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You are here: Home / Teaching / Smell, smelled and smelt

Smell, smelled and smelt

November 30, 2016 - pdf

The irregular past and past participle form smelt is only used in British English.

Smell / smelt / smelt (GB)

Smell / smelled / smelled (US)

Smell can be used as a copular verb. In this case, we use an adjective to modify it. Note that ordinary verbs are modified by adverbs.

  • The soup smells awful. (Here the adjective awful modifies the copular verb smells.) (NOT The soup smells awfully.)
  • Roses smell beautiful. (NOT Roses smell beautifully.)

Smell can be used with the prepositions like and of.

  • She smelt like jasmine.
  • The room smelt of cigarettes and bear.

When someone or something smells, they smell bad.

  • He has smelly feet. (= His feet smell bad.)
  • Your dog smells. When are you going to give him a wash?

Note that when smell is used as a copular verb, it is not used in its ing form.

  • The steak smells funny. (NOT The steak is smelling funny.)

Smell can mean perceive something with the nose. In this case, too, it is not used in the progressive form.

  • I can smell something burning.

Progressive forms are possible when smell is used to say that we are using our noses to find out something.

  • ‘Why are you smelling those socks?’ ‘I’m just trying to see if they will do for another day.’
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