Exercise 25. using As IF/As Thought ( Chart 20-9)

20-9 USING AS IF/AS THOUGH

a) It looks like rain
b) It looks as if it is going to rain
c) It looks as though it is going to rain
d) It looks like it is going to rain ( informal) 

Notice in a)like is followed by a noun object.
Notice in b) and c) as if and as though are followed by a clause.
Notice in d) like is followed by a clause. This use of like is common in informal English, but is not generally considered appropriate in formal ENglish   as if or as though is preferred.




e) He is not a child.
She talked to him as if he were a child.

d) She did not take a shower with her clothes on.
When she came in from the rainstorm, she looked as if she had taken a shower with her clothes on.

g) He has met her.
He acted  as though he had never met her.

h) She will be here.
She spoke as if she would not be here.

USUALLY THE IDEA FOLLOWING  AS IF/AS THOUGH IS  untrue. IN THIS CASE, VERB USAGE IS SIMILAR TO THAT IN CONDITIONAL SENTENCE.

Exercise page430

1. I was not run over by a ten ton truck.
I feel terrible. I feel as if I had been run over by a ten ton truck.

2. English is not her native tongue.
She speaks English as if it were her native tongue.

3. You did not see a ghost.
What is the matter? You look as if you had seen a ghost.

4. His animals are not people.
I know a farmer who talks to his animals as though they were people.

5. His father is not a general in the army.
Sometimes his father gives orders as though he were a general in the  army.

6. I did not climb Mt. Everest.
When I reached the fourth floor, I was winded. I felt as if I had climbed Mt. Everest.

7. He does have a brain in his head.
Sometimes he acts as though he does not have a brain in his head.

8. We have not known each other all of our lives.
We became good friends almost immediately. After talking to each other for only a short time, we felt as if we had known each other all of our lives.

9. A giant bulldozer did not drive down Main Street.
After the tornado, the town looked as though a giant bulldozer had driven down Main Street.

10. I do not have wings and can not fly.
I was so happy that I felt as though I had wings and could fly.

11. The child will not burst.
The child was so excited that he looked as if he would burst.

12. NOTE: The following sentiments were expressed by Helen Keller, a woman who was both blind and deaf but who learned to speak and to read.
Use your eyes as if tomorrow you would become blind. Hear the music of voice, the song of a bird, as if you would become deaf tomorrow. Touch each object as if tomorrow you would never be able to feel anything again. Smell the perfume of the flowers and taste with true enjoyment each bite of food as if tomorrow you would never be able to smell and taste again.