Human Senses

Human senses are the physiological capacities that allow people to perceive and respond to their environment. They help us detect light, sound, chemicals, textures and internal position. In everyday and professional contexts, these words describe both physical perception and related skills (e.g., a 'sense of timing').

• There are five basic physical senses: sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch.
• We often use collocations like 'sense of smell' or 'sense of direction' to describe abilities.
• In business English, senses can be used literally (e.g., testing a product's scent) or figuratively (e.g., 'a strong sense of responsibility').

Use 'sense of + noun' to talk about a particular ability or perception. This structure works for physical senses and figurative abilities.

• Physical: sense of sight, sense of smell, sense of touch.
• Figurative: sense of responsibility, sense of timing, sense of urgency.
• Common verbs: have, lose, develop, rely on (a) sense.

When describing a specific perception, use 'sense of' + noun. For direct verbs like 'see' or 'hear', use the verb instead (e.g., 'I heard the announcement').

Be aware of frequent, universal errors when using senses vocabulary.

• Confusing the noun 'sense' with verbs like 'feel' or 'taste' (e.g., incorrect: 'I taste the problem' instead of 'I sense a problem').
• Forgetting 'sense of' when describing an ability (incorrect: 'a good smell' vs correct: 'a good sense of smell').
• Incorrect pluralization (e.g., 'a five senses' should be 'the five senses' or 'five senses').
• Wrong article use with senses (e.g., say 'a sense of urgency' not 'the sense of urgency' when speaking generally).

Focus on collocations (have + sense of), correct articles, and verb vs noun distinctions.