Parecer. How to use it.
Parecer is one of those verbs that doesn't just have one meaning.
The best known one is "to seem" or "to look", but it's not the only way to translate it!
Parecer + adjective
To seem or look, assuming and trying to guess about something or someone.
Ella parece un poco enfadada
- She looks/seems a bit angry
Esa ciudad parece muy ajetreada
- That city looks/seems very busy
Parecer + noun
Here we're using a comparison in order to describe something/someone.
Con esa ropa pareces un granjero
- With those clothes you look like a farmer
Manuel parece tonto a veces
- Manuel looks dumb sometimes
El hotel parece un paraíso
- The hotel looks like paradise
Parecer que
Still talking about assumptions or what it seems to be, when we add "que" after this verb we can introduce a sentence.
It'd be translated like "it seems that/ it looks like..."
Parece que va a ser buen día
- It seems that is going to be a good day / it looks like it's going to be a good day.
Parece que estás cansado
- I seems that you're tired / it looks like you're tired.
With a pronoun
We add an indirect object pronoun.
Those are the ones you use for "gustar" for example (me,te,le,nos,os,les).
In this case it means the same as well but it's specific on the person that has the opinion, so it'd be translated like this:
Ella me parece un poco enfadada
- She seems to me a bit angry
Nos pareces un poco inmaduro
- You seem to us a bit immature
¿Os parece que vamos a ganar?
- Does it seem to you guys that we're going to win?
Sé que te parezco una niña tonta
- I know it seems to you I'm a silly little girl
A mi madre tu peinado le parece muy moderno
- To my mom, your haircut seems to her very modern.
which we'd probably translate, less literally, as "My mom thinks your haircut is very modern"
REMEMBER: If you use an opinion verb with a pronoun like this (me gusta, os interesa, le parece...) when you mention the person, you need the preposition "a" before it.
That's why we say "a mi madre" at the beginning.
Parecer + infinitive
It's very similar to the previous one, it's just that the assumption is about an action.
It could mean the same, because it's "to be..."
Ella parece estar un poco enfadada
- she seems to be a bit angry
Esa ciudad parece ser muy ajetreada
- that city seems to be very busy
Or something more focused on an action
Ellos parecen trabajar mucho
- They seem to work a lot
El árbol parece crecer rápido
- The tree seems to grow fast
Parecerse a
Pronominal verb, so still using a pronoun, but it's a reflexive pronoun: me, te, SE, nos, os, SE (only those two, that used to be le/les change from the previous one).
It means to look or be like someone or something else, or to look or be alike:
Mi hermano se parece a mi padre
- My brother looks/is like my dad
Mi hermano y mi padre se parecen
- My brother and my dad look/are alike
Ese coche se parece al mío
- That car looks like mine
Me parezco mucho a mi amiga Rocío
- I look/are a lot like my friend Rocío
Al parecer
This phrase means "apparently" or we could translate it as "it seems ..."
Al parecer, no hay estudios sobre esto
- Apparently there are no studies about this/ it seems there are no studies about this.
Al parecer, Marta y Carlos no van a ir mañana
- Apparently Marta and Carlos are not going to go tomorrow / it seems Marta and Carlos are not going to go tomorrow.
Parece mentira
This expression would be translated as "it's hard to believe", or "it's unbelievable".
¡Parece mentira! ¡Tienes tantos zapatos!
- It's unbelievable! You have so many shoes!
When using before a sentence, it'd be "parece mentira que" + present subjunctive.
¡Parece mentira que lleves tantas maletas!
- It's hard to believe you bring so many suitcases!
Phew!! Finished!!
If you have a question, leave it below in the comments,
¡Hasta pronto! :)