I wonder whether the following sentence uses “as if” correctly.
David makes a desk as if it were made by John.
Does this sentence mean “David makes a desk which looks like one made by John”?
Answer
No, it’s confusing to me as a US-English native speaker. Also “makes a desk” is unclear. Like, is he a carpenter building desks? I’d expect to see something more like:
- David makes desks just like John does.
- David makes desks just like John’s.
or…
- David makes desks as if the whole world depended on it.
- David makes desks as if he didn’t give a damn.
- David is making desks as if he didn’t have plans in an hour.
I hope that helps with the kind of tone that as if gives. There’s a kind of unreal quality to it.
Attribution
Source : Link , Question Author : Matteo , Answer Author : Johnny
