what / how a UFO looks like?

[kwfine]

Hi,

a friend of mine is very interested in UFOs, and he has brought hundreds of books about UFOs. I have never seen a UFO, and I am writing him an email. Here are some of the questions that I wanna ask him in the email:
Q1: "Do you belive in the existence of UFO, David?

Q2: "Could you tell me what a UFO looks like"

But I am stuck over Q2, I am hesitating whether I should write
Q2: "Could you tell me what a UFO looks like"
or
Q2: "Could you tell me how a UFO looks like"

Could you help me out please?

Thanks!

 

[riverkid]

Hi,

a friend of mine is very interested in UFOs, and he has brought hundreds of books about UFOs. I have never seen a UFO, and I am writing him an email. Here are some of the questions that I wanna ask him in the email:
Q1: "Do you belive in the existence of UFO, David?

Q2: "Could you tell me what a UFO looks like"

But I am stuck over Q2, I am hesitating whether I should write
Q2: "Could you tell me what a UFO looks like" Yes.
or
Q2: "Could you tell me how a UFO looks like" No.

Could you help me out please?

Thanks!

I might be mistaken but I don't believe a 'how' used with 'look(s) like' is possible in English, ... is it? :-?

 

[BobK]

...

But I am stuck over Q2, I am hesitating whether I should write
Q2: "Could you tell me what a UFO looks like"
or
Q2: "Could you tell me how a UFO looks like"

Could you help me out please?

Thanks!

what -> pronoun: "what a UFO looks like" {It looks like an orange <or whatever noun you choose>}
how -> adverb: "how a <noun> looks [no 'like']"

So you could (conceivably) ask how a UFO looks [no 'like'], but you'd be much more likely to ask what it looks like.

b

 

[BobK]

PS - to justify that 'conceivably':

NASA has caught a UFO and is keeping it at Roswell* (or wherever). There's a terrorist attack on the airbase, after which someone asks 'How does the UFO look? Do you think it'll still fly?'

b
*Roswell UFO incident - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[banderas]

Hi,

a friend of mine is very interested in UFOs, and he has brought hundreds of books about UFOs. I have never seen a UFO, and I am writing him an email. Here are some of the questions that I wanna ask him in the email:
Q1: "Do you belive in the existence of UFO, David?

Q2: "Could you tell me what a UFO looks like"

But I am stuck over Q2, I am hesitating whether I should write
Q2: "Could you tell me what a UFO looks like" It is big and green.
or
Q2: "Could you tell me how a UFO looks (not like)"It looks amazing:shock:

Could you help me out please?

Thanks!

d

 

[kwfine]

Many thanks to you all!
---
Actually, I am quite not sure if I have understood the difference in meaning between
[what something looks like]
and
[how something looks]

So here comes a short but real example with two questions, and
I have tried to think of the answers offhand, but not sure if they are correct:

My friend (Jan) and I went shopping this afternoon.
I know Jan has purchased some brand-new dresses.
So, I may ask her:

Q1: "What do the new dresses look like, Jan?"
(She may probably tell me the colors and patterns of each of her new purchased dresses.)

Q2: "How do the new dresses look, Jan?"
(Her answer may be: They look beautiful and suit me perfectly.)

Could you kindly help check the answers please?

 

[Anglika]

Your examples work well.

However, going back to your first post:


Q1: "Do you believe in the existence of UFOs, David?



Q2: "Could you tell me what a UFO looks like"

What do UFOs look like? is a much easier way to ask this.

 

[Dawood Usmani]

Your examples work well.

However, going back to your first post:


Q1: "Do you believe in the existence of UFOs, David?



Q2: "Could you tell me what a UFO looks like"

What do UFOs look like? is a much easier way to ask this.

To sum up, there are two structures:
1. What something looks like
2. How something looks
Am I right?A couple of weeks before I had the same confusion.
Best regards!
Dawood :lilangel:

 

[Tdol]

Yup ;-)