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Anonymous Posted 13 years ago
Grammar

Which tense, please?

Hi,

I’ve become confused which tense I should use after as if/as though in a sentence like this one. Could you help me, please?

He took an effective painkiller, and so he could continue his day as if all his health problems

- had gone away

- would have gone away

- went away

Thank you… Emotion: smile
  

Top answer

You can use either had gone away or went away in that sentence, but the past perfect is more desirable, in my opinion. The other option would work only in a conditional sentence, such as His pain would have gone away if he had taken a painkiller.

— RandomGuy

  • You can use either had gone away or went away in that sentence, but the past perfect is more desirable, in my opinion.
  • The other option would work only in a conditional sentence, such as His pain would have gone away if he had taken a painkiller.
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4 Answers
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You can use either had gone away or went away in that sentence, but the past perfect is more desirable, in my opinion. The other option would work only in a conditional sentence, such as His pain would have gone away if he had taken a painkiller.
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AnonymousHi, I’ve become confused which tense I should use after as if/as though in a sentence like this one. Could you help me, please? He took an effective painkiller, and so he could continue his day as if all his health problems - had gone away - would have gone away - went awayThank you…
The past perfect. Note the sequence of the past actions in the claus
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May I know why the past perfect is more desirable here?
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Perfect StrangerMay I know why the past perfect is more desirable here?
The meaning is clear enough without the past perfect, but the sentence just flows better with it.
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