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look good の文法() You Look Happy: Adjectives After Verbs

Adjectives & Adverbs

You look happy.(うれしそうだね)——look のろはでなくです。look・sound・smell・taste・feel は「」をするで、be 。「=」のしない一角です。

You look happy — after look comes an adjective, not an adverb. Look, sound, smell, taste, and feel describe the subject's state; they're cousins of be. This is the corner of English where "adverbs modify verbs" stops applying.

be たち

The Cousins of Be

The soup is good.(スープはおいしい)の is を taste にえると The soup tastes good.(がいい)。 good はそのままります。taste は「わうという」ではなく「がどうであるか」というしをしているだけだからです。この()には look・sound・smell・feel・seem・become・stay などがいて、ろにるのはではなく(become a teacher のようなのことも)です。

Swap the is of The soup is good for taste and you get The soup tastes good; the adjective stays put. Taste here isn't an action of tasting; it's a bridge to the soup's state. This family of linking verbs — look, sound, smell, feel, seem, become, stay — takes adjectives (or nouns: become a teacher) after it, never adverbs.

五感+ The five senses, plus state verbs

You look tired. Are you okay?

れてるみたいだね。?

= look + Appearance as state — look + adjective.

That sounds great!

それはいいね!

へのしのも、この文法でできている。 The classic reply — built on exactly this grammar.

Something smells delicious.

なんかいいにおいがする。

におい・手触りも Smell, taste, and touch all use the same frame.

look + ()

がどうえるか。be の How the subject appears — be's cousin.

She looked calm before the speech.

スピーチのいてえた。

look + ()

る」というするなら Modifying the act of looking — a different pattern.

She looked carefully at the map.

た。

よくある Common Mistake

You look happily today!

今日はうれしそうだね!(のつもりで)

You look happy today!

今日はうれしそうだね!

には」という学校を look にてはめたです。ここの look は「あなたのがどうえるか」のしで、しているのはでなく。だから。「be にえてるか」でテストするとです(You are happy ○)。

This is the schoolroom formula — "verbs take adverbs" — misfiring on look. Here look bridges to your state; what's being described is you, not an action. Hence the adjective. Reliable test: swap in be. You are happy works, so happy it is.

  • That sounds good. いいね。 への。sound +そのもの。 The standard yes to a plan — sound + adjective in action.
  • It tastes like ... 〜みたいながする わりに like +しする The same bridge, carrying like + noun instead of an adjective.
  • feel free to ... なく〜してください じて」=まり "Feel yourself free" — permission as a set phrase.
  • seem okay そう seem もえめなてに。 Seem is in the linking family too — for hedged readings.

まとめ Summary

  • look・sound・smell・taste・feel のろは After look, sound, smell, taste, feel: adjectives.
  • これらは be の(し)。 They're cousins of be — bridges to the subject's state.
  • テスト: be にえてれば Test: if be works in its place, use the adjective.
  • る」のるときだけ look + Only the act of looking takes look + adverb.

: 2026-07-23 Last checked: 2026-07-23