As if...

[TheNewOne]

Is it possible to use any Present Tense after as if? As far as I know it's not correct.
What form of the verb "to be" should be used after I, she, he, it? Are both were and was correct?

 

[Richard1]

Hi,

I'm not sure what you mean by after 'as if'. If you're just asking about the present tense of the verb to be then it's,
I am
You are
He, She, It is
We are
You are
They are

If you're asking about the past tense since you mention were and was then

I was
You were
He, She, It was
We were
You were
They were

Rgds

 

[TheNewOne]

Thanks for answering but this is not I meant ;-)
Here are some examples from my grammar book:
She loves her as if she were her own daughter.
He speaks as if he knew the subject very well.
You answer as if you did not know this rule.
So I want to know if it's possible to say "She loves her as if she is her own daughter."

 

[Richard1]

Hi,

This is a conditional. Clearly from the words the object 'she' is not the subject's daughter, and hence it's not natural to use the word 'is'. 'Were' is correct.

Regards

 

[TheParser]

Thanks for answering but this is not I meant ;-)
Here are some examples from my grammar book:
She loves her as if she were her own daughter.
He speaks as if he knew the subject very well.
You answer as if you did not know this rule.
So I want to know if it's possible to say "She loves her as if she is her own daughter."

***** NOT A TEACHER *****


The New One,


(1) Mr. Michael Swan in his Practical English Usage tells us:


She looks as if she is rich. = Maybe she is.

He talks as if he was/were rich. = But he is not.

*****

I do not have enough confidence to comment on whether or not

"She loves her as if she is her own daughter" is possible, but I do wish

to comment on one of your other examples:

(In a university lecture hall filled with many students)

Tom: Whose that guy?

Martha: Oh, our professor is absent. He's the substitute.

Tom: I'm going to nap. Substitutes never know anything.

Martha: Why don't you give him a chance? Listen to what he has

to say.

(Fifteen minutes later)

Tom: Wow! You were right. That guy speaks as if he knows the subject

very well!!! = He does seem to know the subject.


THANK YOU

 

[5jj]

1. She loves her as if she were her own daughter.
2. He speaks as if he knew the subject very well.
3. You answer as if you did not know this rule.
So I want to know if it's possible to say 4. "She loves her as if she is her own daughter."

In #1, #2and #3, the situations in the as if clause are all hypthetical or counterfactual.

#1 can only be counterfactual (because it can be uttered only if the younger person is not the older person's daughter; therefore, #4 is impossible.

It is possible to say however:

2a. He speaks as if he knows the subject.
3a. You answer as if you don't know the rule.

The situation in the as if clause is more likely to be true in #2a and #3a than it was in #2 and #3.

 

[ishana]

Could you pleas explain the following function.

As if
As tough
like
look like

What is the differences between them?
And Where we can use ?

 

[Richard1]

Could you pleas explain the following function.

As if
As tough
like
look like

What is the differences between them?
And Where we can use ?

As if. Use when comparing. i.e. He looked as if he'd crawled through a hedge backwards.

As tough. Probably only in an accepted phrase like 'as tough as nails'

Like. It's a word. Use wherever appropriate!

Look like. Or more probably looks/looked like. See 1 above, substitute 'looked/looks' for 'as if'.

Regards

 

[5jj]

As tough. Probably only in an accepted phrase like 'as tough as nails'

Ishana probably meant as though.

There is no difference in meaning between as if and as though.

 

[Barb_D]

Is there a difference in dialects of English on "like"?

You look as if you've seen a ghost.
You look as though you've seen a ghost.
You look like you've seen a ghost.

I use "like' more often than the others but with identical meanings.

 

[5jj]

Is there a difference in dialects of English on "like"?

You look as if you've seen a ghost.
You look as though you've seen a ghost.
You look like you've seen a ghost.

I use "like' more often than the others but with identical meanings.

I was taught at school that 'like' was a barbarous Americanism. Liike (;-)) so many disapproved-of expressions, it is now common in Britain, where it also means the same as as if/though.

 

[Barb_D]

Please tell me who is in a better position to use barbarous expressions??

(Thanks for confirming what I thought I'd heard way back when.)

 

[Richard1]

I was taught at school that 'like' was a barbarous Americanism. Liike (;-)) so many disapproved-of expressions, it is now common in Britain, where it also means the same as as if/though.

.....and moreover in speech seems to crop up at the end of sentences like ;-)

pip pip