Difference between SEEM and LOOK and APPEAR - Intermediate Level English #englishlessons

39,306 views ・ 2019-03-27

Learn English with Harry


Please double-click on the English subtitles below to play the video.

00:06
Hi there, I’m Harry and I’m here to talk to you today about some English words and
0
6080
5340
00:11
vocabulary. And the words I’m looking at today are SEEMS, LOOKS and APPEARS. And all
1
11420
5540
00:16
the differences and how we use them.
2
16960
2210
00:19
So SEEMS - S E E M S, LOOKS - L O O K S and APPEARS - A P P E A R S.
3
19170
8660
00:27
Ok. On the first look at these words, they have
4
27830
3920
00:31
the very same meaning. And if you’re learning English at the beginner’s level, or at intermediate
5
31750
6720
00:38
level, really I would explain to you that there is no real difference and you can use
6
38470
3979
00:42
one instead of the other, you can interchange them as much as you wish.
7
42449
4591
00:47
As you get on to learn English at a more higher level, upper-intermediate and beyond that,
8
47040
5930
00:52
then they can be some subtle, but small differences to them.
9
52970
4110
00:57
So for example:
10
57080
1450
00:58
It looks as if he is not coming around this evening.
11
58530
2750
01:01
You’ve organised a dinner, your friend is invited, you’ve got some other friends there.
12
61280
4920
01:06
And you’re looking at the watch, and it’s gone 8 o’clock and he hasn’t arrived yet
13
66200
5490
01:11
so you turn to your other friends and say:
14
71690
2160
01:13
Hmmm, it looks like as if Sean isn’t coming.
15
73850
2980
01:16
It seems as if Sean isn’t coming. I invited him but he said he would be here.
16
76830
5100
01:21
It appears as if Sean isn’t coming. He would usually be here by now.
17
81930
4060
01:25
So in that example it’s a party, he hasn’t arrived when you’d invited him.
18
85990
5350
01:31
It looks as if he is not coming. It seems as if he is not coming.
19
91340
4790
01:36
It appears as if he is not coming.
20
96130
2410
01:38
They all have exactly the same meaning.
21
98540
3200
01:41
If there is any difference between them, when we look at looks and appears, we’re talking
22
101740
5070
01:46
about something visual. Something that we might see.
23
106810
3650
01:50
It looks as if Mary is upset. It appears as if Mary is upset.
24
110460
5270
01:55
So when we see Mary, she’s sitting there, she is maybe a little sad or a little melancholic.
25
115730
6100
02:01
Perhaps, she might be crying but she certainly looks upset.
26
121830
4510
02:06
So we can say:
27
126340
1000
02:07
She looks upset. She appears upset.
28
127340
3759
02:11
SEEMS is an opinion. We use LOOKS and APPEARS when we’re physically looking at something
29
131099
5771
02:16
(or somebody). But seems when we’re just giving an opinion.
30
136870
5050
02:21
It seems as if the weather is going to change.
31
141920
2390
02:24
I was reading in the paper yesterday that there is a cold front coming. So it seems
32
144310
4880
02:29
as if the weather is going to change.
33
149190
2580
02:31
But if you look out the window,
34
151770
1560
02:33
Oh, it looks like it’s raining.
35
153330
1900
02:35
Or
36
155230
1000
02:36
It appears to be raining from here. I can’t really see.
37
156230
1490
02:37
Well, that’s it for today. But remember to subscribe to my channel and join us on
38
157720
4580
02:42
www.englishlessonviaskype.com. And before I forget, if you look at the link below, you’ll
39
162300
6650
02:48
get access to all of our wonderful courses about Grammar, and other aspects of English.
40
168950
4470
02:53
And we’ve just launched a really great course about Common Mistakes in English and How to
41
173420
4679
02:58
Avoid Them. And it’s really getting a lot of coverage so you can get in there and buy
42
178099
4241
03:02
it. So I’ll catch up with you again soon.
43
182340
1450
About this website

This site will introduce you to YouTube videos that are useful for learning English. You will see English lessons taught by top-notch teachers from around the world. Double-click on the English subtitles displayed on each video page to play the video from there. The subtitles scroll in sync with the video playback. If you have any comments or requests, please contact us using this contact form.

https://forms.gle/WvT1wiN1qDtmnspy7