting it all together results in a few other things to remember.
Firstly, the differences between certain VERBS when performing an act and describing the result.
LISTEN TO that! What did you HEAR? is the clearest yet hardest part of English usage.
The physical act, the action you have to perform, is the LISTENING. You are not LISTENING TO me is a common problem among people in all types of situations.
If you are not LISTENING, you are not going to HEAR what was intended.
We always use HEAR to describe what the result of LISTENING was.
I was LISTENING TO the radio and I HEARD the announcer say it was going to rain today.
Please note that LISTEN should always use TO, as in, LISTEN TO the music, LISTEN TO that Engine.
--ooOO\\//OOoo--
LOOK AT that! What do you SEE? This is quite similar to LISTEN and HEAR.
LOOK is the action and SEE is the result.
LOOK should always use AT, as in, LOOK AT that car, LOOK AT that flower.
There is though another form of LOOK that we use for LOOKING AT things in movement, WATCH.
WATCHING TV can be fun and also very boring. We WATCH films and Sports on TV. We WATCH football games at Football Stadiums.
Usually after WATCHING an event, we describe what we SAW.
Did you SEE the last goal in that football game last night? No. I was WATCHING the game, but I didn't SEE the goal because I fell asleep.
Come and LOOK AT my TV, means you want someone to SEE your new TV.
Come and WATCH my TV, means that you want someone to see something playing on your TV.
--ooOO\\//OOoo--
The other SENSES are easier.
SMELL that! What do you SMELL?
TASTE that! What do you TASTE?
FEEL That! What do you FEEL?
Good luck with this. I would be happy to add Portuguese equivalents if anybody wants to take the time to document them for me.
No comments:
Post a Comment