You probably thought they were just the same thing. You’re partially correct. While both phrases may sound very similar, they possess a slight difference to the point that the terms can be pretty interchangeable.
To answer your question short, “How do you feel now” is a question you would ask to know one’s feelings over some time until the present. On the other hand, “How are you feeling now” goes beyond just the present surface, and it’s more affected by the past.
The differences between the two phrases can be categorized, and I’ll take you through each of them in this article. Let’s get to it!
Tense or Grammatical Difference
As I’ve mentioned, the meaning of the two phrases is quite similar. To know the difference, you should see how the phrases are expressed.
“How are you feeling now?” is in the present continuous tense. In contrast, “How do you feel now?“ is expressed in the past tense.
In other words, “how do you feel now” indicates that a person has already gone through something. This means that “how are you feeling now” pertains to that one is currently going through something.
Generalized vs. Situational Difference
Using “How are you feeling” is more of a generalized question about one’s condition. If you haven’t been in contact with the person’s life for a while, this is the most relevant question to use. You might want to know new happenings in your friend’s life since you’ve not met for so long.
Meanwhile, you should use “How do you feel now” if you have background knowledge of someone’s situation or state up to the time you would ask. In other words, it’s similar to the question, “What emotions are you currently feeling lately?”
Emotional vs. Physical Difference
In addition, you can also differentiate them in terms of emotional vs. physical usage. “How are you feeling now?” usually refers to one’s physical health.
This is the best question to use if you want to know one person’s condition after an injury. However, you can also use it as a greeting question or a conversation opener.
Basically, “How do you feel now?” will give you an answer that’ll be about one’s emotional shape. You could ask this to learn what one is presently experiencing, especially if the person is making a way to get past it.
What Do I Ask to a Sick Person?
You can ask both questions. If the person has been on treatment just recently, you can ask, “How are you feeling now?”. Otherwise, I think it’s appropriate for you to use the other term.
If I want to know one’s physical wellbeing after defeating an illness, I also make use of, “How do you feel now?.” This helps to understand someone’s situation or condition. Before I forget, you can also use this as a greeting question or a conversation opener.
Understanding The Words
It is essential to understand the meaning of each word in the phrases and how placing them together changes the expression or the context.
Difference Between “feeling” vs. “doing“
Just in case you’re confused between feeling and doing, “doing” basically refers to external wellbeing. It’s related to one’s physical condition, while “feeling” refers to an internal state which is mainly associated with different emotions one might be going through at the time.
The word feeling is an action word. It makes sense because somehow, a person’s feelings can go from one feeling to another. However, in “How are you feeling,” the word feeling assumes that a person is stuck in one emotion or feeling. This could be sadness or depression.
Do you know that feelings have levels?
How Are You Feeling Means
Speaking of feelings, “How are you feeling” is just the same as the “How are you feeling now.” There’s no need for you to think they’re not the same thing.
However, it would be best if you answered whatever you’re feeling at the moment. Hearing this question doesn’t mean you should reply only during sadness. You’re lucky if you have people around you who check up on how you feel.
How Does It Feel or How it Feels?
As you might have been using, the direct answer to “How does it feel” begs emotion, too, such as “How does it feel when he came back?” Surprisingly the phrase “How it feels” could answer this question.
It is commonly used to describe sensations such as “He taught me how it feels to be loved again.” You can notice these phrases often in drama or romantic movies. But of course, it happens in real life too.
What Did You Feel or How Do You Feel?
This question is a little similar to “How do you feel?” They are often used after a situation takes place. You use the question “what” to learn a piece of information. In other words, it doesn’t sound sincere.
Personally, I think using “How do you feel” is the better question to ask. That’s because it’s dramatically correct, and the word “how” demands a condition or quality of something and not just information alone.
Difference of “Do” and “Are”
The word “do” is usually associated with tangible things such as sensations. However, the term “are” is related to intangible things like emotions, which we cannot touch.
The concept of tangible and intangible is essential in differentiating the two phrases. The words “are” and “now” relate to a timeline when put together, in the same way as a breakup ten years ago would result in sadness but a different feeling now. These words placed together points to a feeling or emotion experienced at the moment.
How to Answer “How Do You Feel Now”?
Actually, there are no specific guidelines. You can answer it based on what you feel like at the moment. Personally, I would answer this question by telling them about my current state and how my present situation makes me think.
However, other people have different ways, and it’s only alright. They might stick to a standard answer which doesn’t tell much about a person. They do it by answering, “I’m feeling well or “I’ve been good.”
Examples of How Do You Feel vs. How Are You Feeling
The following are a few examples to help you better understand the difference between the two phrases:
| How Do You Feel? | How Are You Feeling? |
| So Britney, how do you feel about the pandemic? | Sasha, may I ask how you are feeling now? Is your medicine good? |
| But how do you feel about the color pink? What are your thoughts? | Cyril, how are you feeling with your workload today? |
| So how do you feel about your first day of work? | How have you been feeling following the treatment? |
| How do you feel about Cyrus moving in with you? | So how are you feeling physically? |
Factors That Makes Them Interchangeable
While I have spent time researching the differences between the two phrases, I also found that certain people believe that the two have no difference and actually mean the same thing. I have divided the views further into two subsections for better understanding. The following are:
By Preference or Choice
People believe that although both mean the same thing, the difference is preference. It depends from person to person on which phrase they would consider using. In my opinion, the preference factor depends on how a person has been brought up. The speech pattern used in a household is a significant factor.
It’s kind of difficult to change what you’ve been used to saying even as a kid. The good thing is, you’ll never get punished for it because it’s not a crime. Bernstein’s speech pattern study claims that people from different backgrounds talk in other speech codes such as local and elaborated codes.
Local code is a shorthand speech, and people might use “How do you feel now” in this case. On the other hand, people talking in elaborated code might use questions such as “How are you feeling now.” The difference between the two codes is also related to the elaborated code being formal and the restricted code as informal.
Formal vs. Informal
Some say that the term”How are you feeling today” is more formal. I agree because workers in the healthcare industry, such as doctors, use the term “how are you feeling now?” to understand a person’s situation.
They ask this question intending to know about the patient’s physical health. They also use such a phrase to maintain formality with the patients. Moreover, the word “feeling” sounds stronger, making the question more mature.
On the other hand, “How do you feel now” has a specific informal expression. The difference depends upon the relationship between the people who are in conversation. “How do you feel” is a personal question one may ask a friend or a relative to get to know about their situation or condition.
Final Thoughts
In conclusion, both the questions are valid and have similarities. The difference lies in how they have been used, which is not really a big problem.
Although people use them in different situations—some of these differences concern time, preference, and relationship with the person, if you want an exact and accurate answer from someone, knowing them personally will help a lot.
However, if you want to avoid misinterpretation, you should elaborate on your question more. Try to add a few sentences other than the question. It’ll serve as a pointer for you while giving the listener a clue of what you really mean.
The first one would answer a physical enjoyment of exhaustion. At the same time, the other answer can tell you if he’s emotionally tired with his work already.
Feel free to save the examples given if you want. It’s free.
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