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Emphasis & advanced · CEFR C1 · Fluent

seem, tend to, appear in English

Softening a claim so it survives being wrong. Standard in reports, emails and anywhere you are describing something you have not measured.

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Try seem, tend to, appear

Open a visual, try a small challenge, make it yours.

Rebuild this lesson’s reference sentence. Other tasks can have other valid word orders.

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Your sentence goes here

See the reference sentence

The sales appear to be decreasing, possibly because of the new policy.

seem / appear / tend to + verb · be likely to + verb

Read the examples as text

The sales appear to be decreasing, possibly because of the new policy.
Without a hedge this states a cause you have not proved.

The shape

seem / appear / tend to + verb · be likely to + verb

Make a claim you can defend.

In Hindi

दावे को नरम करना ताकि ग़लत निकलने पर भी टिका रहे। रिपोर्ट और ईमेल में यही तरीक़ा है।

CoCap explains every structure in both languages, because a rule you understand in Hindi is a rule you can use in English.

The mistake to fix first

The sentence Indian-English speakers actually produce, and the reason it is wrong.

Commonly said	Correct English
The sales are decreasing because of the new policy.	The sales appear to be decreasing, possibly because of the new policy. Without a hedge this states a cause you have not proved.

Commonly said

Correct English

The sales are decreasing because of the new policy.

The sales appear to be decreasing, possibly because of the new policy.

Without a hedge this states a cause you have not proved.

Easy to confuse with

Close enough to be mixed up with this one. Knowing the difference is most of knowing either.

Questions people ask

How do I use seem, tend to, appear?: Softening a claim so it survives being wrong. Standard in reports, emails and anywhere you are describing something you have not measured. In practice: make a claim you can defend.
What is the pattern for seem, tend to, appear?: seem / appear / tend to + verb · be likely to + verb.
Which mistake should I avoid with seem, tend to, appear?: Saying “The sales are decreasing because of the new policy.” instead of “The sales appear to be decreasing, possibly because of the new policy.”. Without a hedge this states a cause you have not proved.

Where seem, tend to, appear fits

Where this structure sits in the ladder, and what surrounds it.

seem, tend to, appear is a CEFR C1 structure — the fluent band — and it belongs to emphasis & advanced. CoCap’s syllabus files every structure this way so you can learn in order instead of jumping between whatever a search happened to return.

Reading it is not the same as saying it.

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Commonly said	Correct English
The sales are decreasing because of the new policy.	The sales appear to be decreasing, possibly because of the new policy. Without a hedge this states a cause you have not proved.

Commonly said

Correct English

The sales are decreasing because of the new policy.

The sales appear to be decreasing, possibly because of the new policy.

Without a hedge this states a cause you have not proved.