It doesn't seem to be working?
It doesn't seem to work?
I don't know which of these sentences is right—or if they are both correct, what the difference is between them. Can someone explain?
Learn English – Difference between ‘seem to be working’ and ‘seem to work’
word-usage
Best Answer
There is a potential aspectual difference, as Flater suggests in their answer; but in my view this difference is so slight that speakers are unlikely to make it.
I think the difference is a social one, to do with politeness. Both sentences already have the buffer word seem, making them less categorical than It doesn't work. Be working is another buffer ("I'm not saying, heaven forbid, that it never works, just that it is not working at the moment") to make the statement even less categorical, and so more polite.