How to use 〜かのよう{に・な・だ}?

Question

I understand fine how to use 〜(の)よう{に・な・だ}, but I'm not sure when or how you can add in the か. Here's an example from my book: > ４月になって雪が降るなんて、まるで冬が戻って来たかのようです。 How is this different than if it had just said `戻って来た(の)ようです`? Is it purely adding more emphasis? Are there any restrictions on when you can (or can't) add the か?

Answer 1

The かの is a compound particle of question-marker か and の. Best I can figure is that the か is somehow makes the conjecture into a noun clause. The speaker is putting a lot of conjecture based on the evidence at hand to make a statement of conjecture (even if implausible).

In the example sentence a translation might be "When it becomes April and it starts snowing or something, it's almost as if (you think has) winter come back(?)."