Newsgroup: it.cultura.linguistica.inglese
Titolo: It sounds...

"It sounds LIKE the honeymooners are enjoying themselves"
and
"It sounds AS IF the honeymooners are enjoying themselves"
are both correct, right?
Kiuhnm

 ha scritto nel messaggio 
news:47fb5778$0$37205$4faf...@reader3.news.tin.it...

Io da inesperto ho sentito solo
It sound like 

Kiuhnm ha scritto:

I'd say so.
But "It sounds like a rhino" is possible and "It sounds as if a rhino"
isn't.

 isn't.
But "It sounds as if a rhino IS RUNNING AMOK ALL OVER THE PLACE" should 
be ok.
Kiuhnm

 wrote in message 
news:47fb5778$0$37205$4faf...@reader3.news.tin.it...

The Oxford Advanced Learner Dictionary says: In spoken English people often 
use like instead of "as if" or "as though", especially in NAmE, but this is 
not considered correct in written BrE.

 not considered correct in written BrE.
Ouch! You're right: 'like' cannot be used as a conjunction in standard 
English.
Kiuhnm

Una domanda:
qual'è la differenza tra:
- sounds like
- look like
- seems

Francesco wrote:

DIZIONARIO
Ciao,
Enrico il Pentolaio.


Grazie per la tua risposta.
Avevo già letto il significato ma volevo una conferma.
"Sound like" sembra dal suono o dal rumore.
"look like" assomigliare
"seem" sembrare
Leggendo alcuni esempi mi sembra di capire che look like e seem possono 
essere utilizzati nell stesso caso 

 wrote in
news:08JKj.53065$
FR.2...@twister1.libero.it
: 

Indeed the OED says:
"Used as conj.: = ‘like as’, as. Now generally condemned as vulgar or 
slovenly, though examples may be found in many recent writers of standing"
So obviously it's quite common :-)
Antonio

 "Sound like" sembra dal suono o dal rumore.
That doesn't sound very sound.
Kiuhnm

 Avevo già letto il significato ma volevo una conferma.
Allora scrivi:
"mi pare di aver capito che X signica blablabla, Y significa blablabla,
Z significa invece blablablablabla. In questo esempio: [...] quali fra
X,Y,Z posso usare? io userei questo perche blablabla e cosi' via".
Ciao,
Enrico il Pentolaio.

 X,Y,Z posso usare? io userei questo perche blablabla e cosi' via".
Hai ragione..
Forse mi sono espresso male io.
Scusami

 this is not considered correct in written BrE.
Correct me if I am wrong, using "like" as a conjunction is frowned upon by
cultived Americans as well, notwithstanding its everyday usage in
conversations and informal writing and even by most respected English
authors in the historic past.
What is the rationale of the ban?
Some would argue that the real goal of this rule is to distinguish those
who know it from those who don't. ;)
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 [...]
Historically, "like" has often been used as a subordinating conjunction,
but in formal modern usage it is considered a definite no-no.  The use of
"like" as a conjunction had pretty nearly disappeared among the educated
public, until a famous cigarette ad declared, "Winston tastes good like a
cigarette should!"
 The media have so popularized this once forbidden usage that one now hears
it (and reads it) almost everywhere.  But although it has become generally
accepted in colloquial speech and informal writing, it is still considered
questionable in formal writing.  Anyone who wishes to be taken seriously as
a writer needs to be very careful about unnecessarily violating this
particular shibboleth, because it is seen by most teachers and editors not
only as an error, but as another one of those really big errors.
          Here are some examples of "like" used as a subordinating
conjunction, along with corrected versions of the sentences.
[...]