as if and as though

1 meaning

As if and as though mean the same. We use them to say what a situation seems like.

It looks as if/though it's going to rain.

I felt as if/though I was dying.

She was acting as if/though she was in charge.

2 tenses

We can use a past tense with a present meaning after as if/though. This shows that a comparison is 'unreal'. Compare:

- She looks as if she's rich.

(Perhaps she is rich.) He talks as if he was rich. (But he is not.)

- You look as though you know each other.

Why is she looking at me as though she knew me? I've never seen her before in my life. However, we do not use a past perfect for a past unreal comparison. He talked as if he was rich, but he wasn't. (not ... as if he had been-rieh...)

In a formal style, were can be used instead of was in an 'unreal' comparison. This is normal in American English. He talks as if he were rich.

3 informal use of like

In an informal style, like is often used instead of as if/though, especially in American English. This is not considered correct in a formal style.

It seems like it's going to rain.

He sat there smiling like it was his birthday.