The root3 x root3, root21 x root21 and 6 x 6 phases of Ag/Si(111) have been studied by angle-resolved photoemission and low-energy electron diffraction. The Ag/Si(111) root3 x root3 surface has an intrinsic semiconducting character with two fully occupied, dispersing surface state bands. We find that only one of the additional surface bands on the root21 x root21 surface is metallic in contrast to the two metallic bands discussed in the literature. On the 6 x 6 surface, the partially occupied surface band of the root21 x root21 surface seems to be absent, resulting in a gap of about 0.2 eV with respect to the Fermi-level. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.