"To seem" is a verb, and is just like using "appears". It is not bad at all to use "seem" in that context! Here are some examples of how to use it: "She seems nice". (like "She appears to be nice") "This seems like a bad idea". (like "This appears to be a bad idea") "It seems really bad to me" (like "It appears to be really bad to me") "to be" is used in "She seems to be good at her job" because the verb "to seem" is already conjugated before hand. This is a key feature in English verbs. Let me show you: "Do you want to fight?" Here, the verb "to want" is conjuration into the present tense by removing the stem "to". The following verb, "to fight" is therefore not conjugated. "She is to good to be here". The verb first "to be" is conjugated as "is" before the second "to be". In you second sentence, "He seems nice", "to be" is not used because "to seem" can be used in informal speech as "to seem to be". Here is some more examples: "She just seems like a bad person" "They seem to like sports" "You seem to enjoy movies" I hope this answered your question! If not, send me a message! If you have Skype, I could much explain much easier! 幸運であれ友よ!

1.seem+ to infinitive..to be good at something is an expression. 2.seem nice. This structure.. seem is as linking verb= seem +adjective.