Continuous form or not ?

[MystOGriff]

Hello !

Let's go to revise, my friends !

Some verbs can be used in the continous form in one meaning, but not in another.

CORRECTION : JEUDI 14 FEVRIER 2008

Decide whether these sentences are correct or incorrect, and correct them if necessary :

1) Are you feeling cold?
2) I'm not believing in UFOs.
3) I can smell something in this room.
4) Are you seeing your boss tomorrow?
5) Mary's not hearing you.
6) They are liking rock music.
7) Is this cake smelling bad?
8) I'm thinking about our future.
9) This meat tastes terrible.
10) We think you are wrong.
11) I'm feeling they don't like us.
12) Do you see what I want to say?
13) Jane is thinking we need a new car.
14) They believe their boss is very stupid.


Easy, isn't it ?

MystO'Griff
_________________
Live as if you were to die tomorrow
Learn as if you were to live forever.

[Medi]

bonjour tout le monde

Bon je me remets à l'anglais après quelques jours d'espagnol.

1) Are you feeling cold? correct
2) I'm not believing in UFOs.
I don't believe in UFos.
3) I can smell something in this room. correct
4) Are you seeing your boss tomorrow?
Do you see your boss tomorrow ?
5) Mary's not hearing you.
Mary doesn't hear you.
6) They are liking rock music.
They like rock music.
7) Is this cake smelling bad? correct
8) I'm thinking about our future. correct
9) This meat tastes terrible. correct
10) We think you are wrong. correct
11) I'm feeling they don't like us.
I feel they don't like us.
12) Do you see what I want to say?
Are you seeing what I want to say ?
13) Jane is thinking we need a new car.
Jane thinks we need a new car.
14) They believe their boss is very stupid. correct

Bon pour une reprise
A bientôt MystOGriff
Medi
_________________
le bonheur est une petite chose que l'on grignote, assis par terre, au soleil.

[ndege]

Hi MystO!

1) Are you feeling cold? OK
2) I'm not believing in UFOs. KO
3) I can smell something in this room. OK
4) Are you seeing your boss tomorrow? OK
5) Mary's not hearing you. OK
6) They are liking rock music. KO
7) Is this cake smelling bad? OK?
8) I'm thinking about our future. OK
9) This meat tastes terrible. OK
10) We think you are wrong. OK
11) I'm feeling they don't like us. KO
12) Do you see what I want to say? OK
13) Jane is thinking we need a new car. KO
14) They believe their boss is very stupid. OK

Beuh, it's not always that easy
Thanks for the exercice!
_________________
Ndege

[Fame]

Hi friends

1) Are you feeling cold? ==>
2) I'm not believing in UFOs.==> I don't believe in UFO's
3) I can smell something in this room.==>
4) Are you seeing your boss tomorrow? ==>
5) Mary's not hearing you.==>
6) They are liking rock music. ==> They like rock music
7) Is this cake smelling bad? ==>
8) I'm thinking about our future. ==>
9) This meat tastes terrible.==>
10) We think you are wrong. ==>
11) I'm feeling they don't like us. ==> I feel they don't like us.
12) Do you see what I want to say? ==>
13) Jane is thinking we need a new car. ==> Jane thinks we need a new car
14) They believe their boss is very stupid. ==>

Not easy at all
_________________
Fame
Success is falling nine times and getting up ten !

[Nobody]

Bonsoir tout le monde,

1. Are you feeling cold?
2. I don't believe in UFOs.
3. I can smell something in this room.
4. Will you see your boss tomorrow?
5. Mary' can't hear you.
6. They like rock music.
7. Does this cake smell bad?
8. I'm thinking about our future.
9. This meat tastes terrible.
10. We think you are wrong.
11. I feel they don't like us.
12. Do you see what I want to say?
13. Jane thinks we need a new car.
14. They believe their boss is very stupid.

Merci et à bientôt,

_________________
My lovely wife, my children and my cute dog are my sunshines.

[OrientCat]

Hi Mysto

1) Are you feeling cold? YEAH
2) I'm not believing in UFOs. I DON'T BELIEVE IN UFOS
3) I can smell something in this room. YEAH
4) Are you seeing your boss tomorrow? YEAH
5) Mary's not hearing you. YEAH
6) They are liking rock music. THEY LIKE ROCK MUSIC (so do I)
7) Is this cake smelling bad? DOES THIS CAKE SMELL BAD
8) I'm thinking about our future. YEAH
9) This meat tastes terrible. YEAH
10) We think you are wrong. YEAH
11) I'm feeling they don't like us. I FEEL THEY DON'T LIKE US
12) Do you see what I want to say? YEAH
13) Jane is thinking we need a new car. JANE THINKS WE NEED A NEW CAR
14) They believe their boss is very stupid. YEAH

Thanks my dear Mysto
_________________
O'rientCat
Ronron et pattes de velours...
Those who don't like cats will be reincarnated into mice

[ziggy]

Hi Everyone,

I was a bit confused with the wording in #12, so I checked with Mysto.

"Vois-tu ce que je veux dire?" makes perfect sense in French, but is awkward when translated word for word into English. "Do you see what I want to say?"

I'm not sure about British English, but in the States, we would say,
"Do you see what I am saying?" or "Do you see what I'm saying?" We sometimes say this when we mean: "Do you understand what I'm saying?"
or "Do you see what I mean?" We may know that they understand us, but we may say this when we want them to agree with us.

I hope I haven't confused everyone, especially when the explanation is written in English!

Vous êtes vraiments très bons étudiants d'anglais. Continuez avec vos excellents travails.

Ziggy
_________________
Treat others as you wish to be treated.

[Nobody]

Merci Ziggy pour cette très intéressante remarque. Je la trouve concrète et très utile pour nous tous. J'espère que nous aurons encore beaucoup d'autres remarques comme celle-ci. Merci encore.

Friendship

_________________
My lovely wife, my children and my cute dog are my sunshines.

[Fame]

Merci Ziggy,

J'ai en effet beaucoup hésité pour cette phrase 12 et j'ai finalement opté pour ce que je pensais être juste.

Il est vrai que l'anglais est une langue beaucoup plus subtile que le Français, c'est ce qui fait sa richesse.
_________________
Fame
Success is falling nine times and getting up ten !

[MystOGriff]

Hi there !

What are you saying, my very dear Fame ??? !!!!

I must give a balance to your comments (which means, my own point of view!!!!) : "French language is at least as subtile than English language" and unsurprisingly more than.......

As an American (man) penfriend of mine wrote to me this morning (I just quote, of course ! ) : "Le français est une langue très élégante quand utilise correctement. " (You noticed I haven't corrected "on l' -for our Ziggy-)

No more for now, my dear Fame !!!!!

MystO' (who does love English language !)
_________________
Live as if you were to die tomorrow
Learn as if you were to live forever.

[MystOGriff]

Hi everybody !!!!

Well, time for correction, my friends ! You did a good job !

1) Are you feeling cold? - Correct
2) I'm not believing in UFOs. – Incorrect (Correct : I don’t believe in UFOs.)
3) I can smell something in this room. - Correct
4) Are you seeing your boss tomorrow? - Correct
5) Mary's not hearing you. – Incorrect (Correct : Mary can’t hear you.)
6) They are liking rock music. – Incorrect (Correct : They like rock music.)
7) Is this cake smelling bad? – Incorrect (Correct : Does this cake smell bad ?)
8) I'm thinking about our future. - Correct
9) This meat tastes terrible. - Correct
10) We think you are wrong. – Correct
11) I'm feeling they don't like us. – Incorrect (Correct : I feel they don’t like us.)
12) Do you see what I (want to say)? - Correct*
13) Jane is thinking we need a new car. – Incorrect (Correct : Jance thinks we need a new car.)
14) They believe their boss is very stupid. – Correct

* See above the comments of our friend Ziggy !

Some other little comments :

see – when it means “meet” it can be continuous ;
but you can only say : I can see your face or (in another meaning) I see your problem (= I understand your problem.)

feel – when it means “to have an opinion” it can’t be continuous ;
but it is OK to say “I am feeling fine” (“I feel fine” is also correct.)

smell – when it means “to give out a smell or odour”, it can’t be continuous ;
but you can say “Why are you smelling your food ? Is it bad ?”
The same thing is true for “taste” : you can only say “this soup tastes very good” ;
but it is OK to say
“I’m tasting this meat to see if it’s OK”.

think – when it means “to have an opinion, it can’t be continuous ; you can only say “I think Jim is ill” ;
but you can say “What are you thinking about ?”

Keep running this way !!!!

MystO'Griff
_________________
Live as if you were to die tomorrow
Learn as if you were to live forever.