How to use そうに?


From what I've learned, when you put そうだ/です before nouns, it becomes そうな, and
before verbs, it becomes そうに . However, I've come across a few sentences where
そうに is used before a noun instead of そうな .

An example of this I've found: 「田中さんは美味しそうにケーキを食べている」

「ケーキ」is a noun, isn't it? I'm very confused about this.




Yes, そうに modifies a verb and そうな modifies a noun. But the modified word does
not have to be directly next to the modifier. The modified word can come
several words later.

In your case, 美味しそうに modifies not ケーキ (noun) but the next _verb_ in the
sentence, 食べている. This sentence does _not_ directly say the cake looks
delicious. Although you cannot usually say "to eat deliciously" in English,
美味しそうに食べる is a valid expression in Japanese. It means the way one eats
something makes it look delicious.

