Learn Russian: Как ты отличишь подделку, если она выглядит так же, как оригинал? - How will you distinguish a fake if it looks exactly the same as the original?

Как ты отличишь подделку, если она выглядит так же, как оригинал?

How will you distinguish a fake if it looks exactly the same as the original?

Breakdown of Как ты отличишь подделку, если она выглядит так же, как оригинал?

она

she / it (for a feminine noun)

Questions & Answers about Как ты отличишь подделку, если она выглядит так же, как оригинал?

Why does this sentence use так же, как instead of такой же, как?

The phrase так же is an adverb, which means it describes an action or a verb. Here, it describes the verb выглядит (looks). In Russian, you describe how something looks using an adverb. If you were comparing the qualities of two nouns directly (like saying they have the exact same color or size), you would use the adjective form такой же.

Does the word же change the meaning here, or could I just say так, как?

The particle же adds the meaning of 'exactly' or 'the very same'. If you just said так, как, it would loosely mean it looks 'the way' the original does. Adding же emphasizes that it looks exactly the same as the original.

What case is the word подделку?

It is in the accusative case because it is the direct object of the verb отличишь (will distinguish). The dictionary form is the feminine noun подделка (a fake), so the ending changes from -а to -у.

Why is отличишь in the future tense but выглядит is in the present tense?

The verb отличишь is perfective and points to a completed action in the future ('how will you distinguish'). However, выглядит is imperfective and in the present tense because the fake currently looks like the original right now. It describes an ongoing state.