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Whatchadoin Posted 14 years ago
Grammar
As if
He looks as if he's having fun. - Right now. This version is the standard one in BrE and all of my friends use it. I do, too. I was told that this version was substandard in AmE. Do americans use this kind of structures?
He looks as if he was having fun. - This sounds wrong to me. I would never use this one because the "looks" in the sentence does not match the second part of the sentence. And by doesn't match I mean the tenses.
He looked as if he was having fun. - I'd use this one if I were talking about the past. Am I right?
What tense is the best after "as if"? I've looked it up in lots of online guides and all of them have given me different definitions. A native speaker whose native language is BrE told me that this was the area in English language that was changing and that might be the reason why lots of people have different opinions on it.
Should I just match tenses as I always do?
Please do not reply if you're not a native speaker of AmE. Thanks.
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He looks as if he was having fun. - This sounds wrong to me. I would never use this one because the "looks" in the sentence does not match the second part of the sentence. And by doesn't match I mean the tenses.
He looked as if he was having fun. - I'd use this one if I were talking about the past. Am I right?
What tense is the best after "as if"? I've looked it up in lots of online guides and all of them have given me different definitions. A native speaker whose native language is BrE told me that this was the area in English language that was changing and that might be the reason why lots of people have different opinions on it.
Should I just match tenses as I always do?
Please do not reply if you're not a native speaker of AmE. Thanks.
/English/AddPost.aspx?ReplyToPostId=1602222&Quote=False,/English/AddPost.aspx?ReplyToPostId=1602222&Quote=False
Top answer
I read it as a case of subjunctive mood. Yes, it seems to be on its way out on both sides of the pond. " "Were" would work for both simple present and simple past.
- I read it as a case of subjunctive mood.
- Yes, it seems to be on its way out on both sides of the pond.
- " "Were" would work for both simple present and simple past.
- ) However, Americans rarely use this form except in some formal written work.
- It's considered perfectly acceptable to substitute "was" for "were" in modern American English.
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3 Answers
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I read it as a case of subjunctive mood. Yes, it seems to be on its way out on both sides of the pond.
Some would consider it correct to say, "He looks as if/though he were having fun."
"Were" would work for both simple present and simple past. (He looked as though he were having fun.)
However, Americans rarely use this form except in some formal written
Some would consider it correct to say, "He looks as if/though he were having fun."
"Were" would work for both simple present and simple past. (He looked as though he were having fun.)
However, Americans rarely use this form except in some formal written
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Let me just make sure I understand this.
We don't actually know if he is having fun, do we? Do we use "as if" to talk about unreal situations?
Present simple:
He looks as if he was having fun.
He looks as if he is having fun.
Great work! As if I didn't have enough problems.
Great work! As if I don't have enough proble
We don't actually know if he is having fun, do we? Do we use "as if" to talk about unreal situations?
Present simple:
He looks as if he was having fun.
He looks as if he is having fun.
Great work! As if I didn't have enough problems.
Great work! As if I don't have enough proble
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Hopefully one of our master grammarians will weigh in on this. It can get a little complicated.
A hundred years ago the subjunctive mood was a little more respectable. But a lot of the subjunctive uses have been completely abandoned. A hundred years ago, If you had said "I'd use this one if I was talking about the past" it would have been not just substandard but totally unacceptable
A hundred years ago the subjunctive mood was a little more respectable. But a lot of the subjunctive uses have been completely abandoned. A hundred years ago, If you had said "I'd use this one if I was talking about the past" it would have been not just substandard but totally unacceptable
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