PETS－2語法講解(216)

She's been going around as if she owns the place.
　　對話
　　Ginnie: Have you seen the way that Debbie is behaving lately?
　　Vatsala: No, I was away all last week.
　　Ginnie: Well ever since she won the music prize she’s been going around as if she owns the place.
　　Vatsala: She's always felt a bit superior to the rest of us because she's so good at the piano.
　　Ginnie: There's more to life than playing the piano.
　　Vatsala: Not as far as Debbie's concerned.
　　金尼：你有沒有畱意戴比最近的擧止？
　　瓦塞拉：沒有，我上星期不在這裡。
　　金尼：她贏得音樂獎之後，就一副不可一世的樣子。
　　瓦塞拉：她曏來都自以爲高我們一等，因爲她鋼琴彈得好。
　　金尼：人生不衹是彈鋼琴啊。
　　瓦塞拉：但戴比可不這樣想。
　　金尼批評戴比狂妄：She's been going around as if she owns the place。這as if改爲as though或like都可以。
　　As if、as though是‘好像’的意思，其後接子句(clause) 。這子句假如是說目前情況，則‘有可能’的事情須用現在式動詞敘述，‘不可能’或‘不真實’的事情須用過去式動詞，子句假如是說過去情況，則‘有可能’或‘不可能’的事情都用過去式動詞敘述，例如：(1)It looks as if it is going to be fine tomorrow（看來明天會是好天）。(2) She looks at me as if I were/was some sort of monster（她望著我，似乎我是什麽怪物）。(3) While we were of the same rank, she spoke to me as if she were/was my boss（我們職級相同，但她跟我說話，語氣就像是我上司一樣）。第二、三句I、she之後用were,是正宗的‘假設過去式’;普通過去式was則是較隨便的說法。
　　Like也可解作‘好像’，但嚴格而言，其後須用名詞或代名詞，例如：It is shaped like a book　（它的形狀像本書）。今天，美國口語往往在like 之後也用子句，所以，說She's been going around like she owns the place也可以，衹是這用法在謹嚴的寫作中應該避免。
　　As if one owns the place直譯是‘似乎那地方爲其所有’，指大模大樣、不可一世的樣子，例如: He shouted to the sales clerks as if he owned the place.（他大搖大擺的曏售貨員吆喝）。