Simple Present vs Present Continuous : Verbs of
Perception:
You don´t usually use these verbs in the present progressive :
opinion ,knowledge:
seem, believe, agree (dis-), suppose understand, know
Rules, features, property, belonging:
mean(bedeuten) , be, look (aussehen)own, need, belong, include,
preferences, feelings:
like, love, prefer, hate, mind, want, wish
Ok now it is getting problematic with the Verbs of perception :
These verbs are: see,hear,smell, taste, feel, look (sehen), listen to, watch, sound. notice
You use them in Simple present when:
general perception: I hear a train/ Do you see him over there / I see your girlfriend over
there / I notice that he is fighting the criminals( at the moment) / It seems different from
beef
appearance: It smells terrible( Generell when she/he / it dann immer present progressive)
That sounds like a good idea /They taste great/ She smells smoke
But you use present progressive when focusing on a special object:
He´s watching TV/ I´m listening to music/ They´re smelling the flowers /Achte general on
irgendetwas auch indirekt fokusiert wird z.B. durch one : Feeling like trying one?/ She is
watching the steaks closely / He is looking at them with those big eyes / I am looking at
your puzzled face
Weitere Beispiele :
Spottles are watching the bay and there are no sharks
The weather makes it difficult for the spotters to see the sharks
A shark has been seen , but it is a long way from people and it is moving away from the
area
Sharks are swimming near to the beach and the beach is closed
Three sharks are swimming around a surfer, bu he doesn't see them.
People are waving at the surfer because they want to warn him
A girl is putting up a white flag that has a black shark on it
Swimmers are running out of the water because they know the meaning of the flag and
they don´t want to be attacked.
A man is looking at the flag and it seems that he doesn't understand what it means.
Perception:
You don´t usually use these verbs in the present progressive :
opinion ,knowledge:
seem, believe, agree (dis-), suppose understand, know
Rules, features, property, belonging:
mean(bedeuten) , be, look (aussehen)own, need, belong, include,
preferences, feelings:
like, love, prefer, hate, mind, want, wish
Ok now it is getting problematic with the Verbs of perception :
These verbs are: see,hear,smell, taste, feel, look (sehen), listen to, watch, sound. notice
You use them in Simple present when:
general perception: I hear a train/ Do you see him over there / I see your girlfriend over
there / I notice that he is fighting the criminals( at the moment) / It seems different from
beef
appearance: It smells terrible( Generell when she/he / it dann immer present progressive)
That sounds like a good idea /They taste great/ She smells smoke
But you use present progressive when focusing on a special object:
He´s watching TV/ I´m listening to music/ They´re smelling the flowers /Achte general on
irgendetwas auch indirekt fokusiert wird z.B. durch one : Feeling like trying one?/ She is
watching the steaks closely / He is looking at them with those big eyes / I am looking at
your puzzled face
Weitere Beispiele :
Spottles are watching the bay and there are no sharks
The weather makes it difficult for the spotters to see the sharks
A shark has been seen , but it is a long way from people and it is moving away from the
area
Sharks are swimming near to the beach and the beach is closed
Three sharks are swimming around a surfer, bu he doesn't see them.
People are waving at the surfer because they want to warn him
A girl is putting up a white flag that has a black shark on it
Swimmers are running out of the water because they know the meaning of the flag and
they don´t want to be attacked.
A man is looking at the flag and it seems that he doesn't understand what it means.
