Use of 'seems'

Question

A) It seems to it'll rain to me. B) It looks like it will rain to me. Why is 'A' wrong and 'B' correct? Can someone explain the grammar for me please?

CalifJim · Accepted Answer

It seems that ...
is the usual pattern.

It seems that it will rain.
It seems that Jack has won the lottery.
It seems that we'll have to go another way because this road is blocked.
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You can add to and a noun that represents a person or group of people:

It seems to (me, him, ...) that ...

It seems to the committee that more revenue will have to be raised.
It seems to me that the price of sugar has gone up.
It seems to us that it's going to snow today.
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A second pattern is seems to, with a verb, to weaken a statement from what is real to what is a matter of appearances.

Lisa likes spaghetti. > Lisa seems to like spaghetti.
The dog wants to go out. > The dog seems to want to go out.
The grass grows very fast in that field. > The grass seems to grow very fast in that field.
It rains every day here in March. > It seems to rain every day here in March.
Robert and Fred are cheery today. > Robert and Fred seem to be cheery today.
Laura has a headache. > Laura seems to have a headache.
There are tigers in my house! > There seem to be tigers in my house!
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The sentences above can also be expressed with seems that, with or without the to phrase that tells who has the impression that something seems to be.

It seems (to me) that Lisa likes spaghetti.
It seems (to us) that the dog wants to go out.
It seems (to Jack) that the grass grows very fast in that field.
... and so on.
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Don't confuse the to phrase that tells who with the to that comes before a verb. We don't usually use both in the same sentence even though it is not wrong to do that.

?Lisa seems to me to have a new boyfriend.
?These coats seem to her to be too expensive.
?Dan doesn't seem to the teacher to study enough.

CJ

CalifJim · Answer

It looks like is a substitute for It seems that.

It seems that Laura has a headache.
It looks like Laura has a headache.

It looks to (+ person) like is a subsitute for It seems to (+ person) that.

It seems to me that the restaurant is very busy today.
It looks to me like the restaurant is very busy today.

CJ

Use of 'seems'

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