3.135 USAGE NOTE

Some verbs in the second group listed above have special features.

'Appear', 'prove', and 'seem' are often followed by 'to be' and a complement, instead of directly by a complement.

• Mary was breathing quietly and seemed to be asleep.
• The task of inspecting it proved to be exacting and interesting.

See paragraph 3.193 for information on using a 'to'-infinitive clause after these verbs.

3.136

With some of the second group, especially 'feel', 'look', and 'seem', you can use the past participle of a transitive verb as a complement.

• The other child looked neglected.
• The quarrel of the night before seemed forgotten.

3.137

When you are using the second group of verbs to say what qualities someone or something seems to have, you may want to mention the person whose viewpoint you are giving. You can do this using a prepositional phrase beginning with 'to'. It usually comes after the complement.

• They looked all right to me.
• It sounds unnatural to you, I expect.