General English Level 4 Version 2.1 © 2004 acl Pty Ltd GELEV4 Unit 05 Topic 03.doc Jackie says: Jackie: … Did you see that girl next to us? She looked as though she was going to faint. Jackie compares how the girl looked to someone who was going to faint. She uses as though to describe how the girl looked. as though she was going to faint is an adverbial clause of manner. Jackie says: Jackie: … they can't sing. Sometimes they sounded as if they were in pain. Jackie compares the way the Backstreet Boys sang to the noise of someone in pain. She uses as if to describe how they sounded. as if they were in pain is an adverbial clause of manner. We use adverbial clauses of manner to talk about the way someone does something. Look Main clause Adverbial clause like they were robots. as if they were robots. They sang as though they were robots. Information After we use as if or as though we sometimes use the past to talk about the present. We use the past because the idea is not real. This is like the second conditional. They sing as if they were robots. We also sometimes use were instead of was. For example, I felt as if I were flying. Examples Listen to the examples. 1. It looks like it is going to rain. 2. He looked at me as though I was an idiot. 3. He walks as if he was an old man. 4. I feel as though I need a holiday. 5. She spoke to me as if she were my mother. 172