What are the similarities and differences? Presented in https://english.stackexchange.com/a/11324/50720, Corpus of Contemporary English depicts the dominance of 'seems like', but what does this imply?
Are there any formal terms describing these issues? I read that 'to seem' is a copular verb.
Answer
One uses "seems _ARTICLE _NOUN", "seems to be _ARTICLE _NOUN", and "seems like _ARTICLE _NOUN" for different things, often. They are not completely fungible.
It seems a shame to drive all the way from Trier to Rome, only to turn right around, without having a chance to see any of the sights.
One could not say "seems like a shame" or "seems to be a shame".
Not sure why your circulator is cutting out. It seems to be the circuit board.
One could not say "it seems the circuit board", though one might possibly say "it seems like the circuit board."
Great, a keg! Now it seems like a party.
One could not say "now it seems to be a party" there, though one might possibly say "now it seems a party."
Conclusion: crude frequency comparisons that combine disparate, non-interchangeable contexts seem like a waste of time, seem to be a waste of time, and seem a waste of time.
P.S. Like will sometimes be a stand-in for "to be" and sometimes will be a stand-in for "as though".
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