Come ti sembra? Using the verb sembrare (to seem) to express opinions in Italian

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Come ti sembra? Using the verb sembrare (to seem) to express opinions

The verb sembrare (to seem) can be used to ask for or express an opinion.

–Come ti è sembrato il libro? –Mi è sembrato interessante.

–What did you think of the book?, literally, “How did the book seem to you?” –I found it interesting, literally, “It seemed interesting to me”.

To ask for an opinion about someone or something we use the following structure: come (how) + indirect pronoun Pronomi CI + lui/lei/loro (he/she/it/they) form of the verb sembrare + noun … +?

–Come vi è sembrata la fidanzata di Mario? –Secondo noi è simpatica.

–What did you think of Mario's girlfriend?, literally, “How did Mario's girlfriend seem to you?” –We think she's nice.

–Come ti sembrano le stanze? –Luminose e spaziose.

–What did you think of the rooms?, literally, “How did the rooms seem to you?” –Bright and spacious.

To express an opinion about someone or something we use the following structure:

  •  (noun) + indirect object pronoun Pronomi CI + lui/lei/loro (he/she/it/they) form of the verb sembrare (to seem) + adjective/adverb. We use the singular form of the verb to refer to a singular noun and a plural form to refer to a plural noun. The adjective and the adverb must also agree with the noun.

La fidanzata di Mario ci era sembrata molto simpatica.

Mario's girlfriend seemed very nice (to us).

Le stanze mi sembrano luminose.

The rooms look bright.

  • Indirect object pronoun Pronomi CI + lui/lei form of the verb sembrare (to seem) + che (that) + (noun) + verb in the subjunctive + adjective/adverb.

Ci era sembrato che la fidanzata di Mario fosse simpatica.

We thought Mario's girlfriend was nice, literally, “It seemed to us that Mario's girlfriend was nice”.

Mi sembra che le stanze siano luminose.

The rooms look bright, literally, “It seems to me that the rooms are bright”.

Note: 

  • we can use a + pronoun Pronomi preposizioni or proper noun in place of the indirect object pronoun for emphasis, usually at the start of the sentence.

A noi la la fidanzata di Mario era sembrata molto simpatica.

We thought Mario's girlfriend was very nice, literally, “To us, Mario's girlfriend seemed very nice”.

A Luisa sembra che le stanze siano luminose.

Luisa thought the rooms were bright, literally, "To Luisa it seems that the rooms are bright".

  • in many cases, the sembrare (to seem) + adjective/adverb structure is similar to the piacere (to like, literally, “to please”) + noun structure.

Mi piace la tua idea. Mi sembra una buona idea.

I like your idea. It sounds like a good idea, literally, “To me your idea is pleasing. To me it seems like a good idea”.

A noi piacciono quelle torte. A noi sembrano buone quelle torte.

We like those cakes. They look like good cakes, literally, “To us those cakes are pleasing. To us they seem like good cakes”.


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