282 CHAPTER 6. LANGUAGE PATTERNS
- Prone
Closely related to likeness, the noun adjective is used to compare
something in the ”prone to” way. While a noun adjective, there are some
instances where can be used with as well, such as:
”My (younger) sister is someone who’s prone to illness.”However, there are no clear rules on when one can use , so typi-
cally it’s best to stick with using as a noun adjective.
For verbs and verbal adjectives, this suffix is added to the :
”This clock tends to run fast.”- Resemblence
A final way to indicate likeness is by using the verb meaning ”to re-
semble” or ”to be similar”. Typically used in - form, this verb is
used in combination with the particles or , where the choice of particle
determines the nuance of likeness. Using makes the statement describe
near-exact likeness:
”Those ideas are like the ones I had.””The colour of gold is (sort of) the same as brass.”Using , on the other hand, makes the statement describe general
likeness, or a likeness in a particular (but non-specified) way:
”(She) really takes after (her) mother.””That mountain (kind of) resembles a duck, doesn’t it?”