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Cho7712 Posted 13 years ago
Grammar
it is not as if
A: I am not giving you my address.
B; Why? It is not as if I were / am going to come there (I don't want to.)
What is the correct one?
To me, 'were' makes the odd sentence in terms of meaning.
Since the subjunctive mood in as-if clause presupposes the counter situation to the matter of fact or highly impossible situation.
What do you think?
B; Why? It is not as if I were / am going to come there (I don't want to.)
What is the correct one?
To me, 'were' makes the odd sentence in terms of meaning.
Since the subjunctive mood in as-if clause presupposes the counter situation to the matter of fact or highly impossible situation.
What do you think?
Top answer
cho7712 the subjunctive mood in as-if clause presupposes the counter situation to the matter of fact or highly impossible situation. And for that very reason, 'were' is the formally correct choice: the speaker is not going to come there.
- cho7712 the subjunctive mood in as-if clause presupposes the counter situation to the matter of fact or highly impossible situation.
- And for that very reason, 'were' is the formally correct choice: the speaker is not going to come there.
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5 Answers
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cho7712 the subjunctive mood in as-if clause presupposes the counter situation to the matter of fact or highly impossible situation.And for that very reason, 'were' is the formally correct choice: the speaker is not going to come there.
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Thank you for the answer, MM.
How it looks to me is still unnatural.
It is mostly due to my being unable to reach at your thought.
Here is what my thinking is;
1. As if I were going to come there = I have no intention of coming there
2. It is NOT as if I were going to come there = negation of what is presupposed in the sentence 1.
What part of the tra
How it looks to me is still unnatural.
It is mostly due to my being unable to reach at your thought.
Here is what my thinking is;
1. As if I were going to come there = I have no intention of coming there
2. It is NOT as if I were going to come there = negation of what is presupposed in the sentence 1.
What part of the tra
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cho7712What part of the trace of my thinking is off the road?Too much thinking, I think. You are confusing logic with grammar. Anyway, the first part is factual and the second part is counter-factual:
It is indeed as if I were the king of England.
It is certainly not as if I were the king of England.
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Thanks for the answer.
The insertion of adverbs makes the big difference, by which I guess I can grasp how as-if form works.
It is just the last question of this thread.
ex. I'm surprised they have invited me to their wedding—
it's not as if I know them well.
This is the example in a dictionary.
What the speaker intends to say seems mor
The insertion of adverbs makes the big difference, by which I guess I can grasp how as-if form works.
It is just the last question of this thread.
ex. I'm surprised they have invited me to their wedding—
it's not as if I know them well.
This is the example in a dictionary.
What the speaker intends to say seems mor
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cho7712How is this underlined sentence understood?Understand it the same way, but also understand that native speakers often follow neither logic nor grammar. As far as I'm concerned, I would not think twice about it if I heard another speaker say either of these:
I'm surprised they have invited me to their wedding—it's not as if I know them well
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