Newsgroup: it.cultura.linguistica.inglese
Titolo: sounds like / sounds as if

Which one would you use in everyday conversation?
a) It sounds like you're enjoying yourself.
b) It sounds as if you're enjoying yourself.
c) It sounds as though you're enjoying yourself.
 
Kiuhnm

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I wouldn't use any of them, but that's because I consider 'It sounds 
like' such an oft-repeated New Age phrase that it gives the impression 
that one isn't thinking for oneself. But, assuming a moderate amount of 
brain damage, I would most likely use the first example. OK, I'm 
exaggerating my own feelings about the issue. It's not so bad. I use 'it 
sounds like' sometimes, I just make damn sure I'm sincere when I say it.
 

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There seems to be some prescriptive rule against following "like" with a 
phrase. That's why I asked.
 
Kiuhnm

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Here's another situation where Tony and I disagree, and there's nothing wrong 
with that.
 
In everyday conversation all three are frequently by me and my peers, and 
none of us is brain dead.
 
If a more formal (written?) context is needed, I'd use "it sounds as 
though..."
 
-- 
Joey from New York
Among those whom I like or admire, I can findï¿œno common denominator,
but among thoseï¿œwhom I love, I can: all of them make me laugh.
ï¿œ ï¿œ-- WH Auden
 

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I don't know any such rule, but this usage of 'like' is idiomatic. It's 
not the same as saying, for example, "It feels like a winter day." The 
phrase 'it sounds like' became a catch phrase (you know what that means, 
don't you?) in pseudo-therapeutic conversations associated with the New 
Age movement. For example, someone complains about how horrible is life, 
and the phrase 'it sounds like' is used to acknowledge that the listener 
is listening without expressing any opinion or judgment.
 
Person A: My dog died yesterday, and left me all alone. The finance 
company dropped by today and repossessed my home.
Person B: "It sounds like this week has been emotionally difficult for 
you."
 
There's a history of some schooled in the value of not making value 
judgements using this expression with too frequent repetition. After a 
while of hearing this response, the bemoaning individual can't help but 
raise his head from his own laments long enough to recognize that the 
exchange is rather shallow and one-sided. Because of this history, the 
expression has come under some ridicule.
 
If you offer some examples of the prescriptive rule outside of this 
idiomatic expression, I might be able to comment on its validity.
 
 

 idiomatic expression, I might be able to comment on its validity.
 
The prescriptive rule says that "like", being a preposition and not a 
conjunction, must be followed by a noun.
Here's a summary of this dispute:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_English_words_with_disputed_usage
 
(search for "like and as").
 
Kiuhnm

 (search for "like and as").
 
I don't see any reference to 'like' being followed by a noun, but I 
understand the issue of using 'like' as a conjunction. It appears to me 
that the attempt to limit that usage is a losing battle. I think that a 
good writer tries to target his writing to the audience and situation. 
He might find cause to avoid this construction just as he might find 
cause to avoid ending a sentence in a preposition. I'd venture to say 
that at a scale of accepted/not accepted, these two practices may be in 
close proximity.
 
J.F.Y.I., there was a controversy in the early days of American 
television commercials when Winston used the slogan "Tastes good like a 
cigarette should." Some of the vehemence levied against such a usage of 
'like' may be a leftover grudge from that controversy. As you can see, 
'like' is followed by a noun in that sentence, but it's the use as a 
conjunction that riled up people. (Or, to stay consistent with the theme 
of this post, "that riled people up.")
 
By the way, the Free Dictionary is often a good reference for standard 
versus non-standard usage. 
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/like
 
 
 
 

 of this post, "that riled people up.")
 
Sorry, you had said that 'like' should be followed by a noun, and I gave 
an example in which a noun followed it. Still, the phrase is considered 
substandard, even if usage of the kind is widespread.
 

 versus non-standard usage. 
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/like
 
 
Oh, I read that too.
 
BTW, there's a similar dispute about the usage of "due vs owing".
 
Kiuhnm

 or judgment.
 
 
"Sounds like" looks like "looks like".
Does it sounds like "looks like" too?
 
 
-- 
"The future, according to some scientists, will be exactly like
the past, only far more expensive."
                -- John Sladek 
 

 Does it sounds like "looks like" too?
 
It only seems like it.
 
To be serious, "sounds like" and "seems like" are part of the 
therapeutic vocabulary. "Looks like," even in its figurative sense, is 
more observation-based and I would not put it in the same category.
 
This is not to say that you should not use such phrasing. The danger is 
in overuse and inappropriate use.
 

 though..."
 
Or maybe "It appears you're..."?
 
Kiuhnm

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Yes.
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 danger is in overuse and inappropriate use.
 
 
What's better:
- "sale" sounds like "sail".
- "sale" looks like "sail".
 
 
-- 
"There is not opinion so absurd that some philosopher will not
express it."
                -- Marcus Tullius Cicero, "Ad familiares"
 

 - "sale" looks like "sail".
 
Which is better for what?
The first is true but the second is not. 'Sail' the verb looks like 
'sail' the noun, but 'sale' looks only a little like 'sail.'