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Language point:
Verbs which take adjectives
look, feel, seem, sound
BBC Learning English The Flatmates
Some verbs can be used with adjectives, to give more information about the subject of
the verb. These verbs function as a link between the adjective and a particular aspect of
the subject.
Helen says: 'It's a gorgeous dress, Alice, but the other one seemed nicer.' ('nice' refers
to 'the dress')
Alice replies: 'It is lovely, isn't it? But you're right, the blue dress looks better.' ('better'
refers to 'the dress'; 'look' refers to an aspect of the dress - here, the way it looks)
Helen says: 'And after that I expect we'll all be feeling peckish' ('peckish' refers to
'we'; 'feel' refers to an aspect of 'we'. In other words, we don't look peckish, we don't
sound peckish, we feel peckish.)
The cake tasted beautiful (adjective) = the cake had a beautiful taste.
She quickly (adverb) tasted the cake. Here, 'tasted' is a deliberate action.
Vocabulary:
gorgeous (adj)
lovely, beautiful
peckish (adj)
a little bit hungry
a bite to eat
a snack or light meal
here we go
this phrase is used to show mild annoyance at something happening repeatedly. In this
case, Tim is expressing mild frustration at Helen and Alice's constant clothes shopping.
Would you like to try an online quiz about this language point? Go to:
http://bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/flatmates/episode72/quiz.shtml