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They were changing their clothes and it seemed like they just committed a crime.
And the music was coming from everywhere.
It was as if every single person in that city had set up a sound system and got all their friends to dance in front of it.
Hello and welcome to Learning English Grammar.
I'm Neil.
And I'm Pippa.
We just heard George and Phil talking about something strange or interesting that they saw.
And in this episode we're going to learn some language to use when you see something happening and you're not exactly sure what's going on.
That's right, Pippa.
We'll learn structures like it was as if, it was as though and it seemed like.
So, let's get into it, Neil.
Can you think of a time you saw something and you weren't quite sure what was going on?
Well, Pippa, I remember a summer day many years ago when suddenly it became really dark.
So it seemed as though it was night time in the middle of the day, and actually it was an eclipse, but I just didn't know about it.
How about you, Pippa?
Well, I was in the park recently in London and I saw lots of sausage dogs.
It seemed as though they were everywhere I turned and I thought, this is very bizarre.
Why are there so many of the same dog?
And then I realised that I had accidentally gone to the sausage dog meetup.
There were hundreds of them.
It was very strange.
Wow, that is a funny story.
OK, let's get back to George and Phil to hear their full stories about something interesting they saw.
And as you listen, pay attention to the language they use.
How do they talk about something that they're not 100% sure about?
A few months ago I was looking outside out of my window and I saw two men changing in the middle of the street.
They were changing their clothes and it seemed like they just committed a crime.
And they were just changing into a separate pair of clothes to avoid being caught by the police.
It was as though they were trying to hide what they'd done.
But then I saw one of them take out some football boots and another took out a football shirt.
And I realised that they were just going off to the park to play football.
So I was in India with my brother and we were walking along the street.
We'd heard there was a festival happening that day.
We hadn't seen much up to that point.
It seemed quite quiet.
And then we turned around the corner.
And the music was coming from everywhere.
It was as if every single person in that city had set up a sound system and got all their friends to dance in front of it.
Everyone had one.
It seemed like the whole town was covered with people playing music and dancing.
So the word seem is quite useful here.
George said it seemed like they'd just committed a crime.
And Phil said it seemed quite quiet.
Yes, and I also heard it was as if and it was as though.
George said it was as though they were trying to hide what they'd done.
And Pippa, I can hear something in the studio.
It seems as though our grammar guru, Georgie, is about to arrive.
Hello, guys.
It seems as if you might need my help.
So shall we have a look at the language for when you're interpreting what you see, but you're not sure.
Yes.
Why don't we start with the verb seem?
How does Phil use it?
We hadn't seen much up to that point.
It seemed quite quiet.
It seemed quite quiet.
We can use seem plus an adjective like quiet to give a general impression of something that may turn out to be wrong, like in this case.
Right.
Phil said the town seemed quiet, but once he and his brother turned a corner, suddenly the music was everywhere.
Yes, he was wrong about it being quiet, but that was his impression at first.
Let's have another example.
Pippa, you seem a bit sad today.
Everything OK?
Yes, I'm fine.
Maybe I seem sad, but I'm actually just a bit tired.
OK, so when and how do we use seem like, Georgie?
So we can use seem plus like and then either a clause or a noun phrase.
George used a clause.
And it seemed like they'd just committed a crime.
OK, but a noun phrase could be something like it seemed like a good idea.
Exactly.
So we use this structure for a more specific interpretation of what's going on.
What was happening in the kitchen earlier, Pippa?
I'm not sure, but it seemed like someone was trying to fix the coffee machine.
Great example.
OK, let's move on to as though and as if.
You can use these structures interchangeably.
They mean more or less the same thing.
It was as if every single person in that city had set up a sound system.
So, these are used to give your impression of what's going on, but it often turns out to be untrue.
George thought the men were trying to hide what they'd done, but it turned out not to be the case.
Right, but the way Phil used the structure was more like an exaggeration.
It was as if every single person in that city had set up a sound system.
Clearly not everyone in the town had set up a sound system, but Phil wants to give his overall impression of the situation.
That's what it felt like to him.
So what's the structure, Georgie?
OK, so you start with it was as if or it was as though and then add a clause.
It was as though they were trying to hide what they'd done.
Now, we've heard examples using the to be verb.
It was as if and it was as though.
But you can change the verbs.
For example, in the kitchen earlier it looked as though someone was trying to fix the coffee machine.
Right.
Or at the weekend, I felt quite ill.
I felt as if I was going to be sick.
Oh dear.
I'm glad you feel better now, Neil.
Well, thanks for helping us, Georgie.
See you next time.
Goodbye.
Well, Pippa, it's now time to play a game to test what we've learnt.
Let's play Spot the Error.
One person reads three sentences and the other says which one is incorrect.
Sounds like a plan.
And for those listening to the podcast, you can play too.
Just try to answer before we do.
Right, what's the first question, Neil?
OK, which of these sentences is incorrect?
A The swimming pool water seems cold.
B The swimming pool water looks cold.
C The swimming pool water seems like cold.
The incorrect sentence is C, the swimming pool water seems like cold.
For the adjective cold, we would just use seems, not seems like.
OK, your turn.
I saw Phil in the street earlier today and he didn't say hi.
Now, which sentence is incorrect?
A. It was as if he didn't recognise me.
B. It was though he didn't recognise me.
Or C. It was as though he didn't recognise me.
And the wrong answer, the wrong sentence was B.
You said it was though he didn't recognise me, and it should be.
It was as though he didn't recognise me.
Write the last one, Pippa.
I hope you're ready.
I wore shorts and a T-shirt to my son's football match in the middle of winter.
Which sentence contains incorrect grammar?
A. It was as though very cold.
B. It seemed like a good idea at the time.
And C. I felt as if I was in the Arctic.
So, the incorrect sentence is a. It should be it was as though it was very cold.
Well done, Pippa.
That's it for this episode.
We've learnt that Pippa once saw a lot of sausage dogs.
And we've learnt that we use seem for an adjective and seem like for a noun phrase or clause.
We'll be back next week to learn some more grammar tips.
In the meantime, you can test what you've learned in this episode with the worksheet on our website.
Goodbye for now.
Bye.
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