Hi. Welcome back to www.engvid.com. I'm Adam.
Today's lesson comes from a request by a few students actually about how to use the verb:
"look". Especially when I have: "look", "look like", "look alike", "look as if", "look as
though". So what we're going to do is we're going to explain the different uses because
this is a very common verb and very useful for everybody to know. So first, let's look at the plain verb: "look".
"He looks happy.", "She looks sad." In this case, very straightforward. The verb means
have the appearance of, to appear in a certain way. So it's always about physical appearance,
what the eyes can see. "He looks sad." Means maybe has a frown. "Looks happy." Big smile.
Right? Doesn't matter what the appearance is, that's what we use "look" for. "Look"
plus usually an adjective or etcetera. Now, "look like". Technically, this "like" is a
preposition, it's a verb plus a preposition. Now, many people will say: "It looks like
it's going to rain." Now, does this seem like a good sentence to you, like a correct sentence
to you? "It looks like it's going to rain." If you say: "Yes", don't worry - most people,
including native English speakers will say this sentence. "Oh, it looks like it's going
to rain." Clouds, grey clouds, a little bit chilly, looks like it's going to rain. Technically,
this is incorrect. You could say: "It looks like rain." That would be okay. After "like"
which is a preposition-okay?-you cannot have a clause, you cannot have a subject and verb.
You can only have a noun or an adjective, etcetera. "It looks like rain." That's the...
That's the appearance we have. Okay? But again, many, many people including native English
speakers use this incorrectly. If you do, don't worry about it. Everybody will understand
you. If you're writing an academic PhD thesis, don't do that. Now, when can I use a clause after "like"?
After "look", I'm sorry. You can do it with the conjunction: "as". Okay? "Looks"... "Look
as if" or: "Look as though" is a verb and a conjunction. After a conjunction, you can
have the subordinate clause. A comparative adverb clause with a subject and a verb. "It
looks as if it was going to rain.", "It looks as if it were going to rain.", "It looks as
though it was going to rain." Okay? Or: "It looked as though it was going to rain."
Now, we'll get back to that in a second. We also have: "look alike". Okay? This is
a verb plus an adjective. "Look alike" is when two things look similar to each other.
So Bob and his brother, Bill, really look alike. Means they look like brothers, they
look almost the same or very similar. Right? Keep in mind you can also have a "lookalike"
which is a noun actually. Now, if you ever go to Las Vegas, you will see many men especially,
I'm sure women do it as well, but many men dressed like Elvis Presley. You know, they have
the hair, they have that suit, the glasses - they are called lookalikes, they're impersonators.
They pretend to be somebody else; they dress the same, they look the same, they act the
same, speak the same, etcetera. Lots of places you will see like Princess Diana lookalikes
or-what's her name?-Kate now. Kate? Yeah, that's the new princess. Lots of lookalikes,
people pretend to look like that. Now, "look as if", "look as though". I've done
a bit of research on this because someone asked me to find out what the difference is.
Most teachers, many books, if not, most books will tell you that there is absolutely no
difference between the two. So if you interchange them, if you use them the same way, one or
the other... "It looks like it's like...", "It looks as if it were going to rain.", "It
looks as though it were going to rain." No problem, everybody will understand you. If
you write it, also, probably no problem. I'll tell you how I personally use the two a
little bit differently. Okay? For me, "looks as if" talks about a possibility. Okay? It
might be that way, it's more of a hypothetical because of the word: "if". We usually use
"if" as a hypothetical; maybe yes, maybe no, we don't really know, possible. "Looks as
though" I would say is a bit more probable, a probability. So: "It looks as if it were
going to rain." Okay? It looks like it might, but we don't know, it might not rain. We don't
really have enough reason to think, it's just possible. "Yeah, looks like... Looks as though
it's going to rain." I'm a little bit more sure because I can see the thunder... Or I can
hear the thunder, I can see the lightning; I have more reason to believe so. Now, again,
there's no rule. If you want to use them the same way, go ahead. Now, as far as the "were" here, this is part
of the subjunctive voice. Usually with "if", we're going to use "were" in the past tense.
"He", "she", "it", "I", "you", "everybody" - "were". With "though", you would use "was",
not "were". But, again, people are not very strict about this particular expression, this
particular clause. If you say: "Looked as if it was going to rain." Okay. Okay? In terms
of the different verbs you're going to use, depends on the context and the situation. But
think of this as the adjective... As the conjunction for the clause and the verb will
match the situation, not the clause itself. There's no rule, particular rule that you
have to follow. It's all about context. "Look", appearance. "Look like", resemble
something. "Look alike", two things, or three things, or many things look similar. "Look
as if", it's possibly going to happen, it seems to be, appears to be. "Looks as though",
I'm pretty sure, it's more probable, in my case. You do as suits
you I think the best. Again, if you want to practice this, go to
www.engvid.com, there's a quiz there that you can practice. Ask your questions.
I'll be happy to give you more examples. And come back again.
