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

38,979 views ・ 2019-03-27

Learn English with Harry


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

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Hi there, I’m Harry and I’m here to talk to you today about some English words and
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vocabulary. And the words I’m looking at today are SEEMS, LOOKS and APPEARS. And all
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the differences and how we use them.
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So SEEMS - S E E M S, LOOKS - L O O K S and APPEARS - A P P E A R S.
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Ok. On the first look at these words, they have
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the very same meaning. And if you’re learning English at the beginner’s level, or at intermediate
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level, really I would explain to you that there is no real difference and you can use
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one instead of the other, you can interchange them as much as you wish.
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As you get on to learn English at a more higher level, upper-intermediate and beyond that,
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then they can be some subtle, but small differences to them.
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So for example:
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It looks as if he is not coming around this evening.
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You’ve organised a dinner, your friend is invited, you’ve got some other friends there.
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And you’re looking at the watch, and it’s gone 8 o’clock and he hasn’t arrived yet
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so you turn to your other friends and say:
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Hmmm, it looks like as if Sean isn’t coming.
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It seems as if Sean isn’t coming. I invited him but he said he would be here.
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It appears as if Sean isn’t coming. He would usually be here by now.
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So in that example it’s a party, he hasn’t arrived when you’d invited him.
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It looks as if he is not coming. It seems as if he is not coming.
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It appears as if he is not coming.
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They all have exactly the same meaning.
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If there is any difference between them, when we look at looks and appears, we’re talking
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about something visual. Something that we might see.
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It looks as if Mary is upset. It appears as if Mary is upset.
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So when we see Mary, she’s sitting there, she is maybe a little sad or a little melancholic.
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Perhaps, she might be crying but she certainly looks upset.
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So we can say:
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She looks upset. She appears upset.
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SEEMS is an opinion. We use LOOKS and APPEARS when we’re physically looking at something
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(or somebody). But seems when we’re just giving an opinion.
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It seems as if the weather is going to change.
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I was reading in the paper yesterday that there is a cold front coming. So it seems
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as if the weather is going to change.
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But if you look out the window,
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Oh, it looks like it’s raining.
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Or
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It appears to be raining from here. I can’t really see.
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Well, that’s it for today. But remember to subscribe to my channel and join us on
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www.englishlessonviaskype.com. And before I forget, if you look at the link below, you’ll
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get access to all of our wonderful courses about Grammar, and other aspects of English.
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And we’ve just launched a really great course about Common Mistakes in English and How to
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Avoid Them. And it’s really getting a lot of coverage so you can get in there and buy
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it. So I’ll catch up with you again soon.
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