She likes to act as if she were the boss.

She likes to act as if she were the boss.

Hi,

I have problem pinpointing the meaning of "act" in the above. Does it mean "pretend" or something else? Thanks.

Hello Agnliholic. The use of the subjunctive ("as if she were") adds emphasis to one of the meanings of "act" (theater, stage = pretend). So yes, it could be pretend in the sentence with the following consequences: the reader could easily imagine "pretend compliance" with the commands of our pretending manager. In other words the sentence would be viewed as a negative evaluation of the worker's effectiveness. Other results: In some work cultures bosses get to raise their voices at and sometimes discipline their workers. Are these the devices (raised voice and meting out of discipline) which our "actor" is employing to "pretend"? Does the worker delegate the work efficiently? Efficient delegation is an "act" that a successful manager would employ. We could go on all day with possible "acts." Hope this helped.