Real vs unreal comparisons: looks as if it's going to rain (real) vs acts as if he owned the place (unreal past); like in speech
I can signal real vs unreal comparisons through the tense after as if.
Look at these examples. Can you spot the grammar pattern?
The sky looks as if it's about to dump a month of rain on the festival.
The sky looks as if it's about to dump a month of rain on the festival.
The intern gives orders as if he had founded the company himself.
The intern gives orders as if he had founded the company himself.
Pay attention to the highlighted parts. What do they have in common?
The tense signals belief:
| Speaker believes it? | Tense | Example |
|---|---|---|
| plausible | normal tense | It looks as if it's going to rain. |
| unreal/false | past shift | He acts as if he owned the place. |
| unreal, about the past | past perfect | She talks as if she had met the Queen. |
as though = as if (slightly more formal). Spoken English uses like: It looks like it's going to rain. Formal unreal allows were: as if he were the boss.
Apply this grammar in B2 course exercises
Practice ExercisesUnreal comparison unshifted
Unreal → past shift: as if he owned
would inside as if
Past forms, not would
The sky looks as if it's about to dump a month of rain on the festival.
The sky looks as if it's about to dump a month of rain on the festival.
Plausible guess: normal tense after as if.
The intern gives orders as if he had founded the company himself.
The intern gives orders as if he had founded the company himself.
Unreal past: as if + past perfect.
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Practice in course
Apply this grammar in B2 course exercises