Representing when, where, how and why
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Representing how | page 7 of 8 |
As if / as though
As if and as though are used to express manner or comparison in examples such as the following:
We're behaving as if this is the only source of power. (Bank of English)
Van Dijk, the world No23, looked as though he was suffering from the after-effects of that career-best win. (Bank of English)
In these two examples, the comparison is factual or real. Note that in the first example, a present tense verb is used after as if because the time of reference is the present. In the second example, a past tense verb is used after as though because the time of reference is the past.
As if and as though are also used for unreal comparisons:
He can paint a landscape as if he were Corot. (Microconcord Corpus A)
She was wearing jeans and a T-shirt, and from this angle, if you didn't look at her elbows, she looked as though she were in her twenties.
(Bank of English)
Note the use of the subjunctive 
were, which
suggests that the comparisons are hypothetical or unreal. In other words, in the first
sentence, the person is not Corot while in the second sentence, the person is not in her
twenties.
Introduction
As if / as though
