What does" it's like" mean in the following sentence?
I've had this shirt for, like six years. Until this morning, I wasn't into it at all, but now it's like my tastes have changed.
Thanks a lot in advance.
Comments
‘it’s like’ is colloquial English. The grammatical equivalent is, “it is as though my ..” or “it is as if my …” tastes have changed. Similarly, “I wasn’t into it at all…” means “I didn’t feel it appropriate or enjoyable.”
Hi wilpeter, Thank you very much for your help. Would you please by any chances make some examples? I need to save the examples for future revision. By having examples, I can learn the word and use it confidently.
I’m not sure I know what you want examples of. I don’t use slang in my everyday writing or speaking; and it would be difficult to find a set of rules for colloquial English. My feeling is that you should be concentrating on simply recognizing that the word “like” is overused and has too many meanings. “Like, what’s happening?” (What are you doing?) “I’ve got, like, nothing to do and all day to do it in! (Like is used as a pause to think, almost as a punctuation mark, when speaking but would not be written usually.) “I’ve had this shirt for like six years.” (Like meaning ‘about’.) “This is like my only break in a day of waiting tables.” (Like serves no purpose here either.) “Would you like, lend me lunch money?” (In other words, I’m hungry and I am unlikely to pay you back, so can you spare some cash?)
Thanks a million Wilpeter, Your examples helped me to know more about the use of "like". Actually I needed some examples particularly for "it's like" meaning "as if" but thank you very much anyway.
Oh, OK: ‘It’s like a furnace in this room.’ = Literal comparison meaning ‘It is as hot as if it were a furnace.’ ‘It’s like 30 degrees Celsius in here!’ = Factual statement, meaning ‘It feels like 30c.’ ‘It’s like I’ve been in this room before.’ = Confusion, meaning ‘It feels as though I’ve been here before, but I know I haven’t.’ ‘It’s like good to meet you.’ = Casual/colloquial polite talking; meaning ‘Nice to meet you.’
Similarly, “I wasn’t into it at all…” means “I didn’t feel it appropriate or enjoyable.”
Thank you very much for your help.
Would you please by any chances make some examples?
I need to save the examples for future revision. By having examples, I can learn the word and use it confidently.
My feeling is that you should be concentrating on simply recognizing that the word “like” is overused and has too many meanings.
“Like, what’s happening?” (What are you doing?)
“I’ve got, like, nothing to do and all day to do it in! (Like is used as a pause to think, almost as a punctuation mark, when speaking but would not be written usually.)
“I’ve had this shirt for like six years.” (Like meaning ‘about’.)
“This is like my only break in a day of waiting tables.” (Like serves no purpose here either.)
“Would you like, lend me lunch money?” (In other words, I’m hungry and I am unlikely to pay you back, so can you spare some cash?)
Your examples helped me to know more about the use of "like".
Actually I needed some examples particularly for "it's like" meaning "as if" but thank you very much anyway.
‘It’s like a furnace in this room.’ = Literal comparison meaning ‘It is as hot as if it were a furnace.’
‘It’s like 30 degrees Celsius in here!’ = Factual statement, meaning ‘It feels like 30c.’
‘It’s like I’ve been in this room before.’ = Confusion, meaning ‘It feels as though I’ve been here before, but I know I haven’t.’
‘It’s like good to meet you.’ = Casual/colloquial polite talking; meaning ‘Nice to meet you.’