1. Why is the Tom taller than Sam?
(Can we use 'the' before 'Tom' as in the example sentence?)
2. You feel like a magician.
3. You look like a fool.
4. That sounds like a great idea.
5. The melon smells like a bad fish.
6. The meal tastes like rice soup.
(Are the sentences all correct from #2 and #6?)
no, I don't think so because the sentence doesn't sound good with it. You can just leave "the" out and the sentence will sound fine.
I agree with Kim on 1.
2 is not correct, since you really don't know how the other person feels or what feelings are connected to being a magician.
Although 3 is grammatically correct, it is not good to give an evaluative statement without indicating what leads to this conclusion. If the person does not want to "look like a fool," what can that person do differently? It is much better to describe undesirable behavior than to label people. Then there is a greater chance of getting the behavior to change. For example, "Putting lipstick beyond the boundaries of your real lips looks foolish." Here you are describing the behavior and labeling the behavior as foolish rather than the person. This is why I like 4 more than 3.
See http://www.members.cox.net/dagershaw/lol/LookingGlass.html
I hope this will help you learn more than just grammar. Thanks for asking.
1. The sentence "Why is the Tom taller than Sam?" is grammatically incorrect. Instead, it should be "Why is Tom taller than Sam?" Without the article "the," the sentence is correct.
2. The sentence "You feel like a magician" is grammatically correct. It is conveying the idea that the person being addressed possesses some qualities or characteristics similar to those of a magician.
3. The sentence "You look like a fool" is grammatically correct. It suggests that the person being addressed appears to have behaviors or actions that are foolish or silly.
4. The sentence "That sounds like a great idea" is grammatically correct. It indicates that the idea being discussed appears to be excellent or very promising.
5. The sentence "The melon smells like a bad fish" is grammatically correct. It compares the scent of the melon to the unpleasant odor of a bad fish.
6. The sentence "The meal tastes like rice soup" is grammatically correct. It suggests that the taste of the meal is similar to that of rice soup.