The Grammar Page
ADRIAN DOFF presents and explains this key point of grammar with notes on a short dialogue.
On using the verb “seem”
Dialogue
Rob has been visiting his friend Pete, and they are just going out. On the stairs, they pass Pete’s next-door neighbour, but he doesn’t say hello. Rob: Who was that? Pete: My neighbour — he lives next door. Rob: He doesn’t seem very friendly1. Pete: No, he isn’t. I often say hello to him, but he always seems to be2 in a hurry. He doesn’t seem
to3 want to talk to me.
Rob: Does he live on his own? Pete: I think so. He used to have a girlfriend. She was always much friendlier. But she seems to have
moved out4. He seems to be living5 on his own now.
Rob: Maybe he’s just very shy. Why don’t you try calling round, or asking him in for coffee or something?
Pete: I did. I called round last weekend because I had a parcel for him. He was definitely at home — he
seemed to be watching6 TV. I rang the bell, but he didn’t answer the door.
Rob: Wow, that’s really strange.
Pete: Yes, it does seem odd7, doesn’t it?
Explanations
1. The verb seem can be followed by an adjective
(“seem friendly”).
2. It can also be followed by “to” + infinitive (“seems to
be”).
3. To form a negative, we usually make the verb “seem” negative, not the following verb. So, Pete says, “He doesn’t seem to want...”, not “He seems to not want...”. 4. Here, “seem” refers to something that happened
in the past, so Pete uses the structure “seem to” + “have” + past participle. 5. To refer to something happening now, we use the structure “seem to” + “be” + “-ing”. 6. Here, Pete uses the structure “seemed to” + “be” +
“-ing” to describe something that was going on when he called.
7. This is another example of “seem” + adjective.
Remember!
We use the verb seem for something we think is true, or to describe our general impression. It can be followed by: an ⋅ adjective:
She seems (to be) very ambitious. ⋅ “to” + infinitive:
They both seem to work very hard. (= I think they work very hard.)
“to” + “be” + “-ing”, to talk about something going on at ⋅ the moment:
The children seem to be having a good time.
(= I think they’re having a good time.) “to” + “have” + past participle, to talk about something ⋅ that happened in the past:
They seem to have sold their car. (= I think they’ve sold it.)
Beyond the basics
We often use seem when we want to announce a problem or some bad news: ⋅ ⋅
I seem to have lost my wallet.
Could you pay for the meal? I don’t seem to have ⋅ any money on me.
Oh, dear. It seems to be raining again.
Using seem makes what we say sound “softer” and less direct.