The rule, as people use it

Both describe what you see. The word right after them decides which one you need.

"Look" takes an adjective. You look happy. The cake looks delicious. That jacket looks expensive. It tells you the feeling or quality you get from looking.

"Look like" takes a noun, a person, or a full sentence. You look like your dad. That cloud looks like a rabbit. It looks like the party started without us. It compares one thing to another, or it makes a guess from what you see.

So "She looks like tired" is wrong, because "tired" is an adjective, and "He looks a doctor" is wrong, because "a doctor" is a noun. Check the next word. Adjective: "look". Noun or sentence: "look like".

In questions, people often ask "What does he look like?" to mean "Describe his face and body." The answer uses both: "He's tall. He looks a bit like a movie star."

Examples

Tap a sentence to hear it. Say it after the voice.

Fill the gap

Type the missing words, then check. The full sentence plays when you get it.

  1. 1

    This bread (fresh).

  2. 2

    Your dog (a small bear).

  3. 3

    You (worried). Is everything OK?

  4. 4

    It (we're going to be late).

  5. 5

    Arjun (his grandfather) in this photo.

  6. 6

    The room (clean) now.

  7. 7

    She (a teacher), but she's a nurse.

  8. 8

    That (fun). Can I try?

Practice · 3 min

Find five photos on your phone. For each one, say two sentences out loud: one with "look" plus an adjective, one with "look like". Write the best two down.

  • In this photo, my friend looks ___ .
  • This place looks like ___ .
  • The food looks ___ .
  • The sky looks like ___ .
  • It looks like we were ___ .

Say it today

Use it once in a real conversation before tomorrow. Out loud counts, even to yourself.