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Old 29-Jun-2004, 12:38
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Default Re: seem

Quote:
Originally Posted by cherish
Please help me the usage of "seem"
I don't know which case is right:
1/ You seem to be good at singing
2/ You seem good at singging
Can we use adj after seem, how about "seem to be"
Thanks in advance :P
seem(s) to be + adjective is a set phrase, and so the to be part is often omitted, like this,

You seem to be happy ~ You seem happy.
He seems to be nice ~ He seems nice.
They seem to be kind ~ They seem kind.

If you add a noun after the adjective, you can't omit 'to be' but you can replace 'to be' with 'like',

You seem to be a happy person. :D (OK)
You seem a happy person. :( (Not OK)
You seem like a happy person. :D (OK)

He seems to be a nice guy. :D
He seems a nice guy. :(
He seems like a nice guy. :D

They seem to be kind people. :D
They seem kind people. :(
They seem like kind people. :D

All the best,
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