Asked by K

What's the difference between the following sentences: "he looks happy." "he looks like he's happy." "he seems happy."
Answered by Writeacher
The <b>first and third</b> sentences are about the same, both <b>simple sentences</b>; the only difference is the use of different verbs, "looks" and "seems." They give the sentence slight changes in meaning, but the structure is identical: subject, verb, predicate adjective.

The <b>second</b> sentence is a <b>complex sentence <u>with an error</u> in it</b>. It's complex because it has two clauses ("he looks" and "like he's happy"), one independent and one dependent. The error is that "like" is used incorrectly. That word is not a subordinating conjunction, which is what is needed here. Change "like" to "as if," and it'll be correct.
http://www.answers.com/like
(Scroll down to see all the different CORRECT ways "like" can be used; at the bottom of the list, you'll see "conj. Usage Problem" which means it's not correctly used as a conjunction.

If you have further questions about these sentences, please repost.

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Answered by K
thank you so much!!! you really helped!
Answered by Writeacher
You're very welcome!

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