Conjugation of semblar

Semblar means “to seem, appear, look” and, with an indirect-object experiencer, “to seem to someone” or conversationally “to think.” It is a completely regular -ar verb: semblo, semblava, vaig semblar, semblaré, sembli, semblat. What requires attention is who counts as its grammatical subject. In em sembla bé la proposta, the proposal is what seems good; em marks the person evaluating it.

That experiencer belongs to the same system explained under indirect-object pronouns, even though English normally translates the whole construction with a subject such as “I think.”

For resemblance, the broadly used general-standard construction is assemblar-se a: s'assembla al seu germà. Plain semblar instead presents an appearance or judgment: sembla cansat, em sembla impossible, sembla que plourà. Resemblance uses of (se) semblar a are historically native and survive regionally, so they should not be dismissed as mere copies of Spanish; this page uses assemblar-se a as its cross-regional teaching baseline.

Because semblar is an -ar verb, it never takes the incoative extension -eix-; sembleixo is not a form of this verb.

Nonfinite forms

The finite verb is far more frequent than the gerund, because semblar describes a state or an impression rather than a deliberate activity. Compound tenses use the invariable participle semblat: les explicacions m'han semblat clares. Any genuinely adjectival use of the participle can agree, but semblar is intransitive and does not form an ordinary passive; in a perfect tense, semblat never agrees with its subject.

Indicative: simple and periphrastic tenses

The periphrastic past is the neutral conversational completed past. The simple past is frequent in narrative prose (formal/literary) and remains part of speech in some Balearic and Valencian varieties (regional). Because most opinion constructions have a third-person subject, learners encounter sembla and semblen far more often than semblo or semblem; the rarer persons are nevertheless ordinary when the subject is a person whose appearance is being described.

Indicative: compound tenses

The synthetic past anterior is now chiefly (formal/literary). The complete periphrastic anterior is vaig haver semblat, vas haver semblat, va haver semblat, vam haver semblat, vau haver semblat, van haver semblat. Contexts needing these anterior forms are unusual because an impression seldom functions as the immediately completed event in a narrative.

Subjunctive: simple and compound forms

The periphrastic subjunctive past is vagi semblar, vagis semblar, vagi semblar, vàgim semblar, vàgiu semblar, vagin semblar; its anterior adds haver semblat. Central semblem and sembleu are identical in the present indicative and present subjunctive; the surrounding syntax identifies their mood. (Regional: Valencian) uses present subjunctive forms such as semble, sembles, semble... and an imperfect in -ara (semblara...) in the Valencian standard.

With an asserted opinion, em sembla que normally introduces the indicative: em sembla que tenen raó. Negation, doubt, or rejection commonly makes the subordinate proposition nonasserted and selects the subjunctive: no em sembla que tinguin raó. This is a meaning contrast, not a mechanical rule that every occurrence of semblar must govern one mood.

Imperative

These forms are morphologically regular but semantically restricted: one rarely orders someone to have an involuntary appearance. They occur when appearance is interpreted as controllable, often with a playful, theatrical, or critical tone: no semblis tan sorprès. A more direct command such as fes cara d'interès may sound more natural in many situations.

Three central constructions

Appearance: subject + semblar + predicate

An adjective or noun phrase describes how the subject appears: la porta sembla oberta; això sembla una broma. Predicate adjectives agree with that subject. The neuter weak pronoun ho can replace the predicate: És fàcil? Ho sembla. It does not change for gender or number.

Opinion: indirect experiencer + semblar

In em sembla bé el canvi, el canvi is the singular subject and em is an indirect object. A plural subject triggers semblen: em semblen bé els canvis. The full experiencer may be added for contrast or clarity—a la directora li sembla bé—but the clitic is normally retained. English word order tempts learners to say jo semblo, which instead means “I seem/look.”

A clause or infinitive as subject

Sembla que... presents an inference without naming an experiencer: sembla que arribarà tard. An infinitive is also possible when its understood subject is recoverable: sembla haver entès la pregunta “he/she seems to have understood the question.” This compact infinitive pattern is more frequent in careful prose (formal) than in spontaneous conversation, where sembla que ha entès... is often preferred.

Common Mistakes

Key Takeaways

The paradigm is regular, and its practical anchors are semblo, semblava, va semblar, semblarà, sembli, semblés, and semblat. Use a direct subject for what appears a certain way, an indirect clitic for the person holding an opinion, and ho to replace a predicate. The singular/plural contrast in em sembla / em semblen follows the thing evaluated. For the broad general standard, use assemblar-se a for resemblance while recognizing that (se) semblar a has genuine traditional regional use.