did not seem vs seems not to

Both "did not seem" and "seems not to" are correct constructions, but they are used in different contexts. "Did not seem" is used to talk about the past, while "seems not to" is used to talk about the present or future.

Last updated: March 06, 2024 • 2529 views

did not seem

This phrase is correct and commonly used to talk about the past.

Use "did not seem" when referring to something that was not apparent or evident in the past.

Examples:

He did not seem interested in the movie last night.
She did not seem to notice the changes in the room.

Alternatives:

did not appear
did not look like
did not come across as
did not give the impression of
did not strike me as

seems not to

This phrase is correct and commonly used to talk about the present or future.

Use "seems not to" when referring to something that does not appear to be the case in the present or future.

Examples:

She seems not to understand the instructions.
It seems not to be working properly.

Show examples from the web [+]

May 3, 2014 ... He seems not to want to help us. and. He seems want to help us. Is it correct if I use "seem" in a negative sentence?
Hello everybody, I have a doubt.... which sentence is correct? he seems to not be aware of dangers he seems not to be aware of dangers he ...
"seem not to" and "it doesn't seem that" Which of the following sentences is grammatically correct? He doesn't seem to love her. He seems not to love her.
Statistics from vehicle manufacturers indicate that there are more more blue cars than red being driven on our roads. However, it seems not to ...
Dec 27, 2021 ... i18next::pluralResolver: Your environment seems not to be Intl API compatible, use an Intl.PluralRules polyfill. Will fallback to the ...
Nov 29, 2021 ... Covid trauma seems not to have shaken American Christians' faith. Image without a caption. By Michael Gerson. Columnist.

Alternatives:

does not seem to
appears not to
is not appearing to
is not looking like
is not giving the impression of

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did not seem vs seems not to

did not seem

seems not to

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