my fountain's water or water of my fountain

Question

This is from a song. Which of the following are correct or sound more natural?

- You are like my fountain's water.
- You are like my fountain water.
- You are like the water of my fountain?

Can LIKE be replaced with AS in those sentences?

Thanks.

Mister Micawber · Accepted Answer

AnonymousThis is from a song.

Which one does the song use?

Anonymous · Answer

The song is in Spanish (Eres tú como el agua de mi fuente). I need a natural translation into English.

Thanks

Philip · Answer

Como is used in Spanish to cover both like and as (in these situations) in English. For a translation, I would use like, reserving as for use with verbs. Consider: as the water flows, as the sun shines, & [ from the Bible: As the hart panteth... ]
In the early days of television, a commercial took flack from strict grammarians for: Winston tastes good like a cigarette should . It should have been as a cigarette should.

Cool Breeze · Answer

PhilipIn the early days of television, a commercial took flack from strict grammarians for: Winston tastes good like a cigarette should . It should have been as a cigarette should.

Some disagree:
—Usage. LIKE as a conjunction meaning “as, in the same way as” (Many shoppers study the food ads like brokers study market reports) or “as if ” (It looks like it will rain) has been used for nearly 500 years and by many distinguished literary and intellectual figures. Since the mid-19th century there have been objections, often vehement, to these uses. Nevertheless, such uses are almost universal today in all but the most formal speech and writing. In extremely careful speech and in much formal writing, as, as if, and as though are more commonly used than LIKE: The commanding general accepted full responsibility for the incident, as any professional soldier would. Many of the Greenwich Village bohemians lived as if (or as though) there were no tomorrow.
The strong strictures against the use of LIKE as a conjunction have resulted in the occasional hypercorrect use of as as a preposition where LIKE is idiomatic: She looks as a sympathetic person.
LIKE meaning “as if ” is also standard in informal speech and writing with a small number of adjectives: The crew worked like crazy (or like mad) to finish the job on time.
RHUD

CB

my fountain's water or water of my fountain

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