CURSO

Módulo 5
AULA 1:
EXPRESSING THOUGHTS,
FEELINGS AND EMOTIONS
Vocabulário: verbs and adjectives for expressing thoughts, feelings
and emotions
Gramática: stative verbs
 Antes de assistir ao vídeo, leia o diálogo a seguir e observe
como as pessoas falam sobre os seus sentimentos e
desejos.
Situation: Alexia and Mandy are talking over the phone.

Mandy: It’s been going on for hours!

Alexia: Well, I kind of like romantic songs.
Mandy: They’re not romantic songs, they’re heartbreak songs! I can’t take this
anymore, I’ll have to go talk to him. I need to study.
Alexia: Mandy, maybe he’s getting over a bad breakup… I remember when YOU
were crying over Jake last year… C’mon, be nice.
Mandy: Thanks for bringing that up, by the way. It’s sad when a relationship ends,
of course. I feel bad for him, he really loved her. But I need to study right now, my
finals are tomorrow!
Alexia: I understand how you feel, and I guess his music is quite loud - you are
neighbors, not roommates after all.
Mandy: Thank you! I wish he would wear earphones.
Alexia: How about sending him a message? But, Mandy, be understanding.
Mandy: Yes, yes, I’ll do my best. I hope my exam will be kind to me too tomorrow.
I’m sorry, I’m just really tired.
Alexia: I get it, good luck!
Mandy: Thanks!

Situação: Alexia and Mandy estão falando ao telefone.

Mandy: Já dura horas!

Alexia: Bem, eu meio que gosto de músicas românticas.
Mandy: Não são canções românticas, são canções de coração partido! Não aguento
mais, vou ter que ir falar com ele. Eu preciso estudar.
Alexia: Mandy, talvez ele esteja superando uma separação ruim ... Lembro-me de
quando VOCÊ estava chorando por causa do Jake no ano passado ... Vamos, seja
legal.
Mandy: A propósito, obrigada por trazer isso à tona. É triste quando um
relacionamento termina, é claro. Eu me sinto mal por ele, ele realmente a amava.
Mas preciso estudar agora, minhas provas finais são amanhã!
Alexia: Eu entendo como você se sente, e acho que a música dele está bem alta -
vocês são vizinhos, não colegas de quarto, afinal.
Mandy: Obrigada! Eu gostaria que ele usasse fones de ouvido.
Alexia: Que tal mandar uma mensagem para ele? Mas, Mandy, seja compreensiva.
Mandy: Sim, sim, farei o meu melhor. Espero que meu exame seja bom para mim
também amanhã. Sinto muito, estou apenas muito cansada.
Alexia: Entendi, boa sorte!
Mandy: Obrigada!

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Hello and welcome to a new class!

Today we will talk about our feelings! Actually, we will talk about some of the verbs we
can use to express our thoughts, feelings and emotions.

We have to be careful because sometimes in Portuguese we use verbs to express

ourselves following a pattern that is different from the one in English. And of course
this is not just about feelings and emotions, but about anything in terms of language.

For example, remember the class about Present Continuous and how we talked about
how some verbs in English do not accept -ing even though they can be used in the
continuous form in Portuguese? Like ‘understand’, for example. And how some verbs in
both languages do not accept the continuous form - to get pregnant is not a process,
but to have a baby is.

So today we will go a bit deeper into this difference, and we’ll talk about stative verbs.

STATIVE VERBS
The kind of verb we are talking about today is not an action verb like ‘go’, ‘dance’,
‘come’, ‘do’. The type of verb we are looking at today is called stative. Stative verbs
describe states, not actions. What does that mean? It means that they normally discuss
something about the physical, emotional, mental state of the subject. They usually do
not accept the -ing form.

✅ I like this ice-cream.

❌ I’m liking this ice-cream.
✅ I hate this song.
❌ I’m hating this song.
You may say: “But Carina, I saw on a TV show they said ‘I’m loving this food’, is that
wrong?” Well, some grammar books may say that it is not the pattern of formal standard
English. But, as language is alive and people keep changing it, we are indeed seeing
more changes about the use of -ing with some stative verbs that didn’t use to allow
that.

Just like the Brazilian Portuguese we speak right now is not exactly the same as the
one spoken decades ago, English has also changed according to time, geography, and,
most importantly, according to contact with other cultures and languages.

So, in the next part, we will see some pairs of stative verbs that are frequently used in
English to talk about feelings and emotions, thoughts and opinions. Most of the time
they will not take an -ing pattern, but if you see or hear that somewhere, you know why!

FEELINGS AND EMOTIONS

LIKE & DISLIKE

Quite simple: there are things in life that you like, and things you don’t like. To like or
not to like something in English is not considered a process, you like something or you
don’t. So, usually, neither of them accepts the -ing form. We go back to the examples
from before:
✅ I like/dislike this ice-cream.

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 ❌ I’m liking/disliking this ice-cream.
Be careful: we can use the verb ‘enjoy’ to mean something very similar to ‘like’, but in a
duration of time or in a process:

I’m enjoying these English classes.

They are enjoying their weekend together.
The baby is enjoying the song.

Can I use ‘enjoy’ in the base form (infinitive without ‘to’)? Yes, you can, when you are
talking about generally enjoying something. But normally you don’t use like in the -ing
form.

✅ I enjoy music.
✅ I am enjoying this song.
✅ I like/dislike music.
❌ I am liking/disliking this song.
LOVE & HATE
Exactly the same idea of ‘like’ and ‘dislike’, but of course in a much stronger way. To like
John and to love John are very different things, after all! But they are similar in terms
of verb patterns: usually they don’t accept -ing forms.

It’s good to highlight that in some very informal and specific variants of English you
are seeing some changes and people are using more ‘love’ with -ing. But, in informal
contexts, not always, not everywhere. Keep that in mind.

✅ I love sunsets.
✅ I hate mosquitoes.
? I am loving this moment.
? I am hating this moment.

WANT & WISH

These two verbs have a similar distinction in meaning between ‘querer’ and ‘desejar’ in
Portuguese. You could say that ‘wish’ has a more distant, hopeful idea, and that ‘want’
can sound more concrete, more possible. Either way, none of them are normally used
with -ing:

I want to travel more.

I wish I could travel more.

Notice in the examples that what follows the verbs is connected to their meaning:
‘wish’ has a more hypothetical idea, so we follow it with ‘could’, ‘would’. ‘Wish’ is more
of an idea, and ‘want’ is more concrete, closer to a plan:

I want a cup of coffee.

I wish for a cup of coffee.

When we want or wish for something specific, ‘wish’ needs the preposition ‘for’.

He wished for a puppy.

She wished for a raise.

‘Want’, however, is followed by the object or, if followed by a verb, it needs to be in the

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infinitive with ‘to’:

I want to go home.
You want to learn English.

THOUGHTS AND OPINIONS

THINK & GUESS
These two verbs can seem to be similar, but they can be actually quite different. The
difference is mainly about the source of information - ‘guess’ is to have an opinion
without having enough information or knowledge. ‘Think’, however, is to have an opinion
based on rational evidence and knowledge. Check these examples:

I think the dollar will go up.

I guess the dollar will go up.

In the first example I am giving the impression that I have reasons to think that, maybe
I know something, I am familiar with the financial markets. In the second example it’s
my guess that the dollar will go up, not necessarily based on anything concrete. Maybe
it always goes up and that’s my idea of it, who knows? See another pair of examples:

I think she’s pregnant.

I guess she’s pregnant.

For office gossip, these are two very different sentences. How confident I am in my
knowledge and information will show in the verb choice I make when I speak.
Can you use ‘think’ and ‘guess’ with -ing? Yes, you can. But the meaning will be different:
you will be talking about the process of thinking or of guessing:

I’m thinking about you.

I’m guessing...boy? Are you having a baby boy?

LOOK & SEEM

The verbs ‘look’ and ‘seem’ can be used in similar situations, but we should be careful
about differences in meaning.

You look tired.

You seem tired.

With ‘look’ we are talking about something we have observed. ‘Seem’, on the other
hand, refers to an impression we have had about something or someone. The difference
is that ‘look’ is more related to things you see, whereas ‘seem’ is more about your
interpretation of things. In the first example above, the person physically looks tired,
and in the other one maybe they are moving slowly, yawning a lot, but not necessarily
having a tired appearance. Check out the examples below to think of this difference:

You look happy/sad.

You seem happy/sad.

So then it makes sense that over the phone you wouldn’t say ‘you look sad’, but you
could say ‘you seem sad’ (or even ‘you sound sad’).

SMELL & TASTE

A more objective difference here, ‘smell’ is about things you can smell with your nose

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(good or bad!) and ‘taste’ is about things you can taste their flavor (again, good or
bad) with your tongue. So, if you are cooking and you’ve done a great job, you can say:

It tastes amazing!

And if someone walks in, they’ll say:

It smells wonderful!

If, on the other hand, you cannot cook to save your life, then we could have other
impressions:

It tastes awful!
It smells terrible!

Of course we should always give constructive criticism!

So, again, ‘look’ and ‘seem’ usually do not take the -ing form.

LET’S REVIEW
Today we talked about stative verbs. They are used to describe our thoughts, feelings,
emotions, physical states, etc. In this class we saw a few pairs of verbs that do not
usually take the -ing form and that sometimes can have similar, but also quite different
meanings and uses in English. Now we are polishing our skills and also training to be
more accurate, precise in our communication. And these verbs are very important and
frequent in English. Let’s practice!

VOCABULARY

ENGLISH PORTUGUESE
heartbreak coração partido; mágoa
(to) get over something superar algo
(to) bring something up trazer algo à tona
finals exames/provas finais
understanding (adj.) compreensivo/a
kind (adj.) gentil; generoso; amável

GRAMMAR
STATIVE VERBS

They normally discuss something about the physical, emotional, mental state of the
subject. They usually do not accept the -ing form.

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 FEELINGS AND EMOTIONS

LIKE & DISLIKE; LOVE & HATE

To like or not to like something in English is not considered a process, you like
something or you don’t. So, usually, neither of them accepts the -ing form. We go
back to the examples from before:

✅ I like/dislike this ice-cream.

❌ I’m liking/disliking this ice-cream.
✅ I love sunsets.
✅ I hate mosquitoes.
? I am loving this moment.
? I am hating this moment.

We can use the verb ‘enjoy’ to mean something very similar to ‘like’, but in a duration
of time or in a process:

I’m enjoying these English classes.

They are enjoying their weekend together.
The baby is enjoying the song.

WANT & WISH

‘Wish’ is more of an idea, and ‘want’ is more concrete, closer to a plan:

I want to travel more.

I wish I could travel more.

THOUGHTS AND OPINIONS

THINK & GUESS

The difference is mainly about the source of information - ‘guess’ is to have an opinion
without having enough information or knowledge. ‘Think’, however, is to have an
opinion based on rational evidence and knowledge.

I think the dollar will go up.

I guess the dollar will go up.

Can you use ‘think’ and ‘guess’ with -ing? Yes, you can. But the meaning will be
different: you will be talking about the process of thinking or of guessing:

I’m thinking about you.

I’m guessing...boy? Are you having a baby boy?

LOOK & SEEM

With ‘look’ we are talking about something we have observed. ‘Seem’, on the other
hand, refers to an impression we have had about something or someone. The
difference is that ‘look’ is more related to things you see, whereas ‘seem’ is more
about your interpretation of things.

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 You look tired.
You seem tired.

SMELL & TASTE

A more objective difference here, ‘smell’ is about things you can smell with your nose
(good or bad!) and ‘taste’ is about things you can taste their flavor (again, good or
bad) with your tongue.

It tastes amazing!
It smells wonderful!
It tastes awful!
It smells terrible!

USEFUL PHRASES

ENGLISH PORTUGUESE
It’s been going on for hours/days/
Já dura horas/dias/semanas/anos!
weeks/years!
Eu meio que gosto de músicas
I kind of like romantic songs.
românticas.
I can’t take this anymore. Eu não aguento mais.
I understand how you feel. Eu entendo como você se sente.
I’ll do my best. Vou fazer o meu melhor.
Good luck! Boa sorte!
It tastes amazing! Que sabor incrível!
It smells wonderful! Que cheiro maravilhoso!
You look tired. Você parece cansado(a).
I wish I could travel more. Eu queria poder viajar mais.

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Exercises
Complete as lacunas com um dos verbos abaixo, prestando atenção para colocar na
forma correta, se for necessário. Atenção: um verbo será usado duas vezes.

want - taste - think - hate - wish - smell - wish - love - enjoy

1. If you ________ the food while you’re cooking, you can adjust the seasoning.

2. I really ______ I could sleep more than five hours per night. I feel tired very often.

3. Do you ________ a cup of coffee?

4. Something ________ very good! What are you cooking?

5. They ________ taking long walks together.

6. I made this lasagna just for you, I hope you’ll ________ it!

7. Have you been ________ about what you want for your birthday?

8. I really ________ it when you don’t call me back. It’s so annoying!

9. What is it that you ________ for the most in the future?

10. This book is very long but I’m ________ reading it.

Coloque as frases abaixo na ordem correta. Tome cuidado para não deixar espaços a
mais ou a menos, nem errar na pontuação e acentuação.

11. I / TV / cooking shows. / the food / I / could / wish / smell and taste / on

12. English. / in order / practice / I / to / like / words / putting

13. enjoying / you / so far? / Are / the movie

14. on / waking / early / up / the / I / weekend. / hate

15. another / about / city. / I / thinking / ‘ve / to / been / another / moving

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Answer key
1: {taste}

2: {wish}

3: {want}

4: {smells}

5: {love}

6: {enjoy}

7: {thinking}

8: {hate}

9: {wish}

10: {enjoying}

11: I wish I could smell and taste the food on TV cooking shows.

12: I like putting words in order to practice English.

13: Are you enjoying the movie so far?

14: I hate waking up early on the weekend.

15: I’ve been thinking about moving to another city.

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Speak Up!
Responda as perguntas abaixo com a sua opinião, como se você estivesse conversando
com um/a amigo/a.

1. What did you wish for last New Year’s Eve?

_________________________________________________________________

2. Say three things you want to happen soon.

_________________________________________________________________

3. What do you love and what do you hate the most?

_________________________________________________________________

4. What do you enjoy doing on Sunday mornings?

_________________________________________________________________

5. What do you wish you could smell and taste every day?

_________________________________________________________________

Suggested Answers: 1. I wished for health for me and my family. 2. I want a vaccine for coronavirus to
be available worldwide. I want to see my family and friends. I want to eat pizza. 3. I love my family. I
hate thunderstorms. 4. I really enjoy waking up late. 5. I wish I could smell coffee and taste cheesecake
every day.

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