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He never climbed Mt. Everest, but he talks as if he had climbed the Everest. OR He never climbed Mt. Everest, but he talks as if he had climbed Mt. Everest.

Mister Micawber · Accepted Answer

Only the second is correct, but 'it' would be more natural.

Pleasehelp · Answer

AnonymousHe never climbed Mt. Everest, but he talks as if he had climbed the Everest. OR He never climbed Mt. Everest, but he talks as if he had climbed Mt. Everest.

I don't understand how the sentence can be past perfect when it doesn't follow the past perfect rules? Is it because it's a conditional sentence?

The Past Perfect expresses the idea that something occurred before another action in the past. It can also show that something happened before a specific time in the past.

Dimsumexpress · Answer

pleasehelp
I don't understand how the sentence can be past perfect when it doesn't follow the past perfect rules? Is it because it's a conditional sentence?

Yes. This is part of the subjunctive construction spectrum. It's usually used to denote something contrary to the fact.

This may help you understand:

http://alt-usage-english.org/excerpts/fxsubjun.html

The past subjunctive is used:

(1) for counterfactual conditionals: "If I were..." or
(literary) "Were I...". In informal English, substitution of
the past indicative form ("If I was...") is common. But note
that speakers who make this substitution are still
distinguishing possible conditions from counterfactual ones,
by a change of tense:

Present Past

Possible condition: "If I am" "If I was"

Counterfactual condition: "If I were/was" "If I had been"

"As if" and "as though" were originally always used to introduce
counterfactuals, but are now often used in "looks as if",
"sounds as though", etc., to introduce things that the speaker
actually believes ("It looks as if" = "It appears that"). In
such cases the present indicative is often used. ("As if" and
"as though" are exceptions to the above table in that they take
the past subjunctive, not the pluperfect subjunctive, for
counterfactuals in the past. The past tense of "If he were a
fool, he would mention it" is "If he had been a fool, he would
have mentioned it"; but the past tense of "He talks as if he
were a fool" is "He talked as if he were a fool." "He talked as
if he had been a fool" would mean that he seemed, not foolish,
but regretful of earlier foolishness.)

Fowler says that there is no "sequence of moods" requirement in
English: it's "if I were to say that I was wrong", not "if I
were to say that I were wrong".

(2) for counterfactual wishes: "I wish I were..."; "If only I
were..."; (archaic) "Would that I were...". Again, substitution
of the past indicative is common informally. Achievable wishes
are usually expressed with various verbs plus the infinitive:
"I wish to...", "I'd like you to..."

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