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Debpriya De Posted 16 years ago
Grammar
Were/had been
"He talks as if he were/was my father."
If we have to convert this sentence into past tense should we change "were" to "had been" as in
"He talked as if he had been my father."
If we have to convert this sentence into past tense should we change "were" to "had been" as in
"He talked as if he had been my father."
Top answer
He talked as if he had been my father is correct. Alex
- He talked as if he had been my father is correct.
- Alex
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3 Answers
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He talked as if he were my father is right ... because being father is not a one-time thing. Had been would sound weird in this case. 'were' applies to past situations just as well. They played as if they had been on drugs. Here 'had been' would fit perfectly.
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"He talks as if he is my father"
This sentence means that the way he talks suggests that he is my father and that might be true.
The past tense form of this sentence is "He talked as if he was my father".
"He talks as if he were my father." This means that he is not my father, but he talks in a way that suggests that he is my father. But clearly he is not my father. It is a co
This sentence means that the way he talks suggests that he is my father and that might be true.
The past tense form of this sentence is "He talked as if he was my father".
"He talks as if he were my father." This means that he is not my father, but he talks in a way that suggests that he is my father. But clearly he is not my father. It is a co
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