Omission: is getting along - appeared to be?

Question

A : Your son is getting along in school. right?

B : Well he appeared to (be?) at first. But he does not seem to happy sometimes.

Q1) Which is correct, #1 'appeared to' or #2 'appeared to be'?

Q2) Is the form before the omission 'he appeared to be getting along in school' or' 'he appeared to get along in school'?

Avangi · Accepted Answer

moon7296A : Your son is getting along in school. right?
B : Well he appeared to (be?) at first. But he does not seem to happy sometimes.
Q1) Which is correct, #1 'appeared to' or #2 'appeared to be'?

The "be" is technically required.
Sometimes in casual conversation, native speakers will skip it, essentially revising the original question from present continuous to present simple (habituation).

At least, that's the way I think of it.

He does not seem too happy.

moon7296Q2) Is the form before the omission 'he appeared to be getting along in school' or' 'he appeared to get along in school'?

The two versions are equally correct and natural.

Moon7296 · Answer

Thank you Avangi.

It's a really good explanation! I like your idea 'essentially revising the original question from present continuous to present simple (habituation)'.

According to your idea, the question below absolutely distract exam takers, doesn't it?

Avangi · Answer

It could, but when we take exams we usually try to read the teacher's mind and come up with the best answer.

I'll grant you that this example seems to qualify as casual conversation, but among the four options, (d) is definitely correct, and (b) is only marginally/arguably correct.

- A.

Moon7296 · Answer

Oh.. it's interesting to hear (d) is definitely correct, and (b) is only marginally/arguably correct

.

The question maker who does not seem a native speaker says the answer is (b).

Avangi · Answer

That too is interesting to hear!

Let's hope some other members offer opinions on this.

AlpheccaStars · Answer

Hi, I agree in general with Avangi, but have some other observations.

At first, he appeared to. This is idiomatic and conversational usage.

At first, he appeared to be. This is more formal usage.

The verb appear, like seem can be followed by the infinitive or a prepositional phrase headed by to. The verb seem is much more common, so better to use as an example:

a) It seems to me that....

b) It seems to be quite expensive.

Sentences of type (b) can be inverted to ask a yes/no question. In answering, the verb following the infinitive marker to is often omitted.

Q: Does this purse seem to be expensive?

A1: Yes, it seems to. (or)

A2: Yes, it does.

I would answer the first way if I were not quite convinced, and the second way if I definitely agreed.

CalifJim · Answer

AlpheccaStarsQ: Does this purse seem to be expensive?
A1: Yes, it seems to.

Yikes! This one threw me for a loop!

It just sounds so "off" to my ear that I actually started laughing! A1 may as well have said, "Yes, it seems". It elicits the same reaction for me.

Sad but true. Sorry. Maybe it's just me.

_____________________________________

I always "use up" every auxiliary verb (more accurately, every operator) from the original question, leaving out only the last verb (or subject complement in the case of be) in an answer where I add 'seem' or 'appear'.

Has Johnny run away again?

He seems to. - No.

He seems to have. - OK. (Only run is omitted at the end.)

Is he running?

He seems to. - No.

He seems to be. - OK. (Only running is omitted.)

Is he tired?

He seems to. - No.

He seems to be. - OK. (Only tired is omitted.)

Has he ever been seen again?

He seems to. - No.

He seems to have. - No.

He seems to have been. - OK. (Only seen is omitted.)

And, (Take courage),

Has that process been being done?

It seems to have been being.

CJ

Avangi · Answer

Thanks, guys.  <img class='emoticon' style='Width:19px;Height:19px;' data-delaysrc='https://uat-englishforward-forums-backend.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Emoticons/1.gif' src='https://uat-englishforward-forums-backend.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Emoticons/1.gif' alt='Emotion: smile'/>  - A.

Moon7296 · Answer

Thank you all for good answers

CJ, you said "'Yes, it seems to' may as well have said, "Yes, it seems"."

Is the reason why 'to' is omitted there's no verb, but an adjective 'expensive'? (You said "leaving out only the last verb" so you made some examples "It seems to have been being", etc,.

p.s. Why does this question sound weird

even though it looks grammatically correct?(Is the reason why 'to' is omitted there's no verb? ------ from a declaritive sentence: The reason why 'to' is omitted is there's no verb.)

CalifJim · Answer

moon7296A1 (the person who replied) may as well have said, "Yes, it seems"

You can take this to mean that I feel that the following two answers are equally wrong to my ear:

It seems.

It seems to.

To my ear, only the following sounds correct: It seems to be, which comes from this derivation:

It is expensive.

It seems to be expensive.

It seems to be.

moon7296You said "leaving out only the last verb"

Yes, except for the case of linking be, which is illustrated above. To my ear, you can't leave out the linking verb be.

moon7296Is the reason why 'to' is omitted there's no verb? -- from a declaritive sentence: The reason why 'to' is omitted is there's no verb.

It's weird because you need 'that', even though in many other cases 'that' can be omitted.

Declarative: The reason why 'to' is omitted is that there's no verb.

Interrogative: Is the reason why 'to' is omitted that there's no verb?

I feel that even with the addition of 'that', both sentences are still awkward, and you may feel the same way.

Here's another way to say them:

D: 'to' is omitted because there's no verb.

I: Is 'to' omitted because there's no verb?

CJ

Omission: is getting along -> appeared to be?

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