seem
part of speech
verb (seem, seems, seemed, seeming)
meaning for a pupil
1) To seem means to look or appear to be something, from what you can see or know: «She seems happy». tree →
2) «It seems» is used to say what you think is true but are not sure about: «It seems we are lost». tree →
sense in the lessons
In stories, «seem» shows what a character notices without knowing for sure, and things that seem one way can turn out different: a trap the reader should notice. In science, results «seem to show» something until checked. In safety, someone who seems friendly online may not be. Phrases: «seem to», «it seems that», «seem like».
examples
- You seem tired today. tree →
- The dog seems friendly, but ask the owner first. tree →
- It seems like it will rain. tree →
- The puzzle seemed hard at first. tree →
- Things are not always what they seem. tree →
- He seems to know the answer. tree →
- The test seemed to last forever. tree →
- It seems that we took the wrong path. tree →
- "It's fated I must, it seems! tree →
note
«Seem» is not used in the -ing form for this meaning: say «You seem sad», not «You are seeming sad». «Seem» is followed by an adjective, «to» + verb, or «like». Do not confuse «seem» with «seam» (a line where cloth is sewn together) — they sound the same.
In the corpora
- When a parent seems frazzled after work, it is usually the workload, not anything the child did.
- Giveaways asking for card details are scams, even if a famous face seems to promise them.
- A "new friend" who seems lovely and asks for photos is showing a big warning sign, whoever or whatever is typing.
- Every big invention, such as the telephone, seemed strange or scary at first and later became normal.
- Claiming feelings just to seem friendly would be dishonest, like the "AI friend" in the safety lessons.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «seem» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.