lijken + te + Infinitive
Appear to
The construction lijken te + infinitive is used when you want to say something 'seems' or 'appears' to be a certain way based on your own personal observation. It is a subjective way to hedge a statement.
How It Works
The verb lijken is a strong verb (leek, geleken) that functions as an evidential marker. In Dutch, there are three main verbs to express 'to seem' or 'to appear': lijken (subjective impression), schijnen (based on hearsay or appearance), and blijken (based on proven facts).
1. As a Copular Verb: Before learning the 'te' construction, note that lijken often functions as a linking verb followed directly by an adjective.
Example: Het lijkt moeilijk. (It seems difficult.)
2. Subjective Impression (te + infinitive): Use lijken te when you are forming a personal opinion or impression about an action or state. While often visual, it can be based on any subjective feeling.
Example: Het lijkt te werken. (It seems to work.)
3. Dropping 'te zijn': When lijken is used with an adjective or a participle, the words te zijn (to be) are often optional and frequently omitted in spoken Dutch.
Example: Hij lijkt (te zijn) verdwaald. (He seems [to be] lost.)
4. Perfect Infinitive: To describe a past action that you are observing the results of now, use te hebben or te zijn with a past participle.
Example: Zij lijkt te hebben gehuild. (She seems to have cried.)
5. Specifying the Observer: If you want to indicate who has the impression using object pronouns, Dutch speakers usually prefer a dat-clause over the 'te' construction.
Natural: Het lijkt me dat het werkt. (It seems to me that it works.)
Less natural: Het lijkt me te werken.
6. Word Order: In a main clause, lijken is the finite verb. The second verb appears at the very end of the sentence preceded by te.
Example: Hij lijkt de weg niet te weten. (He seems not to know the way.)
7. Lijken alsof: A common alternative to the 'te' construction is using alsof (as if). This requires subordinate clause word order.
Example: Het lijkt alsof het gaat regenen. (It seems as if it is going to rain.)
8. Tense and Natural Usage:
- Present: Ik lijk, jij lijkt, wij lijken
- Past: Ik leek, wij leken
- Note on the Perfect Tense: To talk about the past, Dutch speakers almost exclusively use the imperfectum (leek te werken). The perfect tense (heeft geleken) is extremely rare in this construction.
9. Lijken vs. Lijken op: Do not confuse this with lijken op, which means 'to resemble' (e.g., Je lijkt op je moeder).
Examples (5)
- Het lijkt vandaag te gaan regenen.
It appears to be going to rain today.
Word by Word: It seems today to go rain.
The speaker forms a personal impression based on evidence that rain is coming.
- Zij leken ons niet te horen.
They seemed not to hear us.
Word by Word: They seemed us not to hear.
This uses the past tense 'leken' to describe a subjective observation made in the past.
- De nieuwe strategie lijkt goed te werken.
The new strategy appears to work well.
Word by Word: The new strategy seems well to work.
A common way to express a provisional assessment of a situation.
- Je lijkt je vandaag beter te voelen.
You seem to feel better today.
Word by Word: You seem yourself today better to feel.
This combines 'lijken te' with a reflexive verb (zich voelen).
- Hij lijkt zijn sleutels te zijn vergeten.
He seems to have forgotten his keys.
Word by Word: He seems his keys to be forgotten.
This uses a perfect infinitive (te zijn + participle) to express a past action observed in the present.
Common Mistakes
Adding 'om' before 'te'.
Het lijkt om te werken.Het lijkt te werken.Unlike many other 'te' constructions, 'lijken' is a fixed verb that never takes 'om'. Adding it is a common error for learners.
Confusing 'lijken te' with 'lijken op'.
Hij lijkt op te slapen.Hij lijkt te slapen.The verb 'lijken op' means 'to resemble' (someone or something). When you want to say someone 'appears to' be doing something, use 'lijken te' without the preposition 'op'.
Translating 'It seems that' as 'Het lijkt dat'.
Different MeaningHet lijkt dat hij ziek is.Het lijkt erop dat hij ziek is.The standard way to say 'It seems that' is 'Het lijkt erop dat' (also 'Het lijkt alsof'). 'Het lijkt dat' is possible (Taaladvies.net) but much less usual. Without the 'te + infinitive' pattern, use 'erop' before 'dat' to link the verb to the subclause. See erop dat for more details.
How It Connects
Learn This First
To use 'lijken te' (to appear to), you first need to understand the basic 'te + infinitive' structure. You also need to be able to conjugate 'lijken' as a regular verb in the present tense and understand how verb clusters are ordered in Dutch sentences.
Related Patterns
- schijnen + te + InfinitiveSeem to
'Schijnen te' is the hearsay equivalent; it means something seems to be true because you heard it from others, rather than seeing it yourself.
Level 4 - blijken + te + InfinitiveTurn Out to
'Blijken te' is used when something is proven or turns out to be true after investigation, whereas 'lijken' is just a provisional impression.
Level 4 - hebben + Past ParticiplePerfect Tense with Hebben
'Lijken' always uses 'hebben' in the perfect tense, which is important for forming past observations.
Level 2 - Multiple Verbs at End
Understanding how verbs group at the end of a sentence is crucial for using 'lijken te' correctly in complex sentences.
Level 3
Words in This Pattern
Practice lijken + te + Infinitive in Bubblegum
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