118 : like / as if

   A   

You can use like to say how somebody or something looks/sounds/feels:

• That house looks like it's going to fall down.

  

• Helen sounded like she had a cold, didn't she?
• I've just got back from holiday, but I feel very tired. I don't feel like I've had a holiday.

 

You can also use as if or as though in all these examples:

• That house looks as if it's going to fall down.
• Helen sounded as if she had a cold, didn't she?
• I don't feel as though I've had a holiday.

 

Compare:

• You look tired. (look + adjective)
  You look like you haven't slept. (look like + subject + verb)

 

As if and as though are more formal than like.

 

 

   B   

You can say It looks like ... / It sounds like ... :

• Sarah is very late, isn't she? It looks like she isn't coming.
• We took an umbrella because it looked like it was going to rain.
• The noise is very loud next door. It sounds like they're having a party.

 

You can also use as if or as though:

• It looks as if she isn't coming. or It looks as though she isn't coming.
• It looked as if it was going to rain.
• It sounds as though they're having a party.

 

 

   C   

You can use like / as if / as though with other verbs to say how somebody does something:

• He ran like he was running for his life.
• After the interruption, the speaker went on talking as if nothing had happened.
• When I told them my plan, they looked at me as though I was mad.

 

 

   D   

After as if (or as though), we sometimes use the past when we are talking about the present.

 

For example:

• I don't like Tim. He talks as if he knew everything.

 

The meaning is not past in this sentence. We use the past (as if he knew) because the idea is not real: Tim does not know everything. We use the past in the same way in other sentences with if and wish (see Unit 39).

 

Like is not normally used in this way.

 

Some more examples:

• She's always asking me to do things for her - as if I didn't have enough to do already. (I do have enough to do)
• Gary's only 40. Why do you talk about him as if he was an old man? (he isn't an old man)

 

When you use the past in this way, you can use were instead of was:

• Why do you talk about him as if he were (or was) an old man?
• They treat me as if I were (or was) their own son. (I'm not their son)