As if/as though/like

You can use as if or as though to say how somebody or

something looks/sounds/feels:
 That house looks as if it’s going to fall down.
 Helen sounded as if she had a cold, didn’t she?
I’ve just come back from holiday, but I feel very tired. I don’t
feel as if I’ve just had a holiday.
You can use as though in all these examples:
I don’t feel as though I’ve just had a holiday.
In informal spoken English you can also use like:
 That house looks like it’s going to fall down.
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 Compare:
 You look tired. (look+ adjective)
You look as if you haven’t slept. (look as if + subject +
verb)
You can say It looks as if …/ It sounds as if … :
 Sandra is very late, isn’t she? It looks as if she isn’t
coming.
 We took an umbrella because it looked as if it was
going to rain.
 Do you here that music next door? It sounds as if
they are having a party.
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You can also use as though or like:
 It looks as though she isn’t coming.
or
It looks like she isn’t coming.
You can also use as if or as though with other verbs to say how
somebody does something:
 He ran as if 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.
In informal spoken English, you can also use like in these examples.

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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 if sentences and after
wish.

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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)
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Quiz
What do you say in these situation? Use look/ sound/ feel + as if … . Use
the words in brackets to make your sentence.
1. You meet Bill. He has a black eye and some plasters on his face.
(be/ a fight)
You say to him: -------------------------------------------------.
2. Christine comes into the room. She looks absolutely terrified.
(see/ a ghost)
You say to her: What’s the matter? You -------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------.
3. Joe is on holiday. He’s talking to you on the phone and sounds very
happy. (enjoy/ yourself)
You say to him: You ----------------------------------------------------.
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Answers
1. You look as if you’ve been in a flight.
2. 2. You look as if you’ve seen a ghost.
3. You sound as if you’re enjoying yourself.

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For, during and while
For and during
We use for + a period of time to say how long something
goes on:
for two hours for a week for ages
1. We watched television for two hours last night.
2. Diane is going away for a week in September.
3. Where have you been? I’ve been waiting for ages.
4. Are you going away for the weekend?

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We use during + noun to say when something happens (not
how long):
during the film during our holiday during the night
1. I fell asleep during the film.
2. We met some really nice people during our holiday.
3. The ground is wet. It must have rained during the night.
With ‘time words’ (for example: the morning/ the
afternoon/the summer), you can usually say in or during:
4. It must have rained in the night. (or during the night)
5. I’ll phone you sometime during the afternoon. (or in the
afternoon)

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You cannot use during to say how long something
goes on:
 It rained for three days without stopping. (not
during three days)

Compare during and for:

 I fell asleep during the film. I was asleep for
half an hour.

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During and while
Compare:
We use during + noun: We use while + subject + verb:

I fell asleep during the film. I fell asleep while I was watching TV.
(noun) ( subject + verb)

We met a lot of interesting people during We met a lot of interesting people while
our holiday. we were on holiday.

Robert suddenly began to feel ill during Robert suddenly began to feel ill while he
the exam. was doing the exam.

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Some more examples of while:
 We saw Clare while we were waiting for the bus.
 While you were out, there was a phone call for you.
 Chris read a book while I watched television.

When you are talking about the future, use the present (not will)
after while:
 I’ll be in London next week. I hope to see Tom while I’m
there. (not while I will be there)
 What are you going to do while you are waiting? (not while
you will be waiting)

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Quiz
Put in for or during.
a. It rained -------- three days without stopping.
b. I fell asleep --------- the film.
c. I went to the theatre last night. I met Sue ----------- the
interval.
d. Martin hasn’t lived in Britain all his life. He lived in
Brazil ------- four years.
e. Production at the factory was seriously affected ---------
the strike.

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Answers
a. for
b. during
c. during
d. for
e. during

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Quiz
Put in during or while.
a. We met a lot of interesting people ---------
we were on holiday.
b. We met a lot of interesting people ---------
our holiday.
c. I met Mike --------- I was shopping.
d. ---------- I was on holiday, I didn’t read any
newspapers or watch TV.
e. ----------- our stay in Paris , we visited a lot of
museums and galleries.
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Answers
a. while
b. during
c. while
d. While
e. During

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By and Until By the time……..
By (+ a time) = not later than:
 I sent the letter to them today, so they should receive it by
Monday.(= on or before Monday, not later than Monday)
 We’d better hurry. We have to be home by 5 o’clock. (at or
before 5 o’clock, not later than 5 o’clock)
 Where’s Sarah? She should be here by now. (= now or
before now – so she should have already arrived)

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We use until (or till) to say how long a situation continues:
 ‘Shall we go now?’ ‘No, let’s wait until (or till) it stops raining.’
 I couldn’t get up this morning . I stayed in bed until half past ten./ I
didn’t get up until half past ten.
Compare until and by:

Something continues until a time in the Something happens by a time in the

future: future:
 David will be away until Monday.  David will be back by Monday.
(so he’ll be back on Monday) (= he’ll be back not later than Monday)
 I’ll be working until 11.30.  I’ll have finished my work by 11.30.
(so I’ll stop working at 11.30.) (= I’ll finish my work not later than 1130.)

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You can say ‘by the time something happens’. Study these
examples:
 It’s too late to go to the bank now. By the time we get there, it
will be closed.
( = the bank will close between now and the time we get there)
 (from a postcard) Our holiday ends tomorrow. So by the time you
receive this postcard, I’ll be back home.
(= I will arrive home between tomorrow and the time you receive
this postcard)
 Hurry up! By the time we get to the cinema, the film will already
have starded.

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You can say ‘ by the time something happened’ (for the past):
 Karen’s car broke down on the way to the party last night. By
the time she arrived, most of the other guests had left.
(= it took her a long time to get to the party and most of the
guests left during this time)
 I had a lot of work to do yesterday evening. I was very tired by
the time I finished.
(= it took me a long time to do the work, and I became more and
more tired during this time)
 We went to the cinema last night. It took us a long time to find
somewhere to park the car. By the time we got to the cinema, the
film had already started.

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Also by then or by that time:
 Karen finally arrived at the party at midnight, but by then (or by
that time), most of the guests had left.

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Quiz
Read the situations and complete the sentences using By the time ….
1. I was invited to a party, but I got there much later than I intended.
------------------------------------------------, most of the other guests
had left.
2. I intended to catch a train, but it took me longer than expected to
get to the station.
----------------------------------------------------, my train had already
left.
3. I wanted to go shopping after finishing my work. But I finished
much later than expected.
------------------------------------------------------, it was too late to go
shopping.
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Answers
1. By the time we got to the party, most of the other guests had left.
2. By the time I got /had got to the station, my train had already left.
3. By the time I finished/had finished (my work), it was too late to
go shopping.

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