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Alc24 Posted 17 years ago
Grammar

AS IF

Can you say the following?

1 Don't talk to me as if you're talking to your friends. I'm not your friend.

2 Don't talk to me like you're talking to your friends.

Thanks
  

Top answer

Both answers are ok in conversational English. Purists want you to reserve "like" for its uses as an adjective and adverb (or, for many speakers today, a preposition). " In fact, purists would like you to say: Don't talk to me as if you WERE talking to a friend, for you are not my friend.

— Anonymous

  • Both answers are ok in conversational English.
  • Purists want you to reserve "like" for its uses as an adjective and adverb (or, for many speakers today, a preposition).
  • " In fact, purists would like you to say: Don't talk to me as if you WERE talking to a friend, for you are not my friend.
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2 Answers
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Both answers are ok in conversational English. Purists want you to reserve "like" for its uses as an adjective and adverb (or, for many speakers today, a preposition). One should use the conjunction "as if." In fact, purists would like you to say: Don't talk to me as if you WERE talking to a friend, for you are not my friend.
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alc241 Don't talk to me as if you're talking to your friend, I'm not your friend

2 Don't talk to me like you're talking to your friend.
Both are correct, But I would choose the first one, which seems to me much more formal that saying ( Like ).
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