Guessing: -(으)ㄹ 것 같다

-(으)ㄹ 것 같다 (usually 것 같아요) turns a statement into a guess: 'I think…', 'it seems…'. The modifier before 것 shows the time of what you are guessing about:

• -(으)ㄹ: a prediction or something you have not checked – 비가 올 것 같아요, 내일 추울 것 같아요
• -는: something happening now (verbs, and 있다/없다) – 공사를 하는 것 같아요, 맛있는 것 같아요
• -(으)ㄴ after a verb: something that already happened – 집에 간 것 같아요
• -(으)ㄴ after an adjective or 이다: a judgement about now – 좀 작은 것 같아요, 학생인 것 같아요

Choose -(으)ㄹ when you are predicting, and -는 / -(으)ㄴ when you judge from what you see or hear. Koreans use this pattern constantly to sound polite and less direct.