The verb 'To feel': How and When to Use in English
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The verb 'To feel'
To feel is one of the 'verbs of perception' (along with to see, to hear, to smell, etc.). To feel means 'to experience something physical or emotional', or 'to touch':
I feel good! I am happy and well.
Everyone felt the anger in Bruno's voice. Everyone sensed the anger in Bruno's voice.
The city feels empty. You get the impression that the city is empty.
This stone feels smooth. This stone is smooth when you touch it.
Note that to feel is an irregular verb:
I feel sick today / I felt sick yesterday / I have felt sick all day.
Common constructions:
• To feel is often accompanied by the auxiliary verb can:
• To feel is often accompanied by the auxiliary verb can:
I can feel the tension in the room. I am able to sense the tension in the room.
• To feel like doing something To have a desire to do something, to want to do something.
I feel like going to the swimming pool. I want to go to the swimming pool.
Do you feel like (having) a beer? Do you want to have a beer?
• To feel like + verb phrase (to have the sensation or impression of...):
Philip feels like Susie is interested in him. Philip has the impression that Susie is interested in him.
• To feel as if + verb phrase (to have the sensation or impression of...):
I feel as if it will never stop. I have the impression that it will never stop.
Susie felt as if she were going to lose the contract. Susie had the impression that she was going to lose the contract.
Exercise 1
Put the irregular verbs below into their proper past tense forms.
Yesterday, Philip and Kevin to a pub and all night. That night, neither of them very well, because they both very ill.
Yesterday, Philip and Kevin to a pub and all night. That night, neither of them very well, because they both very ill.
Put the irregular verbs below into their proper past tense forms.
Yesterday, Philip and Kevin [not done] went 1 to a pub and [not done] drank 2 all night. That night, neither of them [not done] slept 3 very well, because they both [not done] felt 4 very ill.
Yesterday, Philip and Kevin [not done] went 1 to a pub and [not done] drank 2 all night. That night, neither of them [not done] slept 3 very well, because they both [not done] felt 4 very ill.
1 went: The verb 'to go' is irregular. We must put the verb in the past tense, as indicated by the term 'yesterday'. To go: go/went/gone.
2 drank: The verb 'to drink' is irregular. We must put the verb in the past tense, as indicated by the term 'yesterday'. To drink: drink/drank/drunk.
3 slept: The verb 'to sleep' is irregular. We must put the verb in the past tense as indicated by the phrase 'that night' which refers to a past tense time period. To sleep: sleep/slept/slept.
4 felt: We need the preterit form of the verb 'to feel' here. Be careful, because the verb 'to feel' is irregular: feel/felt/felt.
Exercise 2
Bob: I feel like to the movies. Would you like to go with me?
Taxi Driver: Look, buddy, I'm just your driver. Besides, I already have plans.
Bob: I didn't really want to go with you anyway. You're not very nice.
Taxi Driver: Fine, get out of my taxi then.
Bob: I feel the tension in this car, and I don't like it.
Taxi Driver: Look, buddy, I'm just your driver. Besides, I already have plans.
Bob: I didn't really want to go with you anyway. You're not very nice.
Taxi Driver: Fine, get out of my taxi then.
Bob: I feel the tension in this car, and I don't like it.
Bob: I feel like going 1 to the movies. Would you like to go with me?
Taxi Driver: Look, buddy, I'm just your driver. Besides, I already have plans.
Bob: I didn't really want to go with you anyway. You're not very nice.
Taxi Driver: Fine, get out of my taxi then.
Bob: I can 2 feel the tension in this car, and I don't like it.
Taxi Driver: Look, buddy, I'm just your driver. Besides, I already have plans.
Bob: I didn't really want to go with you anyway. You're not very nice.
Taxi Driver: Fine, get out of my taxi then.
Bob: I can 2 feel the tension in this car, and I don't like it.
1 going: This is the best choice here. When we use the expression 'feel like' we must use the 'ing' form of the verb (going). 'Feel like doing something' expresses inclination or preference. Example: I feel like eating burritos tonight.
1 to go: The infinitive 'to go' cannot be used after the expression 'feel like'. It is grammatically incorrect.
1 go: The infinitive 'go' cannot be used after the expression 'feel like'. It is grammatically incorrect.
1 to going: 'To going' is not a valid grammatical construction.
2 can: This is the best choice here. We sometimes use the auxiliary 'can' in certain expressions with 'feel'. It is used to emphasize the sentiment. Example: Can you feel the love in the air?
2 should: 'I should feel the tension in this car' is grammatically correct, but it does not make sense. Bob would not be talking to himself like this.
2 would: 'I would feel the tension in this car' is grammatically correct, but it does not make sense. Bob would not be talking to himself like this.
2 could: 'Could' is used either to form the conditional or as the past tense form of the auxiliary 'can'. We cannot use the term here, as this is neither a past tense construction, nor a conditional statement.
Exercise 3
Conjugate the verbs in the blanks below with the correct form of the verb:
Yesterday, Philip Cheeter suddenly hungry. It was almost 2:00 in the afternoon, and it seemed to him that he hadn't anything in days. He to feel that if he did not eat something soon, he was going to faint. He Kevin in his office and asked him if he wanted to go to lunch. 'No, I my wallet this morning, so I can't go,' Kevin. 'Oh, that's too bad,' Philip. 'But, if you want to pay for me, I can you the money tomorrow,' Kevin. Philip long and hard. He that Kevin would never pay him the money. But he did not like to eat alone. 'Ok,' Philip finally , 'but you can't order the most expensive dish, like you the last time'. 'Sure, sure,' Kevin. And they .
Yesterday, Philip Cheeter suddenly hungry. It was almost 2:00 in the afternoon, and it seemed to him that he hadn't anything in days. He to feel that if he did not eat something soon, he was going to faint. He Kevin in his office and asked him if he wanted to go to lunch. 'No, I my wallet this morning, so I can't go,' Kevin. 'Oh, that's too bad,' Philip. 'But, if you want to pay for me, I can you the money tomorrow,' Kevin. Philip long and hard. He that Kevin would never pay him the money. But he did not like to eat alone. 'Ok,' Philip finally , 'but you can't order the most expensive dish, like you the last time'. 'Sure, sure,' Kevin. And they .
Conjugate the verbs in the blanks below with the correct form of the verb:
Yesterday, Philip Cheeter suddenly [not done] felt 1 hungry. It was almost 2:00 in the afternoon, and it seemed to him that he hadn't [not done] eaten 2 anything in days. He [not done] began 3 to feel that if he did not eat something soon, he was going to faint. He [not done] found 4 Kevin in his office and asked him if he wanted to go to lunch. 'No, I [not done] forgot 5 my wallet this morning, so I can't go,' [not done] said 6 Kevin. 'Oh, that's too bad,' [not done] answered 7 Philip. 'But, if you want to pay for me, I can [not done] give 8 you the money tomorrow,' [not done] declared 9 Kevin. Philip [not done] thought 10 long and hard. He [not done] knew 11 that Kevin would never pay him the money. But he did not like to eat alone. 'Ok,' Philip finally [not done] responded 12, 'but you can't order the most expensive dish, like you [not done] did 13 the last time'. 'Sure, sure,' [not done] said 14 Kevin. And they [not done] left 15.
Yesterday, Philip Cheeter suddenly [not done] felt 1 hungry. It was almost 2:00 in the afternoon, and it seemed to him that he hadn't [not done] eaten 2 anything in days. He [not done] began 3 to feel that if he did not eat something soon, he was going to faint. He [not done] found 4 Kevin in his office and asked him if he wanted to go to lunch. 'No, I [not done] forgot 5 my wallet this morning, so I can't go,' [not done] said 6 Kevin. 'Oh, that's too bad,' [not done] answered 7 Philip. 'But, if you want to pay for me, I can [not done] give 8 you the money tomorrow,' [not done] declared 9 Kevin. Philip [not done] thought 10 long and hard. He [not done] knew 11 that Kevin would never pay him the money. But he did not like to eat alone. 'Ok,' Philip finally [not done] responded 12, 'but you can't order the most expensive dish, like you [not done] did 13 the last time'. 'Sure, sure,' [not done] said 14 Kevin. And they [not done] left 15.
1 felt: Because we are speaking of the past (Yesterday), 'to feel' needs to be put in the past simple tense (preterit). To feel: I feel / I felt / I have felt.
2 eaten: Because it is preceded by 'hadn't', 'to eat' needs to be put in the past participle form. This forms the past perfect tense. To eat: I eat / I ate / I have eaten.
3 began: Because we are speaking of the past (Yesterday), 'to begin' needs to be put in the preterit tense. 'To begin' is an irregular verb: I begin / I began / I have begun.
4 found: Because we are speaking of the past (Yesterday), 'to find' needs to be put in the preterit tense. To find: I find / I found / I have found.
5 forgot: Because we are speaking of the past (this morning), 'to forget' needs to be put in the preterit tense. To forget: I forget/ I forgot/ I have forgotten.
6 said : Because we are speaking of the past (Yesterday), 'to say' needs to be put in the preterit tense. To say: I say/ I said/ I have said.
7 answered: Because we are speaking of the past (Yesterday), 'to answer' needs to be put in the preterit tense. 'To answer' is a regular verb.
8 give: Because it is preceded by 'can', 'to give' needs to stay in the infinitive, but we remove the 'to'. This is what happens after modal verbs like 'can', 'could', 'should' or 'must'. Examples: Bob could help you; Polly should see a doctor about that rash.
9 declared: Because we are speaking of the past (Yesterday), 'to declare' needs to be put in the preterit tense. 'To declare' is a regular verb.
10 thought: Because we are speaking of the past (Yesterday), 'to think' needs to be in the preterit tense. To think: I think/ I thought/ I have thought.
11 knew: Because we are speaking of the past (Yesterday), 'to know' needs to be put in the preterit tense. To know: I know/ I knew/ I have known.
12 responded: Because we are speaking of the past (Yesterday), 'to respond' needs to be put in the simple past tense. 'To respond' is a regular verb.
13 did : The phrase 'the last time' indicates that Kevin ordered the most expensive dish once, in the past, requiring the simple past tense form of the verb. We use the auxiliary here to replace 'ordered'. To do: I do/ I did/ I have done.
14 said: Because we are speaking of the past (Yesterday), 'to say' needs to be put in the preterit tense. To say: I say/ I said/ I have said.
15 left: Because we are speaking of the past (Yesterday), 'to leave' needs to be put in the preterit tense. To leave: leave/left/I have left.
Exercise 4
Bob eating cookies with sugar.
Bob feels like eating cookies with sugar.
feels like: "Feels like" is the best choice here. To "feel like doing something" expresses a desire to do something. In this case, Bob wants to eat some cookies.
feels that: "Feels that" forms a grammatically incorrect construction. However, we could say that "Bob feels that eating too many cookies is bad for one's health." Using "feels that" expresses an opinion, rather than a desire.
is feeling: The sentence "Bob is feeling eating" cookies' is grammatically correct. When using a progressive (or continuous tense) the main verb is never followed by another verb in the continuous tense.
feels as if: "To feel as if" is a construction which expresses that someone has an impression or opinion on something. For example: "Polly feels as if the President of United States is an unqualified idiot" expresses that Polly thinks that the President is an idiot.
Exercise 5
I going to see Aunt Mildred today. Do you to go with me?
I feel like 1 going to see Aunt Mildred today. Do you want 2 to go with me?
1 feel like: 'To feel like (going to the park)' is to want to or to have a desire to go to the park. This is the best choice here. When followed by a verb, 'to feel like' can only be followed by a verb in the ING form: I feel like DANCING.
1 want: Because the verb 'to go' is in the ING form, we cannot use 'want' here to precede it. We could say however: 'I want TO GO see Aunt Mildred'.
1 would like: The expression 'would like' can only be followed by a verb in the full infinitive form: I would like TO GO to sleep. Using it in this sentence would be grammatically incorrect.
2 want: We use 'want' here because the verb 'to go' is in the infinitive form. The conjugated verb 'want' can only be followed by a verb in its full infinitive form: I want TO EAT, she wants TO SING.
2 feel like: Because the verb 'to go' is in the infinitive form, we cannot use 'feel' here (which is followed by verbs in the ING form). We could say however: 'Do you feel like going with me?'.
2 would like: 'Would' and 'do' are both auxiliary verbs. We can use either one to ask a question, but we can't use both in the same phrase. We can say 'Do you like Aunt Mildred?' or 'Would you like to go with me?', but not 'Do you would like to go with me?'.
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