were or was

If you use someone,somebody or somenthing,after that you use singular form of a verb

So the answer is was

I think it depends on the context. Some conditionals take "were" in 1p sg and 3p sg. But in this particular case I think it's neither. I would say:
It was as if someone had been smoking in the room.
I might be wrong though

Anonymousit was as if someone were or was smoking in the room

It was as if someone were or was smoking in the room.

"Was" is correct. "Were" can be used in conditional clauses, but this is not a conditional.

BillJ

I guess I misinterpreted "as if". I assume then that the sentence "It was as if someone had been smoking in the room." is wrong, isn't it?

No. It's fine if the there was a stale smell in the room.

Agarista guess I misinterpreted "as if". I assume then that the sentence "It was as if someone had been smoking in the room." is wrong, isn't it?

No, it's not wrong - it's fine.

[1] It was as if someone was smoking.
[2] It was as if someone had been smoking.

Both are OK. The difference is that [1] is simple past progressive, whereas [2] i

fivejedjon,

thank you for your reply.

BillJ"Was" is correct. "Were" can be used in conditional clauses, but this is not a conditional.

It's not a conditional, but it is counterfactual - nobody is smoking. Some people insist on subjunctive 'were' for this.

fivejedjonBillJ"Was" is correct. "Were" can be used in conditional clauses, but this is not a conditional.It's not a conditional, but it is counterfactual - nobody is smoking. Some people insist on subjunctive 'were' for this.

It was as if someone were or was smoking in the room

Indeed: along the lines of "He was treated as if he were a