Let Sian teach you when we say ‘look’ and ‘look like’ in this English In A Minute.
Sian
Let’s talk about appearance. What’s the difference between look and look like?
So, we use look with an adjective to say how something or someone appears.
We don’t know for certain, but we are making a statement based on what we can see with our eyes.
You look really tired today! When did you go to bed?
Now remember, we can also use look for things.
These grapes look delicious
We use look like to compare the appearance of something or someone to something else.
So, look like is followed by a noun or a noun phrase.
I look like my mother! We have the same eyes.
You can also use these rules with these verbs: sound, smell, taste, and feel.
This smoothie smells disgusting but it tastes good!
Look vs Look like
Look
We use look with an adjective to say how something or someone appears. This can be our opinion based on what we can see with our eyes.
- You look really angry. Did I say something wrong?
- That building looks really old.
Look like
We use look like to compare the appearance of something or someone to something else.
Look like is followed by a noun or a noun phrase.
- Monty looks like a cat, but I think he’s a tiger.
- My wife looks like Shakira.
Other verbs
You can also use these rules with these verbs: sound, smell, taste, and feel.
- That tastes like the pizza I had in Rome.
- That smells disgusting.