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I am wondering why would someone say "I can't seem to" instead of simply saying "I can't". Is there any specific difference between the two? Is the former usage informal? Is it correct to say that the following two phrases are equivalent?

I can't seem to do something.
It seems that I can't do something.

Some sample sentences:

I can’t seem to subscribe to a Google Reader ‘starred items’ feed that I’ve created.
I can't seem to stop arguing with my partner.
I can't seem to make friends.
I can't seem to transfer my videos directly from one playlist to another.
Client: I can’t seem to find the search box, can you please make sure it’s working? Me: The search box is in the top left hand corner of every page. Client: Is that on your left or my left?

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4 Answers

up vote 22 down vote accepted

The use of seem to is usually a hedge, or a softener. The examples above are suggesting that the person feels they should be able to do something but cannot find the right way to do it successfully. The same person wouldn't say, "I can't seem to speak Korean" because they have no reasonable expectation that they should be able to speak Korean.

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up vote 13 down vote

"I can't seem to" expresses the idea of repeatedly trying without success. You don't want to flatly admit that you can't as long as you keep trying, but you're closer to failure so it seems you can't, while you still hope to succeed. It's often used as a commentary on ongoing attempts:

I just can't seem to get this jar open!

The expression is somewhat informal.

"It seems that I can't" expresses a bit more finality. It's as if you've seen all the attempts, and while you may succeed in some future attempt, you have say at this point that it's unlikely.

Why the two expressions have these slightly different meanings is something I can't seem to figure out.

Edit:

  • struck out comments on positive "seem to".
  • I realize I have defined "can't seem to" in terms of "seems you can't"! Oh well.
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Why did you strike the comments out? Are they wrong? Is there a positive version can seem to after all? – Armen Ծիրունյան Feb 3 '12 at 12:24
@ArmenTsirunyan: Yes, I realized that there is. It's often used when talking about faintly hearing/seeing or otherwise sensing something: "I can seem to hear a dog barking." I'm still thinking about this and how it differs from the negative version. – Paul Richter Feb 3 '12 at 12:33
@ArmenTsirunyan No, there is not. When using a positive version, Paul's dog barking example would be phrased as "I believe I hear a dog barking", which expresses doubt that you're hearing it correctly. – Izkata Feb 3 '12 at 18:56
@Iskata: No, I would not phrase it as "I believe I hear a dog barking.", I would phrase it as "I can seem to hear a dog barking." And so would all these people. – Paul Richter Feb 4 '12 at 1:19
1  
@Julia: I mostly agree, but a few of them are valid. For example, one hit is "I really love this song, but the only place I can seem to find it is Limewire"; there, the word "only" is what makes it possible. (In technical terms, "can seem to" is a negative polarity item: It doesn't necessarily require "not", but it does require some sort of negative-like sense.) – ruakh Feb 4 '12 at 3:12
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up vote 3 down vote

I’ve often wondered about this myself, Meysam. ‘To be unable to seem’ is a strange state to be in. Of course, what speakers who use this construction (and I am of their number) are saying is ‘It seems that I can’t . . .’ That’s what would be used in formal writing. For example, we’d expect an economist writing in a serious publication to say ‘It seems that the government is unable to control inflation.’ We wouldn’t expect ‘The government can’t seem to control inflation.’

So, yes, I think you’ve hit on the answer. ‘I can’t seem . . .’ is informal and, I suspect, widely used. How, when and why it came about would make an interesting little study for anyone with the time to pursue it.

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up vote 2 down vote

The "seem to" implies that you have made attempts but failed.

"Can't seem to X" also suggests that you would like to succeed at X.

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