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Thread: Question on appearance

  1. #1
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    Default Question on appearance

    Hi Teachers?
    Someone told me that to this sentence, 'Felix's face was angry'; the question should be, 'How did Felix's face appear?'
    My question is can I also use this question 'What did Felix's face look like?' for the same sentence?
    If not, could you tell me why please?

    Thanks in advance
    Last edited by learning54; 13-Jan-2012 at 18:32.

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    Default Re: Question on appearance

    'Felix's face was angry' is not very natural English, in my opinion. Better are:

    Felix looked angry.
    Felix had an angry expression (on his face).
    bhaisahab likes this.
    Context is always important; labelling is rarely important.


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    Default Re: Question on appearance

    Quote Originally Posted by 5jj View Post
    'Felix's face was angry' is not very natural English, in my opinion. Better are:

    Felix looked angry.
    Felix had an angry expression (on his face).
    Hi sir,
    Thank you for your reply.
    The sentence is taken from book, Oxford University Press, and one student asked me why not 'What did Felix's face look like?
    That's why I've asked.

    L54

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    Default Re: Question on appearance

    Quote Originally Posted by learning54 View Post
    ... one student asked me why not 'What did Felix's face look like?
    That's the sort of question we might ask if we hear that somebody has punched Felix.

    If it is very clear from the context what we mean, we could ask, "How did Felix look ...?" -

    A: Percy stood up in the staffroom, and announced in front of everybody that Felix was having an affair with a student.
    B: How did Felix look when Percy said that?
    Context is always important; labelling is rarely important.


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    Default Re: Question on appearance

    Quote Originally Posted by 5jj View Post
    That's the sort of question we might ask if we hear that somebody has punched Felix.

    If it is very clear from the context what we mean, we could ask, "How did Felix look ...?" -

    A: Percy stood up in the staffroom, and announced in front of everybody that Felix was having an affair with a student.
    B: How did Felix look when Percy said that?
    Hi sir,
    Thank you for your reply.

    This is the context:
    Felix ran across the road and looked at the body. Adam was there before him.
    Is he alive? Felix asked quickly.
    No, he’s dead. Adam stood up and looked at Felix. Very, very dead, he said.
    Felix’s face was angry. The soldiers killed him, he said.

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    Default Re: Question on appearance

    Quote Originally Posted by learning54 View Post
    Felix ran across the road and looked at the body. Adam was there before him.
    Is he alive? Felix asked quickly.
    No, he’s dead. Adam stood up and looked at Felix. Very, very dead, he said.
    Felix’s face was angry. The soldiers killed him, he said.
    OK, it works there. So would the question "How did Felix look?"

    ps. Please don't call me 'sir'. I happen to know a little more about some aspects of English than you do (I should do - I'm an English teacher), but we are all equal in this forum when it comes to participating. Some of us ask questions, others try to answer them. We are all learning.
    bhaisahab and learning54 like this.
    Context is always important; labelling is rarely important.


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    Default Re: Question on appearance

    Quote Originally Posted by 5jj View Post
    OK, it works there. So would the question "How did Felix look?"

    ps. Please don't call me 'sir'. I happen to know a little more about some aspects of English than you do (I should do - I'm an English teacher), but we are all equal in this forum when it comes to participating. Some of us ask questions, others try to answer them. We are all learning.
    Hi 5jj,
    So the question is, 'How did Felix look?' and the answer, 'He looked angry'. Right?

    Ok then. I agree with you, we all learn. Every single day of our lives we do. That's why we are all here for. Thanks for your commentaries.
    L54
    Last edited by learning54; 13-Jan-2012 at 19:21.
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    Default Re: Question on appearance

    Quote Originally Posted by learning54 View Post
    So the question is, 'How did Felix look?' and the answer, 'He looked angry'. Right?
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    Context is always important; labelling is rarely important.


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    Default Re: Question on appearance

    Quote Originally Posted by 5jj View Post
    Hi 5jj,
    Thanks a lot. No further questions at this point.
    L54

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    Default Re: Question on appearance

    Hi Teachers,
    One last question about it please.
    Could you tell me what the difference is between these two questions?
    a) How did Felix look when Adam said, Very, very dead,? He looked angry.
    b) What did Felix look like when Adam said, Very, very dead,? He was angry.

    Does the following question have basically the same meaning as 'a'?
    c) How did Felix's face look when Adam said, Very, very dead,? It looked angry.

    This is the context:
    Felix ran across the road and looked at the body. Adam was there before him.
    Is he alive? Felix asked quickly.
    No, he’s dead. Adam stood up and looked at Felix. Very, very dead, he said.
    Felix’s face was angry. The soldiers killed him, he said.

    Thanks in advance

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