I saw this as a comment on this question, [Why does そう in 「美味しいそう」 not mean "seem" the way I think it should?](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/1994/why-does-%E3%81%9D%E3%81%86-in-)「美味しいそう」-not-mean-seem-the-way-i-think-it-should,

and would love to understand the differences.

I am sure I will mangle the translation, so forgive me.

> 
> 食べたそうだ Looks like he ate it. 
> 
> 
> 食べそうだ Looks like he will eat it.
> 
> 
> 静かだそうだ I heard that it's quiet.
> 
> 
> 静かそうだ Seems quiet.
> 
> 
> 

If anyone would be kind enough to explain the differences in meaning and usage, I would greatly appreciate it. I didn't learn how to embed the quoted question, so sorry again for that.