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Sailors thought it was a mermaid: look like, sound like and feel + adjective

Students learn linking verbs like look, sound and feel in this A2 ESL lesson plan about Florida's manatees.

Grammar
Look, sound and feel + an adjective (It looks gentle.), look like and sound like + a noun (It looks like a big potato.), and questions such as What does it look like?
Topic
Describing animals through the manatees of Crystal River, Florida, the “sea cows” that sailors once took for mermaids, with words such as graze, whiskers, calf and wrinkled.
Activities
A refuge notice, a talk with a volunteer and a viewer's riddle challenge come first, then self-checking drills, a “Guess the animal” chat and open boxes of riddles.

What's inside

  1. Chapter 1Mermaid or manatee?

    • PictureUnlock
    • Spin the wheel and answerSpin the wheelUnlock
    • Study the words: manatees and mermaidsVocabularyTry it
    • Look at the pictures and chooseChoose by pictureUnlock

  2. Chapter 2Let's read: manatee season

    • Look at the photo: manatees in winterPictureUnlock
    • Read the refuge noticeReal-life documentTry it
    • Read and mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock
    • Read again and choose the right answerQuizUnlock

  3. Chapter 3Let's listen: a giant potato!

    • Listen to Marco and JanetListeningTry it
    • Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
    • Listen and choose the right answerQuizUnlock
    • Listen to the Viewer's QuestionListeningUnlock
    • Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
    • Listen and mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock

  4. Chapter 4Grammar: It looks like a potato!

    • Study the scheme: looks gentle, looks like a potatoGrammar schemeTry it
    • Choose the correct optionChoose the optionUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps in the present simple: add like before a nounFill in the gapsTry it
    • Fill in the table: feel + adjective and look likeFill in the tableUnlock
    • Choose the correct sentenceQuizUnlock

  5. Chapter 5Let's talk: guess the animal!

    • Choose the right replies: guess the animal!ChatTry it
    • Open a box and answer: guess the animal!Open the boxUnlock

  6. Chapter 6Homework

    • Find the matching pairs: words and meaningsMemory gameUnlock
    • Unscramble the wordsAnagramUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps with the words from the lessonFill in the gapsUnlock
    • Choose the correct optionChoose the optionUnlock
    • Put the words in the correct orderUnjumbleUnlock
    • Fill in the table: questions and answersFill in the tableUnlock
    • Match the clues and the animalsMatchUnlock
    • Sort the lines into the three parts of a riddleSort into columnsUnlock
    • Drag the words into the gaps: the show's postDrag and dropUnlock

30 exercises in 6 chapters. Start a 7-day free trial to open all of them, copy any part into your own lessons, and teach the lesson live.

Vocabulary

10 words and phrases from the lesson, each with a picture and audio in edio.

+7 more with pictures and audio in the lessonMore words

  • mermaid
  • sailor
  • seagrass
  • whiskers
  • calf
  • gentle
  • wrinkled

Grammar: look, sound and feel as linking verbs

Like is, the verbs look, sound and feel can be linking verbs, joining a subject to a word that describes it: It is gentle becomes It looks gentle. Through an animal that sailors once took for a mermaid, learners choose between an adjective and like + a noun, ask What does it look like? and keep -ly words out.

It looks gentle. It looks like a big potato.

look, sound, feel + an adjective. look like, sound like, feel like + a noun.

An adjective, or like + a noun

An adjective follows the verb directly: It looks gentle. It sounds strange. A noun needs like in between: It looks like a potato. The sand feels like sugar. So It looks a potato and It looks like gentle are both wrong.

look / sound / feel + adjective

  • It looks gentle.
  • It sounds strange.
  • The water feels warm.
  • You look tired.

look / sound / feel + like + noun

  • It looks like a potato.
  • It sounds like a bird.
  • The sand feels like sugar.
  • You look like your mom.

Looks, sounds, feels: every person

These are present simple verbs, so he, she and it add -s: He looks happy. It feels soft. All other persons keep the base form: I feel cold. You look tired. They sound like birds.

Wholook / sound / feel + adjectivelook / sound like + noun
II feel cold.I look like my mom.
youYou look tired.You sound like a teacher!
heHe looks happy.He looks like a tourist.
sheShe sounds excited.She looks like her dad.
itIt feels soft.It looks like a potato.
weWe feel warm.We look like tourists.
theyThey look gentle.They sound like birds.

What does it look like?

To ask for a description, say What does it look like?, never How does it look like? The answer can use like or an adjective: It looks like a big potato. It's big and gray. How does it look?, without like, is right too.

QuestionAnswer
What does it look like?It looks like a big potato. / It's big and gray.
What does it sound like?It sounds like a bird.
How does the water feel?It feels warm.
What do they look like?They look like gray rocks.
Does it look gentle?Yes, it does. / No, it doesn't.

No -ly and no -ing

Here look, sound and feel work like is, so an adjective follows, never an -ly word: It looks gentle, not gently. Descriptions also stay simple: It looks like a potato, not It's looking like a potato, and in the past, It looked like a rock.

An adjective, not -ly

These verbs work like is: It is gentle → It looks gentle. So use an adjective, not a word with -ly: It looks gentle (not gently). It sounds strange (not strangely). Before a noun, add like: It looks like a potato (not It looks a potato).

No -ing, and What … like?

Don't use -ing for how things look, sound and feel: It looks like a potato (not It's looking like a potato). In the past: It looked like a rock. Ask What does it look like? (not How does it look like?). You can also ask How does it look? without like.

Common mistakes

  • It looks gently.

    It looks gentle.

    an adjective, not -ly

  • It looks a potato.

    It looks like a potato.

    like before a noun

  • It looks like gentle.

    It looks gentle.

    no like before an adjective

  • It sounds like strange.

    It sounds strange.

    no like before an adjective

Smell and taste work the same way

The other two sense verbs follow the pattern: The pie smells good. It tastes sweet. It smells like pizza!

smell and taste: the same way

smell and taste work the same way: The pie smells good. It tastes sweet. It smells like pizza!

At Crystal River

  • The manatee looks gentle.
  • Its tail looks like a big paddle.
  • Their calls sound like chirps and squeaks.
  • In winter, the spring water feels warm.
  • Sea cows? That sounds funny!
  • What does a mermaid look like? – She looks like a woman with a fish tail.

More lessons on this grammar: Adjectives and adverbs lessons and exercises

Try the sense verbs exercises

Try them yourself: these are the same exercises your students do in edio.

More exercises

What's in the lesson

  • 16 auto-checked exercises
  • 5 games
  • 1 real-life document
  • 1 grammar scheme
  • 1 set of word cards
  • 2 audio clips
  • 2 pictures
  • 2 transcripts

The main objectives of this lesson are to:

  • describe with look, sound or feel + an adjective: It looks gentle. The water feels warm.
  • compare with like + a noun: Its tail looks like a big paddle. Their calls sound like chirps.
  • ask What does it look like? and What does it sound like?, never How does it look like?
  • give a “Guess the animal” riddle in three parts: how it looks, how it sounds or feels, and one last clue

The unit's task, a “Guess the animal” quiz, comes in lesson 27, the third of Amazing animals (unit 7 of English A2.2 · Curious Minds). It builds on A2.1 lesson 19, which taught adverbs of manner such as softly and carefully, and shows where they don't belong: after look, sound and feel, it's It looks gentle, not gently. An animal that sailors once took for a mermaid makes What does it look like? a real question.

A wheel of questions about animals, the sea and mermaids opens the lesson, and the word cards, each with a picture and audio, run from graze and surface to whiskers and wrinkled. A refuge notice about manatee season at Crystal River follows, checked with true-or-false and multiple-choice questions. Marco talks with Janet, a refuge volunteer, in the first listening, and Jordan, a viewer from Colorado, sets the riddle challenge in the second (both AI-voiced). After the scheme come four self-checking exercises, from a gap-fill that adds like before a noun to a table for every person. The speaking chapter has a “Guess the animal” chat with Maya and open boxes of riddles and descriptions to say aloud.

Nine self-checking tasks make up the homework: word games and gaps, choices, word order and a question-and-answer table, then the task in three steps: clues matched to animals, riddle lines sorted into three parts and a drag-and-drop post with three riddles.

Grammar:
look / sound / feel + adjective · look like + noun · sound like + noun · What does it look like?
Topic:
Florida · manatees · Crystal River · mermaids · animals · Curious Minds

Teaching tips

  • Pass around a bag of mystery objects: a student touches one without looking and says It feels soft or It feels like a ball, and the class guesses what it is.
  • Use the winter photo before the notice: ask What do they look like? and collect answers such as gray rocks or potatoes, then compare them with the notice's description.
  • Turn the dialogue into a sound quiz: pause after Do they say moo? and let students guess what manatee calls sound like before the volunteer answers.
  • Build riddles in three steps: how the animal looks, then how it sounds or feels, then one last clue and What is it? Pairs say theirs to the class, and the class votes for the best.

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The whole course: English A2.2 · Curious Minds

32 lessons that pick up where English A2.1 ends, in simple American English, from the present perfect to used to, have to and relative clauses. Eight units cover nature, tech at home, heroes, healthy habits, fashion, school, animals and traditions. Pictures and definitions replace translations, and the practice exercises check themselves.See the course

  1. Unit 1 Wonders of nature

    the present perfect with ever and never, been to, superlatives with I've ever, articles with place names

    1. Lesson 1Have you ever seen the sky dance?The present perfect for experiences
    2. Lesson 2Have you been to the Grand Canyon?Present perfect vs past simple
    3. Lesson 3The longest cave in the worldSuperlatives with the present perfect
    4. Lesson 4The first national parkArticles with place names

  2. Unit 2 Clever tech at home

    the present perfect with just, already and yet, phrasal verbs, subject and object questions

    1. Lesson 5The chocolate bar that meltedThe present perfect with just
    2. Lesson 6Has my lunch arrived yet?Already and yet with the present perfect
    3. Lesson 7Turn it on, turn it offPhrasal verbs with it and them
    4. Lesson 8The girl who tests waterSubject and object questions

  3. Unit 3 Everyday heroes

    the past continuous, when and while, adjective order, story linkers

    1. Lesson 9When the pager beepsThe past continuous with was and were
    2. Lesson 10The man who planted apple treesPast continuous and past simple with when and while
    3. Lesson 11What's in the lost and found?The order of adjectives
    4. Lesson 12The dogs who saved NomeStory linkers

  4. Unit 4 Healthy and happy habits

    will for predictions, the zero and first conditionals, so do I and neither do I

    1. Lesson 13Why does school start later in California?Will and won't for predictions, decisions and offers
    2. Lesson 14Brain freeze!The zero conditional for facts
    3. Lesson 15Doctor's orders: go to the park!The first conditional with if and will
    4. Lesson 16Walking in the mall at 7 a.m.Agreeing with So do I and Neither do I

  5. Unit 5 Style through time

    used to, didn't use to, made of and made from, still and not anymore

    1. Lesson 17Why did everyone use to wear a hat?Used to for past habits and states
    2. Lesson 18Jeans used to be work clothesUsed to in negatives and questions
    3. Lesson 19Quilts made from old clothesMade of, made from and made by
    4. Lesson 20Cowboy boots, still made by handStill, not anymore and no longer

  6. Unit 6 School in America

    have to, must and mustn't, be allowed to, had to

    1. Lesson 21Do you have to wear a uniform?Have to and don't have to for rules
    2. Lesson 22Stop for the yellow bus!Must, mustn't and don't have to
    3. Lesson 23A class trip to the SmithsonianBe allowed to and can for permission
    4. Lesson 24One room, one teacher, every gradeHad to and didn't have to for past duties

  7. Unit 7 Amazing animals

    relative clauses with which, that, who and where, look and sound + adjective, adjectives with prepositions

    1. Lesson 25The bird that copies car alarmsRelative clauses with which and that
    2. Lesson 26Alligators and crocodiles togetherWho, which, that and where in relative clauses
    3. Lesson 27 · you're hereSailors thought it was a mermaidLook, sound and feel as linking verbs
    4. Lesson 28Beagles at the airportAdjectives with prepositions

  8. Unit 8 Traditions we love

    invitations, will vs going to, so and such, one and ones

    1. Lesson 29Come to our cookout!Making, accepting and refusing invitations
    2. Lesson 30Is spring going to come early?Will vs going to for the future
    3. Lesson 31From turnips to pumpkinsSo and such for emphasis
    4. Lesson 32Giant balloons over ManhattanOne and ones in place of a noun

Questions about this lesson

What are linking verbs?
Linking verbs connect a subject to a word that describes it instead of naming an action. Be is the main one, and look, sound, feel, smell and taste can work the same way, as can seem and become: The manatee looks gentle. The water feels warm. They take an adjective, not an -ly adverb. The A2 lesson Sailors thought it was a mermaid on edio.ai practices the sense verbs with Florida's manatees.
How do you use "look like" in English?
Use look like + a noun to compare two things: Its tail looks like a big paddle. From far away, a manatee can look like a person. With an adjective, drop like: It looks gentle, not It looks like gentle. Look like also compares family members: You look like your mom. In the past, it becomes looked like: It looked like a big gray rock.
What does "feel like" mean?
Feel like + a noun compares how something feels to something else: The sand feels like sugar. This blanket feels like a cloud. With an adjective, leave out like: The water feels warm. In everyday English, feel like also means want, followed by a noun or -ing: I feel like pizza. Do you feel like swimming?
How do you answer "What does it look like?"
Describe its looks with an adjective, like + a noun, or both: It's big and gray. It looks like a big potato. Its skin looks wrinkled. The question asks about appearance, so What does he look like? gets He's tall, with short hair, while What is he like? asks about character. Never ask How does it look like?; say What does it look like? or How does it look?
When do you say "sounds" and when "sounds like"?
Say sounds before an adjective and sounds like before a noun: That sounds funny! Your plan sounds great. But Their calls sound like chirps and squeaks. It sounds like a bird. So It sounds like strange is wrong, and so is It sounds a bird. The scheme of Sailors thought it was a mermaid, an A2 lesson on edio.ai, has Sea cows? That sounds funny! among its examples.
What are sense verbs in English?
Sense verbs are the verbs for the five senses, and five of them can describe things: look, sound, feel, smell and taste. With an adjective or like + a noun, they work like is: The pie smells good. It tastes sweet. It smells like pizza! Most of them are action verbs, too: Look at the manatee. Taste the soup. Only the describing use takes an adjective.
Is it "It looks gentle" or "It looks gently"?
It's It looks gentle, with the adjective, because look works like is here: it describes the animal, not how it does something. The same goes for It sounds strange, not strangely, and The water feels warm, not warmly. Adverbs of manner describe actions instead: It swims slowly. The chat of Sailors thought it was a mermaid on edio.ai sets Its fur looks softly as a trap.
How do you describe an animal in English?
Start with size and color, then compare: It's big and gray, about 10 feet long. Its tail looks like a big paddle. Its skin looks wrinkled. Then add sounds and habits: Its calls sound like chirps and squeaks. It grazes on seagrass for hours. Words such as whiskers, tail, gentle and wrinkled help. The refuge notice in Sailors thought it was a mermaid, an A2 lesson on edio.ai, describes a manatee this way.
How do I teach look, sound and feel to A2 students?
Start from is and swap the verb: It is soft becomes It feels soft, and It is strange becomes It sounds strange. Then bring in like for nouns, with pictures or objects: It looks like a rock. Questions come last: What does it look like? In this lesson, students meet the forms in a notice and a dialogue before the scheme and four drills, and finish with riddles.
What's a good game for practicing look, sound and feel?
“Guess the animal” riddles are a natural fit: the speaker gives clues with looks, sounds and feels, and the others guess. It looks small and brown. Its eyes look like two big yellow coins. At night, it sounds like “hoo, hoo”. What is it? In this lesson, open boxes ask for riddles, and a chat lets students guess Maya's animal before giving their own.
What's good homework for practicing sense verbs?
Good homework takes students from single clues to a whole riddle: matching clues such as It looks like a big log with teeth to animals, sorting riddle lines into looks, sounds and feels, and a last clue, and answering What does it look like? questions in a table. The homework of Sailors thought it was a mermaid on edio.ai builds the riddle in these steps, and each of its nine tasks checks itself.
Are there interactive exercises for sense verbs?
Yes: self-checking drills flag a missing like at once. Four parts of Sailors thought it was a mermaid, an A2 lesson on edio.ai, play on this page with no account: the refuge notice about manatee season at Crystal River, Marco's talk with a refuge volunteer, a gap-fill that asks when to add like before a noun, and a “Guess the animal” chat with Maya. The rest of the lesson is locked.
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