三者均属于表示状态的来连系动词,都有“好像”、“似乎”的意思,区别如下:
seem 侧重指事实上似乎是那样的;look 指视觉印象,指看起来似乎如此;appear 指从表面上看似乎如此,但有时并非如此。。如:
They seemed tired and unhappy when they got home. 他们回到家时看来很累,不高兴。
Be careful! The newly waxed floor looks very slippery. 小心点!这新打蜡的地板看起来很滑。
She appears quite old. 她显得很老。
三者均可后接不定式,但 look 之后一般只限于 to be:
The man seems / appears / looks to be very tired. 那人好像很疲劳。
He seemed / appeared to have met her before. 他以前似乎见过她。
三者均可用于 it 开头的句子,且三者之后均可接从句。如:
It seemed / as if / though the day would never end. 似乎白天永远也过不完。
It looked as if he had been ill. 他看起来像是生过病。
It seems / appears that he is very rich. 他似乎很富有。
为避免重复,appear和seem后接的 that 从句有时可用so或 not代替。如:
“Is he an honest man ?” “It seems / appears so / not.”“他是诚实的人吗?”“似乎是 / 不是。”
look, seem 之后可接like短语,但 appear 之后一般不能:
You look like your father. 你看起来像你父亲。
It seemed like a disaster at the time. 在当时就好像是一场灾难。