[Grammar] look the same

[KJOU]

The twins look the same.
Would it be okay to drop "the"?

Why was "the" used?

Is "the same" a noun? I think an adjective should be used like " They look similar."

Then can I say "They look the similar"?

I don't figure out the difference.

 

[tedmc]

The two things look the same (adjective where the two words go together).
The two things look different.
The two things look similar (to each other).

 

[KJOU]

Thank you.

Is "The same" an adjective? Then, why is there "the"?

Based on what you said, is " They look the different" correct?

 

[jutfrank]

Don't confuse yourself by thinking about word class.

The twins look different.
The twins look the same.
The twins look identical.

All bold phrases are predicates that express the same kind of meaning about the twins.

I think you know this already, but to clarify:

The twins look the different. :cross:
The twins look same. :cross:

 

[Tarheel]

I don't figure out the difference.

That's a grammatical sentence, but there is no good response to it because it doesn't make sense. The best alternative is probably, "I don't know the difference." (That's the whole point of the question, isn't it?)

When you ask "why" questions you will frequently be disappointed with the answer. Why? That's because you are looking for some kind of rule when often there is none. Often there is no answer to "why" except that's the way it is.

 

[KJOU]

The reason I asked why is not that I was not disappointed with the answer but that I want to learn the principle.

I am always curious about the grammar thing, and I always think it seems there is something more in the principle.

Maybe, it is because English is not my first language that I am always trying to find out why.

I just want to learn. That's all.

Thanks.