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Elviajero Posted 21 years ago
Grammar

Seem and appear - A question

0 Could you please help me in deciding which of the following sentences are valid? 02br
02br
001. Although at first sight he seemed normal, it was only later did I realize that he was mentally unstable. 02br
002. Although at first sight he appeared normal, it was only later did I realize that he was mentally unstable. 02br
003. Although at first sight he seemed to be normal, it was only later did I realize that he was mentally unstable. 02br
004. 3. Although at first sight he appeared to be normal, it was only later did I realize that he was mentally unstable. 02br
02br
005. The idea seems interesting. 02br
006. The idea seems to be interesting. 02br
007. The idea appears interesting. 02br
008. The idea appears to be interesting. 02br
02br
00Another question: Can the verbs "seem" and "appear" be used interchangeably? 02br
02br
00Thank you. 0-
  

Top answer

0 Hello 02br 02br 00"To be" in "seem to be" or "appear to be" is optional. 02br 02br 00There is a subtle difference in the usage between the two verbs. "Seem" can be used for talking about both speaker's objective judgment and speaker's subjective feeling.

— Paco2004

  • 0 Hello 02br 02br 00"To be" in "seem to be" or "appear to be" is optional.
  • 02br 02br 00There is a subtle difference in the usage between the two verbs.
  • "Seem" can be used for talking about both speaker's objective judgment and speaker's subjective feeling.
  • But appear is mostly used to express speaker's objective judgment.
  • 02br 02br 00Google results : 02br 00seemed normal 48,500 appeared normal 98,100 02br 00seemed interesting 39,600 appeared interesting 905 02br 02br 00paco 0-
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4 Answers
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0 Hello 02br
02br
00"To be" in "seem to be" or "appear to be" is optional. 02br
02br
00There is a subtle difference in the usage between the two verbs. "Seem" can be used for talking about both speaker's objective judgment and speaker's subjective feeling. But appear is mostly used to express speaker's objective judgment. 02br
02br
00
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0 Hello! 02br
00Apart from the question about "to be or not to be", the second part of the sentence seems a bit strange to me (but I may be wrong) 02br
00I would say: 02br
00Although .............. , it was only later that I realized .... 02br
00But even so the relationship between both clauses is not great. 02br
02br
00I'd pre
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0 Thanks much, Paco and Pieanne. I didn't realize when I wrote it, but after you pointed out to me, it does seem to me that there's some oddity in my sentence. Your construct sounds more natural and better; but does that mean mine is not correct, or is it acceptable? Maybe, other members can help. 0-
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0 If you want to keep "although", I think it should be something like this: 02br
00"although at first sight he seemed (to be) normal, he soon proved to be paranoid" 0-
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