Learn English – I don’t know how to feel about it/I don’t know what to feel about it

grammaticalityphrase-usage

So, since there's a military coup going on in Turkey right now, a few of my friends have taken to Facebook to share how they feel about the whole thing.
And, one of them put up a status that reads:

There's a military coup right NOW at Turkey. 80 more people were killed
in France.

I don't even know how to feel about this anymore.

And I was wondering, should it not be "I don't even know what to feel about this anymore'?

Because, usually I hear people say "I don't know what to feel"..
So, am I right? Or is How always okay in similar contexts?

Best Answer

If you ask someone "how to feel", you are asking what should you do to be able to feel.

If you ask someone "what to feel", you are asking what should you feel on that situation.

If you are trying to express that you are shocked about something, you can use either "how" or "what", but to use "how" you would need to change the phrase slightly:

"I don't even know how I feel about this anymore." - You are so shocked that you can't define what sentiment you are feeling.

or

"I don't even know what to feel about this anymore." - You don't know what you should feel about the situation.

Both can be used to express that you are very shocked in front of a situation.