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Could you tell me if it is correct and natural to say I'm hallucinating that there is an earthquake when you are feeling that there is an earthquake happening, but it's not real. For example:

The guy had mistakenly taken the wrong drug and he said that he was hallucinating that there was an earthquake.

If it doesn't sound natural, what would you say to mean that you are seeing, feeling or hearing something that is not real, but you want to specify the unreal thing that you are seeing, feeling or hearing?

3 Answers 3

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Is it correct and natural to say “I'm hallucinating that there is an earthquake”?

That is the title of your question and I will answer it.

Yes, that is perfectly grammatical and it means that, as you speak, you are currently experiencing that hallucination.

The implication is that you know it is a hallucination but knowing is not enough to prevent you from experiencing it.

As a native speaker, I would say it as follows:

“I'm hallucinating an earthquake”

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Hallucinate is a good word to fit the situation you are looking for - when he was feeling that there is an earthquake happening, but it was not real. However you sentence construction is a bit poor.

  • The guy who had mistakenly taken the wrong drug said that he was hallucinating that there was an earthquake.

  • The guy mistakenly took the wrong drug and said that he was hallucinating that there was an earthquake.

  • The guy who mistakenly took the wrong drug said that he was hallucinating that there was an earthquake.

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First, the example is ungrammatical.

The guy mistakenly took the wrong drug

or

The guy mistakenly had taken the wrong drug

Second, the sentence does not make much sense: people who are truly hallucinating do not recognize that they are hallucinating. Therefore, one wonders whether the word "hallucinate" actually describes the situation.

Third, there is nothing wrong with the word "hallucinate." It may not be in the active vocabulary of every English speaker, but it is a perfectly acceptable word when used appropriately.

EDIT: Commenter Chasly has suggested that people who are hallucinating may actually recognize that they they are hallucinating while they are doing it. No evidence was cited. It may nevertheless be true, but it is probably not common. What is true is that many people who have had hallucinations recognize after the fact that they were previously hallucinating. That is a common experience after fever. That suggests that the confusion in tenses was broader than I thought and the sentence is intended to mean:

He had taken ... and said that he had hallucinated ...

If what is intended is to assert that the speaker was speaking and saying that he was having hallucinations while he was having hallucinations, the sentence is going to sound odd without further clarification.

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  • "people who are truly hallucinating do not recognize that they are hallucinating" Can you substantiate that? It is perfectly possible to hallucinate, say, a demon standing in front of you and know that it cannot be real. There are many rational people (maybe you've seen Beautiful Minds) who come to realise or know from the beginning that what they are seeing is not real. Jan 11, 2021 at 20:46
  • But earthquakes can be real. The analogy of the demon does not work. Moreover, and perhaps more pertinently, people may recognize that they had hallucinated, but I'd like some evidence that people recognize that they are hallucinating while they are doing so. So perhaps the sentence means "he said that he had hallucinated that he was in the midst of an earthquake." I shall add that possibility to my response as an edit. Jan 11, 2021 at 20:58
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    When I was doing acid in 1969 approx, we knew we were hallucinating. Hell, that was why we took it. People would say things like, "I can see lovely golden rays coming out of your head. This is good stuff!" I once saw a mystical message in the leaves of a tree. "What does it say?" my friend asked. "Sausages Next Week", I replied. Another friend said Jesus appeared at the foot of his bed and said "Stop masturbating". He said "What just now, or forever?". Jesus replied "Forever!". I daresay some people, on some drugs, may not realise they are hallucinating. Jan 11, 2021 at 21:05
  • Whether or not someone could know that what he was seeing is a hallucination may be an interesting question, but probably not relevant to a discussion of grammar. :-) Unless you are going to say that there is a different word for false perceptions of reality that you believe are real versus false perceptions that you know are not real.
    – Jay
    Jan 11, 2021 at 21:34
  • I see your edit - However there is no doubt. The question says explicitly "... he said that he was hallucinating ...". That's not ambiguous it indicates that he spoke while having the experience. This is also made clear in the very first sentence of the question. Jan 11, 2021 at 21:45

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