There was a very loud noise. It sounded like a bomb going off.
Question: Is it okay to use “go off” or “went off” after sound like in this sentence?
It sounded like a bomb go off.
It sounded like a bomb went off.
Thank you!
It sounded like a bomb going off. It sounded like a bomb went off. “Go off” must be changed to “Going off.”
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to go off = to explode
Here is the (hidden) grammar behind these two sentences:
shortening of the modifying phrase
(modifying phrase) that was going off
It sounded like a bomb that was going off. shortened to: It sounded like a bomb going off.
It sounded like a bomb that was exploding. shortened to: It sounded like a bomb exploding.
In the above two sentences, ‘like’ means ‘similar to’
It sounded similar to a bomb [that was] going off. It sounded similar to a bomb [that was] exploding.
When ‘like’ is used to mean ‘similar to’, a noun (or nominal phrase) follows:
(nominal phrase) a bomb [that was] going off
It sounded like a bomb going off.
(nominal phrase) a good idea
It sounded like a good idea.
‘like’ meaning ‘as if’
It sounded as if a bomb went off. It sounded like a bomb went off.
It sounded as if a bomb exploded. It sound like a bomb exploded.
When ‘like’ is used to mean ‘as if’, a complete sentence follows:
(sentence) A bomb went off.
It sounded like a bomb went off.
(sentence) Everyone in the arena was chanting.
It sounded like everyone in the arena was chanting.
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