As If / As Though

Level B2 · Conditionals

As if and as though introduce a comparison about how someone or something appears, seems, sounds, or behaves — and the verb tense you choose after them signals whether that comparison is likely true or clearly imaginary. It looks as if it's raining (present tense — plausible, maybe true) is different from He talks as if he knew everything (past tense — hypothetical, clearly not true); the grammar itself carries part of the meaning.

The tense after as if / as though depends on how real the comparison is:

• as if / as though + present tense — for a comparison that's likely true, describing how something currently appears: It sounds as if she's crying. That guitar sounds as if it needs new strings.
• as if / as though + past simple (talking about now) — for a hypothetical comparison that clearly isn't true right now: He talks as if he knew everything, but he doesn't. In formal English, were replaces was for every subject: She acts as if she were in charge.
• as if / as though + past perfect — for a hypothetical comparison about an earlier moment: She looked as if she had run a marathon, though she'd only walked from the car.
• as if and as though are interchangeable in every pattern above; as though is slightly more formal or literary.

The most common mistake is putting will or would inside the as if / as though clause — He talks as if he will know everything is wrong; only the tense of the verb itself (never will/would) signals whether the comparison is real or hypothetical. A second mistake is using the present tense when the comparison is clearly false — if the sentence already tells you something isn't true, the hypothetical past (as if she were, as if he knew) is required to match that; using the present tense there would wrongly suggest genuine doubt instead of a comparison you already know is false.

Look for as if or as though after verbs like look, sound, seem, act, talk, feel, and behave. A present-tense verb after them signals a plausible, maybe-true comparison; a past-tense verb signals something hypothetical happening now; a past perfect signals something hypothetical that would have happened earlier.

Practice

As If / As Though: Plausible or Hypothetical? · Mixed Practice