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Lucas Scott
Joined: 15 Dec 2005
Posts: 50
Location: Suzhou, China
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 Posted: Thu Dec 15, 2005 5:36 am Post subject: Why can people say "It smells tasty"? |
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I'm a little confuzed here. If we say something is tasty, we must mean to say it tastes good or it has a strong taste that we like.
But on the internet, I have seen so much "It smells tasty!" How come?
Also, can I say it like "It tastes fragrant!" I think if a taste can be smelled, why can't a smell be tasted? But I think either of them sounds a little bit strange.
Please come and help me! Thanks a lot!
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George Bernard Shaw once wrote: There are two tragedies in life. One is to lose your heart's desire, the other is to gain it.
Wanna know my life and be my friends? I'm non-exclusive boy!
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Kristea
Joined: 17 Nov 2005
Posts: 167
Location: Minneapolis, MN USA
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| Posted: Thu Dec 15, 2005 7:23 am Post subject: |
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When I say "It smells tasty," I mean that the smells are of things of which I like the taste.
I wouldn't say "It tastes fragrant."
Hope that helps - Kristi
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"That man is a success who has lived well, laughed often and loved much." R.L. Stevenson |
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Lucas Scott
Joined: 15 Dec 2005
Posts: 50
Location: Suzhou, China
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| Posted: Thu Dec 15, 2005 7:55 am Post subject: |
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| Kristea wrote: |
When I say "It smells tasty," I mean that the smells are of things of which I like the taste.
I wouldn't say "It tastes fragrant."
Hope that helps - Kristi |
Thanks. I got it.
But I still have got another question. Besides "It smells tasty", do people say any sentences just like it. I mean any sentences just like "Something smells like one kind of tastes." or "something tastes like one kind of smells"
I don't know whether we express in that way is correct or just OK.
You know, I'm a Chinese and my English is not quite good.
So, sometimes these strange sentences make me go nuts.
Kristea, could you help me once again? Thanks a lot. By the way, if you'll excuse me, I'd like to ask you one more question. Are you a native speaker?
Does "Location: Minneapolis, MN USA" mean that you're an American? 
_________________
George Bernard Shaw once wrote: There are two tragedies in life. One is to lose your heart's desire, the other is to gain it.
Wanna know my life and be my friends? I'm non-exclusive boy!
http://www.myspace.com/nonexclusiveboy
Last edited by Lucas Scott on Thu Dec 15, 2005 8:34 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Kristea
Joined: 17 Nov 2005
Posts: 167
Location: Minneapolis, MN USA
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| Posted: Thu Dec 15, 2005 8:30 am Post subject: |
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Hey -
I am a native speaker and an ESL teacher from Minnesota. (Also I am an American.)
I would say something like..."It smells like cookies" if when walking into a kitchen I smelled the aroma of cookies in the oven. Or after sniffing a candle, for example, I might say "It smells like sugar cookies."
Does that help? Let me know if it doesn't, and I'll try again.
- kristi
_________________
"That man is a success who has lived well, laughed often and loved much." R.L. Stevenson |
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Lucas Scott
Joined: 15 Dec 2005
Posts: 50
Location: Suzhou, China
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| Posted: Thu Dec 15, 2005 9:41 am Post subject: |
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| Kristea wrote: |
Hey -
I am a native speaker and an ESL teacher from Minnesota. (Also I am an American.)
I would say something like..."It smells like cookies" if when walking into a kitchen I smelled the aroma of cookies in the oven. Or after sniffing a candle, for example, I might say "It smells like sugar cookies."
Does that help? Let me know if it doesn't, and I'll try again.
- kristi |
Well, thanks a lot. I'm glad that my English isn't that bad. Because at least you can understand what I'm saying. I do hope that one day I can talk with some native speakers. 'Cause I don't know whether I'm speaking "Chinglish" or not. So, I wanna check it out.
Oh, let's focus on the problem. Actually, I think "It smells tasty" is not quite difficult to understand. Even if I can't understand it literally, I can guess the meaning of it. But is this kind of usage grammatically correct? Or maybe it's just an idiom. So I'd better not to say something smells like a taste and something tastes like a smell, right?
Well, smell is a smell and taste is a taste. I think so.
Besides, there isn't any difficulty here to understand sentences like "It smells like cookie,etc.", "It tastes delicious.", "It smells fragrant."
Kristea, do you know why I wanna ask this question? Because someone told me that we can add an adjective behind the verb "smell" no matter this adjective describes a smell or a taste. In the same way, the same usage to the verb "taste" is Ok. But I can't agree with him. 'Cause I think though people say" It smells tasty", but it doesn't stand for that we can say"It tastes fragrant." So I go check it here. Could you tell whether the guy is correct or not? Thanks.
_________________
George Bernard Shaw once wrote: There are two tragedies in life. One is to lose your heart's desire, the other is to gain it.
Wanna know my life and be my friends? I'm non-exclusive boy!
http://www.myspace.com/nonexclusiveboy |
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Kristea
Joined: 17 Nov 2005
Posts: 167
Location: Minneapolis, MN USA
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| Posted: Thu Dec 15, 2005 10:10 am Post subject: |
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Hmm...good questions.
From a grammatical stand point, there is no problem with these statements. I wouldn't consider these idiomatic either. I think you will be OK using the phrases.
I am tempted to agree with the advice you recieved. I am trying to think of an exception, and I really can't. However, fragrant is an odd word though that doesn't fit for "taste," and I would avoid that phrase.
I am glad to see you are willing to experiment! Keep it up.
- Kristi[/i]
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"That man is a success who has lived well, laughed often and loved much." R.L. Stevenson |
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Lucas Scott
Joined: 15 Dec 2005
Posts: 50
Location: Suzhou, China
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| Posted: Thu Dec 15, 2005 12:03 pm Post subject: |
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| Kristea wrote: |
Hmm...good questions.
From a grammatical stand point, there is no problem with these statements. I wouldn't consider these idiomatic either. I think you will be OK using the phrases.
I am tempted to agree with the advice you recieved. I am trying to think of an exception, and I really can't. However, fragrant is an odd word though that doesn't fit for "taste," and I would avoid that phrase.
I am glad to see you are willing to experiment! Keep it up.
- Kristi[/i] |
Well, I kind of get it. You said "I am tempted to agree with the advice you recieved. " So it means you agree with that we can add an adjective behind the verb "smell" no matter this adjective describes a smell or a taste. Also we can add an adjective behind the verb �taste" no matter this adjective describes a smell or a taste. Though, fragrant is an odd word that doesn't fit for "taste".
I did thought that we shouldn't add an adjective of smell behind "taste" and shouldn't add an adjective of taste behind "smell" also. And I thought to myself that I'd better not to say "It smells tasty."
But I think I will gradually get used to adding either a smell or a taste behind the verb"smell" and "taste" from now on.
Thank you, Mrs Kristea. Oh, Christmas is coming and I know it's the very important and big festival to all American families as the Thanksgiving Day. Though I'm not a Christian, but I do like the spirit of Christmas. Please allow me to say "Merry Christian and Happy New Year " in advance. 
Oh, when it comes to Christmas, I do remember the lines that Tom Hanks once said in the movie" The Polar Express"
��"At one time, most of my friends could hear the bell. But as years passed, it fell silent for all of them. Even Sarah found, one Christmas, that she could no longer hear its sweet sound. Though I've grown old... the bell still rings for me. As it does for all who truly believe."
I do hope the bell will be ringing for me during the rest of my life and I'm willing to truly believe that Santa is for real
Christmas is always a great time that people share theri happiness with each other, isn't it? That's why I love Christmas even if I'm not a Christian.
Once again, I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
_________________
George Bernard Shaw once wrote: There are two tragedies in life. One is to lose your heart's desire, the other is to gain it.
Wanna know my life and be my friends? I'm non-exclusive boy!
http://www.myspace.com/nonexclusiveboy |
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Kristea
Joined: 17 Nov 2005
Posts: 167
Location: Minneapolis, MN USA
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| Posted: Thu Dec 15, 2005 12:56 pm Post subject: |
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Thank you for your kind wishes. It is nice that the feeling of good cheer has been exported.
Good uck with your English, and I will look forward to reading more of your questions.
- Kristi
_________________
"That man is a success who has lived well, laughed often and loved much." R.L. Stevenson |
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