To appear, to feel, to have, to hear, to see, to weigh, to think, to miss, to smell, to taste, to be
List of Mixed Verbs with Examples and Definitions:
to appear:
- Judy appears puzzled. Non-Continuous Verb
Judy seems puzzled. - The indie music band is appearing at the concert hall tomorrow morning. Normal Verb
The indie music band is giving a performance at the concert hall tomorrow morning
to have:
- I have a laptop now. Non-Continuous Verb
I possess a laptop now. - I am having a nice time now. Normal Verb
I am experiencing a nice time now. - I am having breakfast now.
I’m eating breakfast now
to hear:
- She hears the melody. Non-Continuous Verb
She hears the melody with her ears. - She is hearing a noise. Normal Verb
She hears something others cannot hear. She is hearing a noise in her mind.
to miss:
- Sasha misses Vlad. Non-Continuous Verb
She is sad because he is not with her. - Ann is missing the football match. Normal Verb
She is not there to see the football match.
to see:
- I see you. Non-Continuous Verb
I see you with my eyes. - I am seeing the lawyer. Normal Verb
I am visiting or consulting with a lawyer. - I am seeing Tanya. Normal Verb
I am having a relationship with her. - He is seeing hallucinations. Normal Verb
He sees something others cannot see. For example hallucinations, ghosts, aura, a vision of the future, etc.
to smell:
- The flower smells good. Non-Continuous Verb
The flower has a good smell. - I am smelling the tea. Normal Verb
I am sniffing the tea to see what their smell is like.
to taste:
- The ice cream tastes good. Non-Continuous Verb
The ice cream has a good taste. - I am tasting the chocolate. Normal Verb
I am trying the chocolate to see what it tastes like.
to think:
- Roger thinks the exam is hard. Non-Continuous Verb
Roger considers the exam to be hard. - Cherith is thinking about the task. Normal Verb
Cherith is pondering the task, going over it in her mind.
to weigh:
- The computer weighs a lot. Non-Continuous Verb
The computer is heavy. - Rita is weighing herself. Normal Verb
Rita is determining her weight.
to feel:
- The massage feels great. Non-Continuous Verb
The massage has a pleasing feeling. - I am feeling fine today. Normal verb
I am in a good mood today
I feel fine today.
I am in a good mood today - Notice:
1)The second meaning of “feel” is very flexible and there is no real difference in meaning between “I don’t feel well today” and “I am not feeling well today.”
2)You can use ‘look’ in both the Present Simple and Continuous:
- Rita looks exhausted today. Non-Continuous Verb
- Rita is looking exhausted today. Normal Verb
To be:
- Peter is being very rude. Normal Verb
Peter is behaving very rudely (usually, he is not rude). - Peter is being very cheeky. Normal Verb
Joe is behaving very cheekily. (usually, he is not cheeky)
The continuous form of ‘be’ is used when a person is temporarily behaving like that when someone’s behavior is noticeably different.
Notice:
We use am/is/are being to say how somebody is behaving. It is not usually possible in other sentences:
It’s cold today (not it is being cold)
Marina is very tired (not is being tired)
Here’s an exercise on mixed verbs for you