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What is the difference between these two sentences?

  1. She appears to be stupid.
  2. She appears stupid.
Heartspring
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user62931
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    There is no difference. This is an example of the syntactic rule called to be-Deletion. It deletes the infinitive of the auxiliary be when it's part of a subjectless complement clause for a number of verbs. Appear is one. – John Lawler Mar 10 '14 at 02:26
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    Appear in this sense is followed by the infinitive of a verb however when the infinitive is "to be" it can be dropped, particularly in speech. When writing I'd keep the "to be". –  Mar 10 '14 at 02:26
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    BTW, this has nothing to do with "the meaning of to be". To be has no meaning, since it's just part of the machinery of grammar. – John Lawler Mar 10 '14 at 02:27
  • Here is a thread mentioning the different usages of 'be'. I'd agree that the auxiliary and copular usages are purely functional, but the existential usage ("I think, therefore I am") is not semantically bleached. Though the meaning may well be confined largely within the realm of psychology. – Edwin Ashworth Mar 10 '14 at 06:04
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    Although they might mean the same thing, I see a potential distinction in the two. The first would appear to be a judgement or opinion of her based on appearance, while the second one can merely mean that she appears stupid, without actually judging or thinking she is. In other words the first one seems to say "I suspect she's stupid based on what I've seen" and the second one means "She comes off as being stupid (but I don't know if she is or isn't)." The first one seems to have a stronger implication in actually believing she is stupid. – Zebrafish Oct 21 '18 at 06:39
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    I think this is just paraphrasing what @Zebrafish says. 'She appears to be stupid' = 'It would seem that she is a stupid person' period. But 'She appears stupid' may just be a deleted form of this, or mean She comes over as being stupid. eg She's one of the brightest politicians I've ever met, but when she's on 'Stay Dancing', she appears stupid. – Edwin Ashworth Apr 30 '20 at 15:14
  • Ah, that is the question! – Hot Licks Apr 30 '20 at 18:17
  • The difference mentioned by Zebrafish and by @EdwinAshworth is also mentioned in this answer to a question about two sentences with essentially the same difference as the two sentences here (viz deletion of "to be" with a semantically similar main verb). – Rosie F Apr 20 '23 at 16:30

2 Answers2

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John Lawler writes:

There is no difference [in meaning]. This is an example of the syntactic rule called to be-Deletion. It deletes the [to-]infinitive of the auxiliary be when it's part of a subjectless complement clause for a number of verbs. Appear is one.

[See the last part of my answer at] 'I believe it's valid' vs 'I believe it valid'.

Edwin Ashworth
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"appears stupid": expresses the fact sth looks stupid at the time when "appears stupid" is written, read or said

"appears to be stupid": expresses the fact sth looks stupid independently of the time when "appears to be stupid" is written, read or said

LPH
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  • This is a legitimate point. "She appears X" can reference something about the manner of her arrival ("She appears second", "she appears late"), while "she appears to be X" more unambiguously relates to a quality she appears to possess. – Stuart F Apr 20 '23 at 12:32