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Monday, November 3, 2008

Poll Results 10

Which two sentences are correct?

She looked like she hadn't eaten in days.
28 (29%)
She looked like a hungry person.
59 (61%)
She looked as if a hungry person.
6 (6%)
She looked as if she hadn't eaten in days.
76 (79%)

The majority was right!
She looked like a hungry person, and She looked as if she hadn't eaten in days are right.

Like:

Use "like" when no verb follows:

He looked like Batman.
She seemed like a nice girl.

As (If)

Use "if" when a verb does follow:

She looked as if she would faint.
The cat seemed as if it would pounce.

Some of you might remember that English teachers went berserk when they heard this cigarette ad:

"Winston tastes good like a cigarette should."

If you don't know the difference between "like" and "as," this won't bother you, but now you know.

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