appear shy vs appear to be shy

Both 'appear shy' and 'appear to be shy' are correct, but they are used in slightly different contexts. 'Appear shy' is more concise and direct, suitable for informal or creative writing. On the other hand, 'appear to be shy' is more formal and precise, often used in academic or professional settings.

Last updated: March 15, 2024

appear shy

This phrase is correct and commonly used in informal or creative writing.

This phrase is used to describe someone's outward behavior or demeanor without explicitly stating that they are shy. It is concise and direct.

Examples:

She appears shy in social situations.
He always appears shy around new people.

Alternatives:

seem shy
look shy
come across as shy
give the impression of being shy
have a shy demeanor

appear to be shy

This phrase is correct and often used in formal or academic contexts to provide a more detailed description.

This phrase is used when a more precise description is needed, explicitly stating that the person seems shy. It is suitable for formal or academic writing.

Examples:

She appears to be shy, but she's actually quite outgoing.
He appears to be shy when you first meet him.

Alternatives:

seem to be shy
look to be shy
come across as being shy
give the impression of being shy
have the appearance of being shy

What Our Customers Are Saying

Our customers love us! We have an average rating of 4.79 stars based on 283,125 votes.
Also check out our 2,100+ reviews on TrustPilot (4.9).

"Thank you!"
Sachi Nakama July 2024
"I have literally been through chat, PI, claude, bard and bing and I got conflicting answers! Thank you! Human intelligence reigns!"
Retha July 2024
"Faster than AI"
CYNTHIA December 2023
"This was very helpful and I personally think this site is the best."
Kaden October 2023
"It was extremely thorough and very helpful!"
imperialelisa October 2023
"7 years without any disappointment. Always 100% satisfied. You guys are the best in the world at what you do. Thank you so much :)"
Zubair Alam October 2023
"In a world of text messages and online communication, this is great to have as a live tool. Thank you."
Selena October 2023
"Without textranch I would be stuck!"
宏祐 October 2023
"Accuracy and fast response. Personal comments from editor. Thank you."
Clh September 2023
"I wasn't aware of this service, it's fascinating and more reliable than standard IA tools available on the internet"
Arturo September 2023
"The fact that you can get reliable fast feedback on your texts."
Vinicius Antonio August 2023
"you guys are better than grammarly i'm being honest here"
ordinary July 2023
"OMG! This is really good than any other text correction tools I've used so far. Highly recommend this."
Vehan July 2023
"Very fast and accurate. thank you."
mojtaba July 2023
"I love this app because it's help to writing skills all of students ♥️"
Tarisini July 2023
"This was exactly the mistake I was looking for, the wording dind´t sound right at first. Better than grammarly!"
Ente July 2023
"The immediate help that I received was reassuring and very satisfactory. Thanks."
priiiyanshuu July 2023
"this helps A LOT for my studies."
kathnunez02 June 2023
"Woow!! I would never have expected such precision! Thank you soooo much!!"
Berta June 2023
"Real Time Editor and not AI. Many Thanks."
Priya June 2023
"The very first thing excites me about Textranch is how much your editors care."
sepideh June 2023
"The fact that texts are checked by human editors rather than by AI, etc. I appreciate this!"
Анна June 2023
"Feel welcome, immediate response, high quality feedback"
martin.roy June 2023
"This is the best app that I have ever seen"
Burulai May 2023

appear shy vs appear to be shy

appear shy

appear to be shy

Related Comparisons

What Our Customers Are Saying