"as if" structure

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Hello. I've learnt that:
"when the main clause is in the past tense, we do not use a past perfect after as if to show that a comparison is unreal. Instead we use a simple past in both clauses.
e.g. She looked as if she knew everything, but she didn’t."

And my question is: if I wanted to emphasise that the comparison was real (I was sure that she knew everything), which tense should I use after “as if”?

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@Nat093,

Quote:

She looked as if she knew everything, but she didn’t."

And my question is: if I wanted to emphasise that the comparison was real (I was sure that she knew everything), which tense should I use after “as if”?

I can't even identify parts of speech by their "proper" name, so you can take this with a grain of salt.

It seems to me that the "if" portion implies a hypothetical and/or fictitious situation. If you wanted to change that, I don't see how you could do it with a mere change of tense. You would just add a clarification, as you have done already. For example: "but she didn't" would then become "and she did."

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@Nat093,

You would not use 'as if' if you already knew that she knew everything. You might say "She looked just like someone does when they know everything", the phrase 'just like' and the verb 'does' serving to inform the reader or listener that the comparison is a real one.

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@contrex,

Quote:

You would not use 'as if' if you already knew that she knew everything

For what it's worth, I disagree with this. Your question was about the use of "as if." It's always possible to write something in a different way, but there is no need to in this case. The following would make perfect sense, would violate no rules of grammar or usage that I'm aware of, and would be easily understood by all:

"She looked as if she knew everything, and she did."

You're simply adding that her state of mind matched her looks.

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@contrex,

Contrex, ya know, your dogged determination to somehow dispute, contradict, and/or deny anything and everything I happen to say in any and every thread in which I happen to post leads you to make statements which are quite silly, eh?

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@layman,

layman wrote:

Contrex, ya know, your dogged determination to somehow dispute, contradict, and/or deny anything and everything I happen to say in any and every thread in which I happen to post leads you to make statements which are quite silly, eh?

Look at the post times. When I made my post I had not yet seen yours. I spent some time composing it, during which you made your reply.

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We use 'as if' to make a comparison which is false or fanciful, but also in cases where the comparison is a true one, but the essential point is that at the time of the observation, this is not yet known. She looked as if she knew everything, and as it turned out, she did. I cannot help wondering how a person can possibly "look as if they knew everything". You might as well say "He looked as if he had twenty seven pairs of blue socks", or "She looked as if she had been head of finance at the Acme Widget Company for three years". Lazy writing.

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@contrex,

Quote:

We use 'as if' to make a comparison which is false or fanciful, but also in cases where the comparison is a true one...

Yes.

Quote:

the essential point is that at the time of the observation, this is not yet known

No.

A TIME difference is NOT "essential." Observing a person's appearance, as here, will not, in itself, reveal the whole picture--more is needed than simple "observation." The essential difference (if any) is between appearance and fact, not time frames. Furthermore, the fact that one person (say the author) already knows, does not make that apparent to the observer. Hence the additional information is supplied to supplement the information provided by mere appearance, gleaned from observation.

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"as if" structure

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