The penguins look as if they ____ wearing tuxedos. |
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Votes: 339
Comments: 6
Added: January 2006
| ireland13 - 6th March 2006 16:20 |
| its 'are' because its in present tense, otherwise 'look' would be 'looked' |
| lllkemble - 23rd March 2006 15:26 |
| Most people chose "are"? The penguins are NOT wearing tuxedos. What is the 'as if" for? |
| WI - 18th April 2006 09:05 |
| It's not a conditional |
| Martin - 8th August 2007 14:17 |
| I agree that this is not conditional or subjunctive. Otherwise, it would be were. |
| David - 18th February 2008 06:49 |
| They really can look that way, so it's not a statement contrary to reality. Use "are" , not "were" in this sentence. They are not wearing tuxedos, but they appear to be - really. |
| Carly - 9th November 2009 23:36 |
| Actually, this is a case of the use of the present tense replacing the use of the subjunctive in English. We rarely use the subjunctive now, which explains why it sounds so "off" to our ears. However, according to traditional grammar, I believe that "were" would be the correct choice. Just because this may be the case, it doesn't mean that now "are" is not a good alternative. It is in fact what most of us would actually say. |
