Seem 意為「似乎，好像，看起來」，僅能當連綴動詞用，其後接形容詞 (或名詞 － 接名詞的情況比較少見) 來做主詞補語，本身通常不用進行式。例如：
- Tom seemed slightly embarrassed to see me in the nightclub. (湯姆在夜店看到我好像有點尷尬) － 接形容詞。
- Mary seems very happy with her new boyfriend. (瑪麗對她的新男友似乎很滿意) － 接形容詞。
Mary is seeming very happy with her new boyfriend. (誤) － 不可使用進行式。 - Buying a new computer seems a complete waste of money to me. A used one would be just as good. (買新電腦對我來說完全是浪費金錢。二手電腦就好了) － 接名詞 (片語)。
Seem 後面經常接「to + 原形動詞」的不定詞結構，或者接「to + have + P.P.」的完成式不定詞結構來表示該完成式動作或狀態比 seem 還要早發生或出現。例如：
- She would always seem to offend people. (她過去似乎老是得罪人)
- Teresa seems to know more about me than my wife. (泰瑞莎似乎比我太太更瞭解我)
- Cindy seems to have gone out. (辛蒂似乎已經外出了)
- The professor seemed to have mistaken me for someone. (教授看來好像把我誤認為某人)
Seem 的否定形式有兩種，—是將否定詞放在 seem 之前，另一是將否定詞放在 seem 後面的不定詞之前，但意思一樣。例如：
- The president seems not to like the plan. (總統似乎不喜歡這項計畫)
= The president doesn’t seem to like the plan. - They seem not to be at the dormitory. (他們似乎不在宿舍)
= They do not seem to be at the dormitory.
除上述外，seem 還有下列幾種常見的句型：
There seem(s) to be 或 there seemed to be + 名詞 (片語) － 注意：Seem 的單複數與名詞一致
- There seem to me to be two possibilities. (= I think there seem to be two possibilities.) (我覺得有兩個可能性)
- There seems to be something wrong with her. (她似乎有點不對勁)
- There seemed to be a mistake in these calculations. (這些計算似乎有錯)
Seem + as if/as though/like 所引導的子句 (like 後面亦可接名詞或名詞片語)
- Dad seemed (as if/as though/like he was) tired. (爸爸好像累了)
- It seems as if they’re no longer in love. (他們似乎不再相愛了)
- Sam seemed as though he was a bit detached. (山姆似乎有些心不在焉)
- It seems like their marriage is over. (他們的婚姻好像結束了)
－ 這句與 It seems that their marriage is over. 的意思相同，但大多用於非正式場合或口說英語。 - It doesn’t seem like a good idea to lend money to John. (借錢給約翰似乎不是個好主意)
It seems 或 it seemed + that 所引導的名詞子句 (連接詞 that 可以省略)。在此一句型中，seem 後面可接介系詞 to + 人來表示「某人感覺好像，某人覺得似乎」的意思。例如：
- It seems (that) he is a good guy. (他似乎是個好人)
- It seemed (that) he had changed his mind. (他似乎已改變心意)
- It seemed to everyone (that) Linda was wrong. (大家都覺得琳達似乎是錯了)
= Everyone thought (that) Linda was wrong. - It seems to me (that) it will rain tonight. (在我看來，今晚會下雨)
= I think (that) it will rain tonight.
在 it seems 或 it seemed + (that) 名詞子句的句型中，名詞子句的否定詞可轉移到主句中；進一步而言，主句的否定詞係否定名詞子句的動詞，不是否定 seem。例如：
- It seems that they don’t know how to deal with the situation. (他們似乎不知道如何處理這種情況)
= It doesn’t seem that they know how to deal with the situation. - It seems (that) Peter can’t come. (彼得好像不能來了)
= It doesn’t seem (that) Peter can come. - It seems to me (that) Richard isn’t the right person for the job. (在我看來，理查不是這項工作的合適人選)
= It doesn’t seem to me (that) Richard is the right person for the job.
= I don’t think (that) Richard is the right person for the job. － think、believe 等動詞後面的名詞子句也是否定轉移。