[Grammar] I smelled her cook dinner.

[wotcha]

So today I taught about some transitive verbs of perception

such as 'hear, watch, see, look at, feel, notice' etc.


One of my students claimed that she was taught 'smell' can also have

object and objective complement.


I said to the student that it might be possible but I had never come across such examples.

So, is it really possible to use 'smell' as perceptional verbs like the sentence 2 below?


1. I saw her cross the street.

2. I smell her cook dinner.


;;

 

[Academic Writing]

Re: I smelled the bread sweet.

Number 1 is fine. Number 2 is incorrect. I suppose you could say "I smell her cooking dinner" although I'd say any number of alternatives before that.

 

[SoothingDave]

Re: I smelled the bread sweet.

No, but you can say "I smell her cooking dinner."

 

[Rover_KE]

Re: I smelled the bread sweet.

'I smell onions' (direct object).

'I smell bad' (objective complement).

 

[Barb_D]

Re: I smelled the bread sweet.

I agree it's possible, but it's unusual.

Perhaps because the things you smell are not the person (one hopes) but the results of what they are working on.

I smelled the cookies baking. -- this is fine
I smelled you baking cookies. -- this is less fine. I don't smeller differently baking cookies than I do sitting on the couch or playing computer games.


But it would be fine to say "I walked into the house and smelled the bread baking."