Alexey86
Senior Member
- Joined
- Nov 3, 2018
- Member Type
- Student or Learner
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- Russian
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- Russian Federation
- Current Location
- Russian Federation
Hello! The following sentence is taken from my previous thread https://www.usingenglish.com/forum/...A)-quarantine-with-your-wife-and-child-or-(B):
The voice offers a choice, but the question sounds as if it asked about usual behavior.
GoesStation marked the bolded part as a mistake and suggested that it be corrected to it's asking.
I tried to explain my choice with an excerpt from Grammaring.com ( https://www.grammaring.com/as-if-as-though ):
The past subjunctive after as if/as though indicates an unreal situation in the present. However, if the situation is true, we use a real tense to express present time:
He looks as if he knew the answer. (he gives the impression that he knows the answer, but he (probably) doesn't know or we don't know whether he knows or not)
He looks as if he knows the answer. (he knows the answer)
I used "asked" because the form of the question just gave me the impression that it's about usual behavior.
I've also found other examples of not using the progressive form (from Ludwig Guru):
1) ... way the mayor responds when asked whether he enjoys riding the subway.
He looks at the questioner as if he has asked about an invasive dental procedure.
" 'Enjoy' isn't quite the right word," he says. ... (The New Yorker)
2) Occasionally, in conversation with a media figure, I will ask if they have ever gone in for the Twitter vanity search.
Invariably, their faces will form an elaborate expression of bafflement,
perplexed at the mere existence of such an activity, as if I had asked them about nude golf. (The New Yorker)
3) ... Eleanor Parker asks him in "The Voice of the Turtle" (1947)."Not a thing," Reagan answers merrily,
as if she had asked him what he knew about New Zealand, or modern dance. That is why "Love Is on the Air" was just the ticket. ...
(The New Yorker)
I have nothing against the progressive form in my original example. But I don't understand why it should be the present progressive, and what exactly is wrong with "asked".
The voice offers a choice, but the question sounds as if it asked about usual behavior.
GoesStation marked the bolded part as a mistake and suggested that it be corrected to it's asking.
I tried to explain my choice with an excerpt from Grammaring.com ( https://www.grammaring.com/as-if-as-though ):
The past subjunctive after as if/as though indicates an unreal situation in the present. However, if the situation is true, we use a real tense to express present time:
He looks as if he knew the answer. (he gives the impression that he knows the answer, but he (probably) doesn't know or we don't know whether he knows or not)
He looks as if he knows the answer. (he knows the answer)
I used "asked" because the form of the question just gave me the impression that it's about usual behavior.
I've also found other examples of not using the progressive form (from Ludwig Guru):
1) ... way the mayor responds when asked whether he enjoys riding the subway.
He looks at the questioner as if he has asked about an invasive dental procedure.
" 'Enjoy' isn't quite the right word," he says. ... (The New Yorker)
2) Occasionally, in conversation with a media figure, I will ask if they have ever gone in for the Twitter vanity search.
Invariably, their faces will form an elaborate expression of bafflement,
perplexed at the mere existence of such an activity, as if I had asked them about nude golf. (The New Yorker)
3) ... Eleanor Parker asks him in "The Voice of the Turtle" (1947)."Not a thing," Reagan answers merrily,
as if she had asked him what he knew about New Zealand, or modern dance. That is why "Love Is on the Air" was just the ticket. ...
(The New Yorker)
I have nothing against the progressive form in my original example. But I don't understand why it should be the present progressive, and what exactly is wrong with "asked".
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