Intermediate: Grammar

The rocky road of relationships

Exercise 1
Some verbs are not usually used in the continuous tenses. Read the text and use it to
help you decide which of the verbs below are not normally used in the continuous tenses,
then tick (9) the box. Some verbs that are not in the text have already been done to help
you.

Josh is sitting in the park. He is eating an ice-cream which tastes delicious and is
thinking about his girlfriend, Amy. He thinks she is beautiful. He loves her very much
and knows that she wants to marry him. He feels she would be a perfect wife.

Josh is feeling happy. The air smells clean and fresh. He hears the birds singing and
sees the flowers amongst the trees. He wishes Amy was with him as Amy also likes
parks. But Amy is living in the centre of the city. She owns a small flat which is a long
way from the park. She dislikes living there but it is very convenient for her office.

A
own

B
know

C
love

belong to

9 understand

9 hate

have (possession)

9 believe

9 like

think (mental
activity)

dislike
prefer

D
see

9 hear
smell (state)
smell (action)

9 taste (state)

think (have an
opinion)

taste (action)

feel (have an
opinion)

feel (state)

feel (describing
emotion)

feel (action)

wish

2008 www.teachitworld.com

9267

Page 1 of 7

Intermediate: Grammar

The rocky road of relationships

Exercise 2
Now match each of the sets of verbs with one of these categories and write the name of
the category in the box next to it.
Category
(letter)

Definition
Verbs of opinion and emotion
Verbs of possession
Verbs of the senses
Verbs describing state of mind

Exercise 3
Look at the verbs of the senses. Can you make any general rule about when these verbs
are not used in the continuous tenses?

Exercise 4
Match the subject, the object and the correct verb form to make ten sentences. The first
one has been done for you.
subject
a) This pudding
b) Some students
c) Those dirty socks

verb

object

1) is thinking

a) that English is difficult.

2) is feeling

b) in God.

3) believe

c) delicious.

d) Patrizio

4) hear

d) unhappy.

e) The cook

5) feels

e) about his girlfriend.

f) Many people

6) smell

f) uncomfortable.

g) The boutique owners

7) is tasting

g) the birds singing.

h) Carmen

8) think

h) the new perfume .

i) This old bed

9) tastes

i) his new garlic sauce.

j) People who get up early

10) are smelling

j) disgusting!

2008 www.teachitworld.com

9267

Page 2 of 7

Intermediate: Grammar

The rocky road of relationships

Exercise 5
Complete the mini-dialogues by putting the verb in brackets into the correct tense.
a) Are you enjoying the meal?
Yes, it (taste) .................................................... delicious.
b) Who lives in the big house?
Lord Ernsley it (belong to) .................................................... him.
c) What's Claire doing?
She (smell) .................................................... the roses.
d) Are you enjoying London?
Oh yes, I (love) .................................................... it.
e) You look worried.
Yes, I (think) .................................................... about the exam tomorrow.
f) How is Ellen coping in New York?
Fine, she (know) .................................................... the city quite well now.
g) What on earth is the chef doing?
He (taste) .................................................... the soup.
h) What an awful perfume!
Yuk, it (smell) .................................................... terrible!
i) Do you like the sweater, madam?
Oh, yes, it (feel) .................................................... beautifully soft.
j) Oh dear, the guide's speaking in Italian.
That's no problem. I (understand) .................................................... Italian quite well.

2008 www.teachitworld.com

9267

Page 3 of 7

Intermediate: Grammar

The rocky road of relationships

Exercise 5
You work for a dating agency. Your job is to find a suitable partner for each of your clients.
Instructions:
Using your imagination complete the information on each of the client profiles.
When you have finished, go around the class and try to match your clients with suitable
partners by asking questions about the other students' clients.

Name: ...............................................................................................................................
Age: ..................................................................................................................................
Occupation: .......................................................................................................................
Likes: ................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
Dislikes: ............................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
Opinions: ...........................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
Ambitions: .........................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................

Name: ...............................................................................................................................
Age: ..................................................................................................................................
Occupation: .......................................................................................................................
Likes: ................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
Dislikes: ............................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
Opinions: ...........................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
Ambitions: .........................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
2008 www.teachitworld.com

9267

Page 4 of 7

Intermediate: Grammar

The rocky road of relationships

Exercise 7
Do you remember Josh from exercise 1? This text is about Josh's girlfriend, Amy.
Complete the sentences by putting the verbs in brackets into the correct tense.

Amy is sitting at her computer. She isn't working; she (a) ......................................... (think)
about her boyfriends. She (b) ......................................... (hate) her job almost as much as
she (c) ......................................... (dislike) Josh. He is so silly. He's always walking in the
park, (d) ......................................... (smell) the flowers and thinking about nature. Amy (e)
......................................... (prefer) Ramon. Ramon is Spanish and he is very rich. He (f)
......................................... (have) an apartment in Barcelona but he is living in a flat near
Amy at the moment. He (g) ......................................... (belong to) all the best clubs and he
(h) ........................................ (know) lots of famous people. Amy (i) .........................................
(believe) Ramon will marry her one day, but Amy (j) ......................................... (not know)
that Ramon is returning to Barcelona next month.

Exercise 8
Choose from one of the two following activities.
o

Write a story or role play about what happens when Amy, Josh and Ramon meet at
a party.

Write letters to an agony aunt from all three characters, then swap with a partner
and write the replies.

2008 www.teachitworld.com

9267

Page 5 of 7

Intermediate: Grammar

The rocky road of relationships

Teachers notes & key
Aim: To distinguish between stative and dynamic verbs and to practise their use with
particular attention to the use of those verbs not normally used in the continuous tenses
(stative verbs).
Topics: Relationships (boyfriends/girlfriends). Vocabulary relating to the senses, opinions
and emotions, possession and mental state.
Lesson timings: Exercise 13: 10 minutes, exercise 45: 15 minutes, exercise 6: 20
minutes, exercise 7: 5 minutes. Total: 50 minutes.
Exercises 13
1
A

own

9 know

9 love

9 see

belong to

9 understand

9 hate

9 hear

have (possession)

9 believe

9 like

9 smell (state)

think (mental
activity)

dislike

9 smell (action)

prefer

9 taste (state)

think (have an
opinion)

9 taste (action)

feel (have an
opinion)

9 feel (state)

feel (describing
emotion)
wish

feel (action)

2
Definition
Verbs of opinion and emotion
Verbs of possession
Verbs of the senses
Verbs describing state of mind

Category (letter)
C
A
D
B

3
This exercise can be done in pairs.
Elicit that when we are describing a state (i.e. a quality which something has) we use
simple tenses, but we use the continuous form to indicate an action.
Contrast:
Josh is smelling the milk. (Josh is doing something)
The milk smells fresh. (The milk itself is fresh)
2008 www.teachitworld.com

9267

Page 6 of 7

Intermediate: Grammar

The rocky road of relationships

4
a) This pudding tastes delicious.
b) Some students think that English is difficult.
b) Those dirty socks smell disgusting!
c) Patrizio is thinking about his girlfriend.
d) The cook is tasting his new garlic sauce.
e) Many people believe in God.
f) The boutique owners are smelling the new perfume.
g) Carmen is feeling unhappy.
h) This old bed feels uncomfortable.
i) People who get up early hear the birds singing.
5
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
g)
h)
i)
j)

tastes
belongs to
is smelling
love
am thinking
knows
is tasting
smells
feels
understand

6 Encourage the students to use their imagination they can make their clients as
ridiculous as they like. Allow five minutes for completion of the client profiles and then ten
to fifteen minutes for the activity.
Allow students to stand up and move around the classroom. Encourage them to use the
verbs of opinion and emotion in their questions and answers about their clients (i.e. likes,
loves, hates, dislikes, thinks, feels, wishes, prefers). Leave time for a brief report-back
phase in which students can report on their success (or lack of!) in finding suitable
partners for their clients.
7
You may like to use this exercises as a test. Allow five minutes.
a) is thinking
b) hates
c) dislikes
d) smelling
e) prefers
f) has
g) belongs to
h) knows
i) believes
j) doesnt know
2008 www.teachitworld.com

9267

Page 7 of 7