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K.O. Posted 21 years ago
Grammar

as if and a noun phrase

We walked together towards the bridge, while those around us fell back as if afraid of the weight of guilt they believed I carried.

Hi, Is it a correct sentence above since the entire construction after the 'as if' is a noun phrase (afraid of the weight of guilt they believed I carried). should'nt it be like this for example:

We walked together towards the bridge, while those around us fell back as if being afraid of the weight of guilt they believed I carried.
  

Top answer

Hello 'As if' is a compound conjunction used to make an adverbial clause. Usually it is followed by any clausal sentence or participle construct. Here we can suppose the writer made an elision.

— Paco2004

  • Hello 'As if' is a compound conjunction used to make an adverbial clause.
  • Usually it is followed by any clausal sentence or participle construct.
  • Here we can suppose the writer made an elision.
  • The un-elided form might be either one of the following (1) (= your supposition) or (2).
  • (1) as if being afraid of the weight of guilt they believed I carried.
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2 Answers
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Hello

'As if' is a compound conjunction used to make an adverbial clause. Usually it is followed by any clausal sentence or participle construct. Here we can suppose the writer made an elision. The un-elided form might be either one of the following (1) (= your supposition) or (2).
(1) as if being afraid of the weight of guilt they believed I carried.
(2) as if
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