"Who does he look like?"
Translation:Vem ser han ut som?
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Vem ser han ut som? - Who does he look like? (Whom see he at like?)
Just putting this in my comments so that I can find it later in my profile to remember this construction. Hoping that Duolingo will have a way for users to star or save items for review. :)
Indeed, the question sentence should be "Whom does he look like", not "Who…".
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The question is whether it implies the Dative in the English language. In German it does, of course, but this does not mean that it's the very same in English. A problem when you do not have a detailed grammatical system that allows the obfuscate distinguishing between cases, as it used to be the case in OE.
Plus if we're going to be pedantic about that, it should really be "Like whom does he look?" :)
i really don't get this sentence, i can't know how to construct it with the translations offered for each word :/
se ut som = look like
It's a fixed expression, but if you look at it word by word you'll be confused:
se = see
ut = out
som = like
Here's an easier translation if the one offered by Duo is confusing: Vem är han lik? Conveys the meaning across doesn't it? Kindly tell me if thid is wrong, or whether I can use it during daily usage.
It's an accepted translation and you can definitely use it in both speech and writing. The one above is a closer translation though. Vem är han lik? actually means Who(m) does he resemble? – there's a small difference in meaning between look like and resemble.
I'm not sure that there is any difference in English meaning between 'look like' and 'resemble'. What is the difference in meaning in Swedish? Is it a matter of degree, i.e. 'resemble' is less strong?
'Look like' only describes what someone, well, looks like, but resemble can also be about their personality and their habits/what they do. I think that's the difference, at least
I am confused by the construction of this sentence. What happens when I remove last two words (Vem ser han) ?
Vem ser han [ut som]? = Whom does he see (look) like?
That's how I'll remember it
Vem ser ut som han? means 'Who looks like him?' so that changes the meaning drastically. Han ser ut som vem? is the kind of question created by word order that you can do in English too, it would be 'He looks like who?' in English. I guess you could also say Som vem ser han ut? 'Like who does he look?' but it sounds a bit strained to me.
'Vem ser ut han som?' would be just wrong. Verbs and their particles part pretty easily in Swedish, so that other important parts of the sentence very often go between them.
Arnauti, why theses verbs made of two words like ser ut and tycker om accept a word between them ? I dont understant, when therei s a word between them, and makkes the sentence confused :/
I am not Arnauti :), but I have some hints.
If the verb comes before the subject, then the subject splits the verb and the particle:
Tycker du om honom? (question)
Naturligtvis tycker jag om honom. (v2-rule)
If there is an adverbial after the verb, then it splits the verb and the particle:
Jag tycker inte om honom. (inte)
Du tycker kanske om mig. (kanske).
If the verb comes before the subject and you have an adverbial inside the sentence, then both the subject and the adverbial are placed between the verb and the particle:
Tycker du kanske om honom? (question + kanske)
Naturligtvis tycker jag inte om honom. (V2-rule + inte).
Thank you so much. ❤ I have been looking for an explanation like this for two years.
Also, what about "Ut som vem ser han?" or "Som vem ser han ut?" Are these proper?
The latter works, the former is funny but incorrect :)! The particle (here "ut") can never be placed before the verb.
I wrote, "Vem likar han?" The response was that I had a "typo", and then gave the above as the correct translation. I was given credit, though. Am I correct, or am I wrong?
liknar is correct, yes, so the system is right. It just shows you the default translation no matter what you get wrong.
Still waiting for someone to explain this construction. Yes "ser ut som" is a compounded verb but why is han in the middle of it instead of at the end? And no, "just because" is not an actual response.
As you know, the verb normally comes second: han ser ut som. And for questions, you move the verb to first position instead.
But with phrasal verbs, you only move the first word of the phrasal verb - i.e. the word that's actually a verb in its own right.
So if you have han ser ut som, you move the first word ser of the phrasal verb ser ut som in front, and end up with ser han ut som.
That's "like" as in the opposite of "dislike", not as in being similar.
I tried unsuccessfully "Vem verkar han som?" I accept it's probably wrong, but why? Is there a nuance between "se ut" and "verka"?
se ut som is to look like, and verka is to appear. We also don't use verka with som except in the "it seems like" construction.
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Isn't "lik som" also "looks like"? I am so confused by all this. It feels like every time I figure out a rule there is a rule just to contradict it.
