Question about physical appearance

Question

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 the question 'What did Felix's face look like?' for the same sentence?If not, colud you tell me why please?Thanks in advance

Supanova7 · Accepted Answer

I'd say the Question should read: ''What was Felix's facial expression?''

Answer: One of anger.

Tenacious Learner · Answer

Hi supanova7,
But I can't change the orinal sentence, 'Felix's face was angry'.
TS

Dimsumexpress · Answer

Thinking SpainHi 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 the question 'What did Felix's face look like?' for the same sentence?If not, colud you tell me why please?Thanks in advance

Hi TS,
I would say the above utterances will unlikely pass the sound requirement of a natural sentence.If you have reason to believe that something will trigger Felix to react negatively, then the questions and answers may be:
How did Felix react ? Did Felix (or Felix's face) show any sign of anger?
He appeared to be angry/ he looked angry, but he didn't say anything.

One's face is the focal point of expressions, So when we say someone is happy, because we see smiles. When we say someone is angry, we see frowns and wrinkles on the forehead. These expressions often associate with body language, such that a displeased person not only shows dismayed facial expressions, but the shoulder and posture will also react to these emotions. So we don't have to say 'Felix's face was angry'.

Tenacious Learner · Answer

Hi dimisumexpress,
Thank you for your reply.
OK. 'Felix's face was angry' is not very natural English, Better are: Felix looked angry. Felix had an angry expression (on his face).
But, 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.
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.

So would the question be, 'How did Felix look?' and the answer, 'He looked angry'. Right?

TS

Dimsumexpress · Answer

Thinking SpainAdam stood up and looked at Felix.

Ok, with the specificity of the scene, I supposed Adam must have been in a half-kneeling and half-squating position to examine the body before Felix arrived the scene. When Adam found the body dead as Felix asked "was he alive?", he said "he is dead, very dead." and looked up from his position, Felix's face would be appearing immediately before him, so "Felix’s face was angry. ..." seemed reasonable.

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