Mr. Maru: Hey Sparky! What are you doing? I'm so excited!

Sparky: Wow, you seem happy. What happened to you?

Mr. Maru: I'm getting married! I'm going to be so happy!

Sparky: Yes, I see. Who is the lucky bride?

Mr. Maru: Here, let me show you a picture.

Sparky: Oh, she seems very beautiful.

Mr. Maru: I think you mean she looks very beautiful.

Sparky: Um, yeah. OK. You seem a little angry.

What is the difference between seem and look? These two words can sometimes be used in the same place. However, their meanings are a little different. Let's talk about some examples and explanations.

How to use the word 'look'

When we can quickly see something about a situation, we use the word 'look'. This is something that is very clear. We do not need to think about it. We can very quickly understand the feeling. For example,

You look angry. (You are frowning, shouting, and making a fist. I can tell very quickly.)

It looks like a difficult test. (I saw the questions on the test and I could not easily answer them. I didn't look very long at the test.)
The computer looks easy to use. (I can see the keyboard and the buttons. I can quickly understand how to use this computer.)

How to use the word 'seem'

When we are making a guess about the situation, we use the word 'seem'. We look at the situation. We think about it for a little while. We can not understand the situation quickly. For example,

The boss seems angry today. (The boss isn't talking much. The boss is not smiling. We are not selling a lot of products. It is our job to sell things and we are not doing it well.)

It seems like a difficult sport. (I didn't do the sport, but people tell me they can't do it well. I see good sports players not doing well.)

We can also use 'seem' to be more polite. For example,

There doesn't seem to be any forks. (You forgot to give us forks. I'm a little angry. Please give us forks now.)

It seems like you forgot to do your homework. (I know you forgot to do your homework. I want you to do your homework.)

Be careful! You need 'like' before nouns. For example,

He seems/looks like a nice guy (noun).
He seems/looks nice (adjective).

Ready? Let's take a quick quiz.

Seem and look quiz

1) He always give us cookies. He is always smiling. He ______ a friendly person.

a) seems

b) looks

c) seems like

2) A: I am so happy! (jumping up and down)

B: Wow! You _____ happy! What is happening?

a) seem

b) look

c) look like

3) It _______ it is going to rain. The sky is really dark.

a) looks like

b) seems like

c) seems

Answers

1. c) - We need 'like' because 'person' is a noun.

2. b) - A: is jumping up and down. We can quickly see they are happy.

3. a) - The sky is really dark, so we can quickly understand it will rain.

Thanks for stopping by. I hope this helped you with some English grammar. If you have a stumper, please email us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and we will be sure to answer it for you.

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