LIKE LOOKS LIKE LIKE TOAll Explained Learn English Grammar
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Hi, everybody. My name is Alisha.
Today, I’m going to talk about the difference between “like,” “looks like” and “like to” with questions.
These are some questions that often cause
some confusion in terms of the meaning of
the question and how to answer these questions.
Let’s take a look at a few examples of how
these questions are used, and then, I’ll talk
about a few ways that you can answer these
questions as well.
Okay.
Let’s start with the first question I want
to talk about.
The first question uses the verb, “like.”
So, for example, “What is he or she like?”
or “What is it like?”
So, this is a question that we use to ask
about personalities and characteristics.
So, “What’s he like?”
“What’s she like?”
“What is it like?”
This is a question about the features.
So, when we answer this question, we’ll give
some information about a person’s character
or maybe the functions of a product, for example.
So, “What’s it like?” or “What is he
or she like?”
This is a question about personality or features
or characteristics of something.
So, let’s take a look at a few examples of
how we could answer this question.
For example, if the question is, “What’s
he like?”
We could say, “He’s…”
He is.
“He’s really funny and friendly.”
This is a is a statement about his personality.
“He’s funny and friendly,” here, his personality.
If the question is, “What’s she like?”
however, we can say, “She’s hardworking
but a little disorganized,” for example.
So, again, a personality question gets a personality-related
answer.
Finally, then, if the question is, “What’s
it like?” where “it” can be replaced
with a different noun. in this case, a class
in my answer.
“What’s the class like?” or “What’s
it like?”
I can say something like, “The class is
fun and challenging.”
So, these are, of course, because the noun
the subject here is class, not a person, I’ve
used words that describe a class.
So, these are the sort of the features or
the characteristics of the class, my opinion
of the class.
So, if you hear the question, “What’s…”
This “what’s,” remember, is “what is.”
“What is he or she or it like?” or “What
are they like?
“What are you like?” for example.
You should use some word to describe personality
or the features of that noun or noun phrase
in your answer.
In this case, I’ve used the present tense
in each example sentence like, “he is,”
“she is,” “the class is.”
Of course, you can use past tense.
So, for example, if someone passes away in
your family, you might get a question like,
“What was your grandfather like?” or “What
was your grandmother like?”
You can use the past tense, in that case.
“She was really funny,” or “He was really
energetic,” for example.
So, you can use past tense, you can use present
tense as well to talk about personalities
now and in the future, maybe, like, “He’s
going to be a great kid when he grows up,”
for babies, for example.
So, past tense, present tense, future tense,
you can use these to talk about people’s personalities
and the features of things.
Okay.
Let’s go to the second question for today.
The second question is, “What does he, she
or it look like?”
This is my base example sentence.
“What does he, she or it look like?”
Here, the key phrase is “look like,” “What
does he look like?”
“What does she look like?”
So, “look” gives a big hint here.
This is a question about appearance, a question
about appearance, so the physical appearance
of something.
“What does he look like?”
“What does she look like?”
So, when you answer this question, you should
use words that describe someone’s appearance,
not their personality but the appearance,
visually.
So, for example, if my question is “What
does he look like?”
I could say, “he’s,” remember, “he is”
and adjectives tall and skinny.
So, these are appearance-related adjectives.
“He is tall and skinny.”
If my question is “What does she look like?”
I could say, “She has brown hair and green
eyes,” for example.
Here, I’m talking about some physical quality
but I’m using noun phrases to describe her
physical qualities.
So, in that case, I need to use “have”
or “has,” in this case.
“She has some physical quality,” as a
noun phrase.
So, here, I’m using noun phrases, “brown
hair” and “green eyes.”
So, in that case, instead of “is,” I should
use “has.”
“She has brown hair,” “She has green
eyes.”
If you want to talk about glasses, “She
wears glasses,” for example, or “She uses
contacts,” for example.
So, please consider the verb that you use
in this case when you’re talking about appearance.
Okay, one more.
“What does it look like?”
This is a useful phrase if you have lost something
or your friend has lost something and you’re
searching for that item but you don’t know
what its appearance is like, you don’t know
what to look for.
You can say, “What does it look like?”
“You can use an expression like this if
you lose your wallet, for example.
So, “What does it look like?”
“What does your wallet look like?”
The response could be something like, “My
wallet is black leather and has my initials
on it.”
Okay, here I’ve used initials.
So, initials mean the first letter of your
first name and your last name.
So, if your name is John Smith, it would be
JS, your initials.
So, here, I’ve used, “My wallet is black
leather,” so here, it’s black.
We can use this black leather here following
the verb, “is,” plus “has my initials
on it.”
“It has” some characteristic.
It has something attached to it, it has something
on it.
So, “It has my initials on it,” So, this
is a way to describe an object.
“My wallet is black leather and has my initials
on it.”
Of course, here you could say, “My wallet
is made of black leather,” if you want to.
“My wallet is made of black leather,”
or “My wallet is black leather,” you can
say that as well.
But, a couple points, just a couple examples
about ways you can describe objects but this
is always an appearance point.
One huge issue that some students run into
with this expression is the use of “looks
like.”
So, here, “What does he look like?”
“What does she look like?”
They think they have to use “look like”
in the answer.
But, this is not necessarily correct.
When you use “he,” “she,” or “it
looks like” in your answer, it means he
she or it resembles something else.
So, resembles means to have a similar appearance
as or to have the same appearance as something
else.
So, if I ask the question, “What does she
look like?”
And, the response is, “She looks like a
mouse,” it means physically, her appearance
is very similar to a mouse.
So, some students will say—like, if I ask
the question, “What does he look like?”
They will say, “He looks like tall.”
But that’s not correct.
You can’t say, “He looks tall,” either
because we can clearly see a person’s height.
So, don’t use “looks like” in your response
to this question unless you want to describe
a resemblance.
You want to explain that one object or one
person looks similar to something else.
In that case using “looks like” is fine.
In other cases, like using these simple adjectives
or these noun phrases to describe appearance,
don’t use looks like in your answer.
So, please keep that point in mind.
Okay, let’s go to point three for today.
Question 3 uses “like to.”
As in the question, “What does he or she
like to do?”
This is a question about hobbies.
Of course, we can change it to “What do
you like to do?”
“What do they like to do?” as well.
But, this is a question about hobbies.
So, one point for listening here.
“What does he like?”
What does she like?” and “What is he like?”
“What is she like?”
Here, we have “is.”
“Is” our verb.
Or, “What are you like?”
“What are they like?” here.
Over here, the verb is “do.”
So, please listen carefully “what’s” and
“what do.”
These are two very, very different sentences
with very different meanings.
This question is a question about hobbies,
“What does he like to do?”
“What does she like to do?”
“What do you like to do?”
These are all hobby questions.
So, for example, we can use, “I like listening
to music,” as a response or “They like
to go hiking,” for example.
Or, “She likes taking photos,” “He likes
to build furniture.”
A couple points here.
You’ll notice I’ve used “listening” and
“to something” here.
We can use both the gerund and the infinitive
form of the verb.
A gerund is that “ing” form and the infinitive
is the “to” plus verb form.
We can use both in our answers.
“She likes taking photos,” could be, “She
likes to take photos.”
Both are fine here.
Also, one point to be careful of, when you’re
using a “she” or “he” sentence, don’t
forget that little “S” sound.
“She likes taking photos,” or “He likes
to build furniture,” for example.
So, please, don’t forget this small “S”
sound.
Okay.
So, those are three questions that sound very,
very similar but have different meanings and
different responses.
So, please try to remember this the next time
someone asks you one of these questions.
So, “What’s he or she like?” is a personality
or a feature-related question.
Second, “What does he or she or it look
like?” is an appearance-related question.
And, finally, “What does he or she like
to do?” is a hobby-related question.
So, let’s think about these and try to make
accurate responses, correct responses here.
If you have any questions, of course, or if
you want to try to make a sentence, please
feel free to do so in the comments section
below this video.
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