Newsgroup: it.cultura.linguistica.inglese
Titolo: like/as if (again)

 we can 
read "We also spread our lips so it looks like we are smiling.".
Wouldn't "as if" be more appropriate than "like" in that sentence?
Kiuhnm

 wrote in news:48d801d9$0$1083
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4faf...@reader1.news.tin.it
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I'm with 
http://www.bartleby.com/64/C001/033.html
, if it was good enough 
for Chaucer ...
Then again it may be best to not annoy grammarians unnecessarily: 
http://www.llrx.com/columns/grammar5.htm
.
So in the sentence above, "as if" (or perhaps "as though") might be less 
likely to offend some. Then again, the author may well have deliberately 
chosen a more informal style or might even believe the sentence to be 
simpler and hence more suited to a learner. Or the author may simply not 
have noticed at all :-)
Antonio

 have noticed at all :-)
I'll send them an e-mail! :-)
Kiuhnm

 Wouldn't "as if" be more appropriate than "like" in that sentence?
I don't think so. The context of that sentence is not extremely
formal and "looks like" sounds more natural to me. Still, I am not a
native speaker, so I might well be wrong!
I gather that "looks like" is sort of a set phrase.
See 
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/look
verb 6. seem, appear, display, seem to be, look like, exhibit,
manifest, strike you as
Also, in a different context, with a predictive value
http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/look+like
look like something
to seem likely that something will happen. It looks like the
unusually warm weather we've been having may be coming to an end.

 unusually warm weather we've been having may be coming to an end.
Indeed. I've seen "looks like" almost everywhere, but I remember a 
"CPE-sentence" which recited "It looks as if the honeymooners are 
enjoying themselves". I was a little baffled because I'd have used 
"like" instead of "as if", but then I looked it up on some grammars and 
found out that "as if" was to be preferred.
Kiuhnm

 doubt."
If that is true, it would make a case for using "like" when no doubt
is implied.
I also noticed sentences beginning with "As if..." to espress a
negative meaning.
E.g.: 
Sue: "Sarah told me she won't come to your party."
Liz: "As if I cared!" 
meaning "I don't care at all!".

 meaning "I don't care at all!".
Kiuhnm

 write.
Non vorrei impelagarmi in discorsi da 
icl.it
, ma secondo me il caso
del congiuntivo vs. indicativo in italiano č diverso dall' as if vs.
like in inglese. Per dirla in breve, il congiuntivo italiano ha una
sua precisa ragion d'essere, quando serve, ma qual č il rationale del
divieto di usare "like" come congiunzione? Correggetemi se sbaglio,
ma la mia impressione č che sia piů che altro un'ubbia di qualche
grammatico poi divenuta shibboleth.
http://grammartips.homestead.com/like.html
 
 In Judges (12:4-6), the pronunciation of the word shibboleth,
meaning
"stream" in Hebrew, was used as a test to distinguish the Gileadites
from the Ephraimites, who pronounced it sibboleth.  From this history
we derive the word's meaning as a custom or usage regarded as a
criterion for distinguishing members of a particular group.  One who
violates a shibboleth is thus betrayed as an outsider by his
unsanctioned usage.
When the "in" group considers itself both superior and exclusive, 
then violation of a shibboleth is seen as a mark of inferiority, and
anyone wishing to avoid being labeled that way needs to be aware of
such shibboleths and to avoid running afoul of the rules that govern
them.
English grammar is a veritable minefield of shibboleths [...] "

 wrote in message
news:48d801d9$0$1083$4faf...@reader1.news.tin.it...
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«3
like meaning 'as if/though'
Like is often used in the same way as as if/though, especially in an
informal
style. This used to be typically AmE, but it is now common in BrE.
It seems like it's going to rain.
He sat there smiling like it was his birthday.»
(Swan, "Practical English", 74)
Joe from Massachusetts


E scrivere "The teachers treat her /as/ she has real talent", sarebbe 
corretto? 

 acceptable?
'Why do you teachers treat her as if she has real talent?' could work. I 
think the construction is more common with "had" but it can be correct both 
ways, again depending on the context. A bit like "avesse" and "abbia" I 
suppose. 
Antonio

 corretto? 
Se e` molto svelta e le regalano caramelle, si`!
Antonio
 

 found out that "as if" was to be preferred.
For that specific sentence, "as if" almost sounds stilted. I'd probably 
plump for one of "It [seems|appears|would seem] that the honeymooners ..."
and avoid the issue entirely.
Antonio

 English grammar is a veritable minefield of shibboleths [...] "
And jolly useful shibboleths they are too. Where would this ng be without 
them!
Antonio

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Good idea. Anyway most sentences from the CPE sound stilted.
Kiuhnm

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Lol, non avevo pensato all'altro significato di 'treat' :-)