"in case something was wrong" or "as if something was wrong"? Last December，just a week before Christmas，I went to a local KMart store to pick up my layaway．Upon reaching the counter, I handed the cle

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"in case something was wrong" or "as if something was wrong"? Last December，just a week before Christmas，I went to a local KMart store to pick up my layaway．Upon reaching the counter, I handed the clerk my layaway receipts and told her I was there to pay off the balance and take the goods home with me．She grabbed my receipts，and kept messing with the computer ________ something was wrong．I felt a little uneasy．I was expecting her to tell me my layaway had been misplaced or something of the sort. It is a cloze test. May I ask why can't I say "in case something was wrong" because the key is "as if something was wrong"? Thank you.

Oct 31, 2016 9:01 AM

Answers · 6

"as if" = like. The way in which the clerk was handling the computer was like the way you would handle it if you had a computer problem. You use "in case" to introduce a clause which gives a reason for taking a precaution. e.g. I will put my umbrella in my bag in case it rains later.

October 31, 2016

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