Like the distinguished gentleman above says, you can use this structure with all of the 5 senses (sight, hearing, taste, smell, touch) This structure means I guess, I suppose, I think based on something I see, hear, taste, etc. "seems" is less specific. you can use it for all of these. (subject) looks (adj.) - you can see the (subject) and guess it is (adj.) (subject) sounds (adj.) - you can hear the (subject) and guess it is (adj.) more common usage - you have heard people talking about the (subject) (subject) tastes (adj.) you have tasted the " (subject) smells (adj.) - you have smelled " (subject) feels (adj.) - you have touched " more common usage - your feelings, your sense about the (subject) (subject) seems (to be)(adj.) - anything/everything you have seen, heard, felt, etc.. Examples - He looks tired. -good- I see him and I guess he is tired. - He looks married. -okay, but not so good- It is probably not the man himself who looks married, but other things, like the woman holding his hand, or the family van, etc. - He seems (to be) married. -good- - Grandma sounds tired. -good- if you hear her yawn. - The restaurant sounds good. -good, very common usage- I've heard people talk about this restaurant, or news about it or even read about it so I think it's good. - Paris sounds romantic. -good- everyone says so - This restaurant smells good. -good- if you are outside and can smell the food. - This restaurant tastes good. -wrong- the restaurant's food tastes good, not the restaurant itself. - These crackers taste old. -good- - These socks feel warm. -good- if you are touching them with your hand and think they will be warm on your feet. - This car feels safe -good- I'm in it and it seems to be solid and work well. - This place feels dangerous. -good- I'm in a dark alley and I feel scared. You can use seem/seems for EVERYONE of the above examples. Note: This structure is used to state a guess/assumption (like above) or a plain observation - These crackers taste old. I don't know that they are old but I think, I guess they are. or - These crackers taste salty. = They ARE salty. Just an observation, a fact or my opinion. - Those flowers look expensive. I don't know, but I guess they cost a lot. or - Those flowers look beautiful. = They ARE beautiful. I'm just stating my opinion. However, SEEM/SEEMS is always a guess/assumption so we wouldn't say - Those flowers seem beautiful. -wrong- except for a rare situation, for example, you see a poor quality photo: "I can't see them well in the photo, but those flowers seem beautiful." but still the meaning is I guess they are beautiful. Hope this helps :)

In your example it is interchangeable, however, "seem" = resemble or to appear. "look" refers to sight - you can tell people where to look, "look at this!"; you can tell people what you are looking at or where you are looking. It can also be used for searching - "I am looking for my lost dog." To look takes on the same meaning as to seem when it is used with 'like'. "You look like Charlie Chaplin." (You resemble Charlie Chaplin.) "It looks like it's going to rain." (It appears that it is going to rain.) Or, if it's a purely visual appearance, you can leave off the 'like': "You look terrible." (Your visual appearance is terrible.)

These two sentences are the same. However "seem" can mean many things: look, sound, taste, feel, smell Ex: That doesn't smell right = that doesn't seem right. seem +adj = seem to be + adj They seem the same. They seem to be the same.

'Look' and 'seem' are both copular verbs (they join adjectives to subjects). They can both be used to describe the impression you get from somebody or something. So you can say 'you look happy' or 'you seem happy'. You can also use both of them with 'as if' or 'like' 'It looks as if it's going to rain again.' 'It seems like it's going to rain again. The difference is that 'look' refers to an impression you get by 'seeing' something and 'seem' is used more for impressions that come from opinion or how things appear to your mind. 'So you look sad' = I can see that you are sad. 'You seem sad' = to my mind/ in my opinion you appear sad. 'Seem' is also used for more subjective and emotional impressions. You can say 'It seems a shame that we cannot take Kevin on holiday with us.' You can't use 'look' in this way. Seem can be followed by a number of different constructions but the meaning is the same. 'You seem sad', 'You seem to be sad' 'It seems to me that you are sad' 'I seem to have lost my way. 'Seem' is only used as a copular verb. 'Look' has other meanings and uses.

In other sentences "look" and "seem" aren't as interchangeable. When you are describing something, i.e. "You seem angry"/"You look angry" etc, then it is more or less interchangeable. But a sentence like "it seems to be raining", if you were to use "look" instead, you would then say "it looks like its raining"