Verbs of impression (se ut, låta, verka)

"Se ut" (To look)

When stepping into a new environment, you will often want to describe how things look. The Swedish verb for "to look" or "to appear" is se ut.

Notice that this is a two-part verb. When describing an impression in a standard sentence, the adjective phrase goes between ser and ut.

The new surroundings look very unfamiliar.
Den nya omgivningen ser väldigt främmande ut.

Feeling, Seeming, and Sounding

For other sensory impressions, Swedish verbs work much like their English equivalents. You simply follow kännas (to feel), verka (to seem), and låta (to sound) with an adjective.

The atmosphere feels quite unfamiliar here.
Stämningen känns ganska främmande här.
The surroundings seem familiar, but I do not know why.
Omgivningen verkar bekant, men jag vet inte varför.
The new instrument sounds fantastic today.
Det nya instrumentet låter fantastiskt idag.

Adjectives Ending in -ande

Adjectives ending in -ande, such as lovande (promising), are invariable. Their form never changes, regardless of the noun they describe.

The project looks very promising.
Projektet ser mycket lovande ut.
Your idea sounds promising, because it does not seem complicated.
Din idé låter lovande, eftersom den inte verkar komplicerad.

Adjective Agreement

For most other adjectives, you must ensure they agree with the subject. If the subject is an ett word, the predicative adjective takes a -t at the end.

Notice the difference between en restaurang (which takes the base form lyxig) and ett hotell (which takes the ett-form lyxigt).

The new restaurant seems luxurious.
Den nya restaurangen verkar lyxig.
This hotel doesn't look luxurious.
Det här hotellet ser inte lyxigt ut.

This agreement rule applies universally, whether you are observing a place, a situation, or a person's mood.

You look tense, but she seems relaxed.
Du ser spänd ut, men hon verkar avslappnad.