# acts as if he knows /knew [acted; known / had known]



## ortak

Jack acts as if he *knows* all the answers. -> I think it may be correct for the aspect that Jack's behaviour, he pretends as he really knows the answers. 

Jack acts as if he *knew* all the answers. -> I think it may be correct for another aspect that Jack, he pretends as he knows the answers, but in fact, he doesn't. 

I think both of them can be used with different aspects. Am I correct? If not, please show me my mistake


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## LQZ

Jack acts as if he *knows* all the answers. --->  That fact is he really knows the answers.
Jack acts as if he *knew* all the answers. --->  He just predents to know all the answers, which contrasts with the fact. 


Hope it helps.


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## bluegiraffe

LQZ said:


> Jack acts as if he *knows* all the answers. ---> That fact is he really knows the answers.
> Jack acts as if he *knew* all the answers. ---> He just predents to know all the answers, which contrasts with the fact.


I'm sorry, but this just isn't true.  The first sentence does not tell us that Jack knows the answers.  It tells us *he act as if he knows all the answers*.

The first sentence means Jack is saying he knows all the answers now.
The second sentence could mean that Jack is now pretending that he knew all the answers at some point in the past.  Maybe there was a quiz and he is saying that he knew all the answers during the quiz.


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## ortak

bluegiraffe said:


> The second sentence could mean that Jack is now pretending that he knew all the answers *at some point in the past*. Maybe there was a quiz and he is saying that he knew all the answers during the quiz.


 
so isn't it better to say 'Jack *acted* as if he *knew* all the answers' to refer *at some point in the past*?


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## xqby

No, not quite. We'll go with green for past and purple for present.

Jack acted as if he knew all the answers.
Jack acts as if he knew all the answers.
Jack acts as if he knows all the answers.

All three are correct: the differences are in _when _Jack is behaving in a certain way, and _when _Jack is purported to know or have known the answers.


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## ortak

ortak said:


> Jack acts as if he *knows* all the answers. -> I think it may be correct for the aspect that Jack's behaviour, he pretends as he really knows the answers.
> 
> Jack acts as if he *knew* all the answers. -> I think it may be correct for another aspect that Jack, he pretends as he knows the answers, but in fact, he doesn't.
> 
> I think both of them can be used with different aspects. Am I correct? If not, please show me my mistake


 
Actually, I am a bit confused. Are my comments in the first message correct? If not, what is my mistake here?


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## Librarian44

I would understand:
As if he knows - maybe he does, maybe he doesn't
As if he knew - in fact he doesn't


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## ortak

Librarian44 said:


> I would understand:
> As if he knows - maybe he does, maybe he doesn't
> As if he knew - in fact he doesn't


 
Yes, you got the same meaning as me.


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## xqby

I think you're both making a mistake. In either situation he might or might not know the answers. The only difference is the time frame.


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## ortak

xqby said:


> I think you're both making a mistake. In either situation he might or might not know the answers. The only difference is the time frame.


 
What is the time frame difference? I just learned the subject on *real or unreal ground. *

Here some examples from my book :

You look *as if* you*'re having* second thoughts. (True. He is having second thoughts.)

He acts *as if* he *were* in charge. (Unreal. He isn't in charge.)

I feel *as if* an express train *had hit* me. (It didn't hit me.)


I just thought my other sentences in this base.


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## LQZ

Here are some usage from Longman Online Dictionary.



> *as if...*
> a) in a way that makes it seem that something is true or that something is happening:
> 
> _Mrs Crump looked as if she was going to explode._
> 
> 
> b) used to emphasize that something is not true or will not happen:
> _She said she'd never speak to me again. As if I cared (=I do not care at all)._


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## xqby

Well, it certainly _could_ mean that. I don't think that the default assumption, in the absence of context, is that we're talking about unreal conditions, though.

"He acts as if he knew the answers, but I know that he didn't." - unreal
"He acts as if he knew the answers; I guess we'll see whether he really did." - uncertain


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## LQZ

> Jack acts as if he *knows* all the answers. ---> That fact is he may probably know all the answers.
> Jack acts as if he *knew* all the answers. ---> He don't know all the answers at all


 
The above is my understanding.


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## irea

The "knew" in the second sentence is not past tense but present subjunctive, same as in "If I were a rich man". Both sentences are equivalent, but I think the second one is more correct from the grammatical point of view.

*Present and past subjunctive (From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subjunctive_mood)*


The terms _present subjunctive_ and _past subjunctive_ can be misunderstood, as they describe _forms_ rather than _meanings_: the past and present subjunctives are so called because they resemble the past and present indicatives, respectively, but the difference between them is a difference in modality, not a temporal one.
For example, in "I asked that it be done yesterday," _be done_ (a present subjunctive) has no present-tense sense; and likewise, in "If that were true, I would know it," _were_ (a past subjunctive) has no past-tense sense.
To give another example, "It is high time that we _*bought*_ a new car". Although _*bought*_ appears to be the past tense of the verb _*to buy*_, actually the car has not been purchased yet.


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## xqby

"Jack acts as if he knows all the answers _on the test we're having today_." (present)
"Jack acts as if he knew all the answers _on the test we had yesterday_." (past)

Time frame difference.

Same meaning:
"Jack acts like he knows all the answers on the test."
"Jack acts like he knew all the answers on the test."

"As if" describes how Jack is or was acting; it does not cast doubt on his knowledge.


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## liliput

Librarian44 said:


> I would understand:
> As if he knows - maybe he does, maybe he doesn't
> As if he knew - in fact he doesn't


 
I concur with this interpretation. Swan's Practical English Usage has this:



> When we talk about things which we know are not true, we can use a past tense with a present meaning after _as if/though. _This emphasises the meaning of unreality. Compare:
> -_She looks as if she is rich_. (perhaps she is)
> -_He talks as if he was rich_ (But he is definitely not) [I would use _were_ in this sentence]


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## bluegiraffe

Librarian44 said:


> I would understand:
> As if he knows - maybe he does, maybe he doesn't
> As if he knew - in fact he doesn't


 
I completely disagree. As a native speaker, I wouldn't make that distinction between the two phrases. It is simply a matter of whether he knows "this thing" now, or knew "this thing" earlier. To act as if you know/knew means that you think or you are pretending that you know/knew, it has no basis at all in whether you really did/do know or not.

I completely disagree with Swans English Usage too - I don't believe it has that connotation at all.  Why can't we have:

"He talks as if he were rich.  Maybe he is, I don't know".


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## JamesM

I think the distinction is valid.

"He speaks as if the president consulted with him on a regular basis."  The president definitely doesn't consult with him on a regular basis; he acts as if he did.

"He speaks as if the president consults with him on a regular basis."  The president might actually consult with him on a regular basis.  I don't know.  From the way he speaks it sounds as if he does.


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## e2e4

irea said:


> *The "knew" in the second sentence is not past tense but present subjunctive*, same as in "If I were a rich man". Both sentences are equivalent, but I think the second one is more correct from the grammatical point of view.



This what I've put in bold at quoted isn't true actually.

The *Past* Subjunctive takes form of the Simple Past, not the Present Subjunctive.
They stare at me as if they *saw* a ghost. (of course they for sure haven't seen any ghost)  

In the past, the equivalent for this sentence is the next one

They stared at me as if they *had seen* a ghost. (of course they for sure hadn't seen any ghost)

Furthermore I think that *could help* (together) is a past subjunctive in the next sentence as well. Rare example but correct I think.

He's been talking as though (if) he could help.

The past subjunctive is chiefly used for *expressing unreality*! (I mostly agree to bluegiraffe, if I haven't made an oversight)

In addition 

The present subjunctive takes form of the bare infinitive exactly.

Long *live* to you my friend!

If this be an error please tell me


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## irea

e2e4 said:


> This what I've put in bold at quoted isn't true actually.
> 
> The *Past* Subjunctive takes form of the Simple Past, not the Present Subjunctive.
> They stare at me as if they *saw* a ghost. (of course they for sure haven't seen any ghost)



You're right. My mistake. m(_ _)m I suppose I was thinking in Spanish. However, what I wanted to point out was that the distinction here should be made between *tense *and *mood*.


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## e2e4

If we are considering the past subjunctives I would like to add that I  distinguish what I call "a total unreality" from unreality at the moment.

If I were you I would do the same. (I can not be you, ever)
If I was in your shoes I would do the same. (I can get into your shoes)

For total unreality and in such examples I use "were" and 
for unreality at the moment I use "was".

I'd like to ask a question does the grammar recognise this or it is my unnecessary invention in the language.


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## JamesM

I don't know what you mean by "unnecessary invention." This is the first I've heard of such a distinction. I know people who use "was" consistently for both conditions and people who use "were" consistently in both conditions, but no one who uses "was" for one and "were" for the other.



			
				e2e4 said:
			
		

> The present subjunctive takes form of the bare infinitive exactly.
> 
> Long *live* to you my friend!
> 
> If this be an error please tell me.


 
This is an error. You might say "Long live my friend!" or "Long life to you, my friend!" but not "Long live to you my friend."

("If this be an error" was, at one time, spoken in English but these days I only hear it on "International Talk Like A Pirate Day".   I believe this was dropped from general use at least a couple of hundred years ago. )


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## ortak

xqby said:


> No, not quite. We'll go with green for past and purple for present.
> 
> Jack acted as if he knew all the answers.
> Jack acts as if he knew all the answers.
> Jack acts as if he knows all the answers.
> 
> All three are correct: the differences are in _when _Jack is behaving in a certain way, and _when _Jack is purported to know or have known the answers.


 
Jack acted as if he knew all the answers. -> Jack *behaved (*in the past) as if he *had* (past)all the correct answers. 

Jack acts as if he knew all the answers. -> Jack *is acting* (now) as if he *had* (past) the correct answers 


Jack acts as if he knows all the answers. -> Jack *is acting* (now) as if he *has* (now) the correct answers. 


Lets say ;

Jack acted as if he had known the answers.


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## JamesM

There is disagreement about this, ortak, and you have chosen one possible interpretation. 

Several of us have experience with the format:

Jack (present tense) as if (past tense)

to mean that he doesn't, or probably doesn't, have something, now or in the past. It is a way of describing a condition where he pretends to have (or fools himself into thinking he has) the thing after "as if".

Jack bosses people around as if someone made him boss around here.
Jack swaggers around the office as if he owned the place.
Jack throws out answers as if he had the encyclopedia memorized.

These are all unreal conditions. He is acting in a way that would be consistent with the condition stated in the second half but the condition is not true. It is a way of expressing irritation when someone's actions don't match up with the actual conditions.


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## ortak

Sorry, I reedited my sentences


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## JamesM

I'm still in disagreement with this interpretation being the only one:

Jack acts as if he knew all the answers. -> Jack *is acting* (now) as if he *had* (past) the correct answers 

This is one way that the sentence can be interpreted. For example, "Jack acts as if he knew all the answers to the test yesterday."

It can also mean that Jack acts now in the present as if he has all the answers but he actually doesn't.

For example: "I wish Jack would shut up. He doesn't know what he's talking about and he's only making things worse. But you know Jack... he (always) acts as if he knew all the answers."

I honestly think it's similar to the subjunctive in French where you can say "He _says_ that he is rich" and actually indicate by the verb tense of "is" that you're pretty sure he isn't. Shifting it to the past tense indicates that you think he doesn't have the answers (and never did.)

[edit]  I found this in a Google Books search, but it's only one line:

Webster's New World English Grammar Handbook

"As if" clauses are contrary to fact and take the subjunctive:

He acts _as if he were_ God's gift to women.


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## ortak

Yes James M , I realized there is a disagreement, but I think you (natives) use it in both ways.

There is two diffferent ways making sentences with 'as if'. One is *'Time Frame'* and the other is *'Unreal/Uncertain type'.* I think, context is very important to give the meaning clearly and I think both can be used.

Books explains the subject with *'Unreal/Uncertain type' *(at least the one I have does it) and ignores the *time frame* aspect so this makes us learn the subject in an incomplete way. If it is used among natives, we need to be aware of them and now I got the difference, I think.


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## panjandrum

Is this an example of the gently-fading past subjunctive that is used in hypothetical situations?  The only identifiable form of which is "were"?

We are content that "He acts as if he were rich" is about his present state of richness, with the past form "were" actually being a hypothetical indicator telling us that he is not rich.

But we balk at "He acts as if he knew the answers" being about his present state of knowing.  This, we are determined, is about his state of knowledge in the past.

(Sorry, when I say "we" I am referring to a set of native speakers who seem convinced that "knew" refers to a state of knowledge in the past.)
(Sorry #2.  I think I may have missed this point or something similar having been made already.)


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## Thomas1

panjandrum said:


> Is this an example of the gently-fading past subjunctive that is used in hypothetical situations?  The only identifiable form of which is "were"?
> 
> We are content that "He acts as if he were rich" is about his present state of richness, with the past form "were" actually being a hypothetical indicator telling us that he is not rich.
> 
> But we balk at "He acts as if he knew the answers" being about his present state of knowing.  This, we are determined, is about his state of knowledge in the past.


Do you think it may mean both? If not, how would you express the hypothesis that he actually doesn't know the answers please? (Using He acts as if.)


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## Starfrown

I think the major problem here is *the possibility of mixed tense*.

"John acts as if he knew the answers."

may mean:

"John acts as if he knew the answers [to the test we took yesterday] *[now/when we were taking it]*."

*This sentence is ambiguous in my opinion, since we may interpret "knew" as either indicative or subjunctive. If "knew" is indicative, then the sentence is mixed tense--that is, "knew" refers to his knowledge at the time when he was taking the test--and we cannot be sure whether he actually knew the answers or not. If "knew" is subjunctive, it means that he does not now know the answers to the test he took yesterday.*

"John acts as if he knew the answers [to the test we are taking now]."

This sentence, on the contrary, should only be used to mean that he actually does _not_ know the answers to the test.

I suppose it is fair to say, then, that in the absence of context, the sentence:

"John acts as if he knew the answers."

is subject to at least three interpretations.
----


JamesM said:


> Jack bosses people around as if someone *had* made him boss around here.


I would use "had" to make it clear that it is counterfactual, but I wouldn't be surprised to hear simply "made" in colloquial English.


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## panjandrum

Thomas1 said:


> Do you think it may mean both? If not, how would you express the hypothesis that he actually doesn't know the answers please? (Using He acts as if.)


As others have said, from this sentence:
"He acts as if he knows the answers."
I have no idea from that sentence whether he knows the answers or not.

There is an equivalent question for those who assert that using "knows" or "knew" in this sentence tells you something about his present state of knowledge.
How would you express the statement that his current behaviour suggests that he had, in the past, knowledge of the answers?


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## Thomas1

I was asking particularly about the sentence with "knew", Panj. 


> But we balk at "He acts as if he knew the answers" being about his present state of knowing. This, we are determined, is about his state of knowledge in the past.


My point is that if you accept: "He acts as if he were rich" as a present state, why do you balk at "He acts as if he knew the answers" expressing the same? I don't balk at all at its meaning a past state of mind.
Anyway, I think that Starfrown has given the answer; unless there is something more to it?


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## Loob

I'm sure this has already been said in this thread, but I can't actually find the post that says it...

_He acts as if he knew the answers _has two possible interpretations:

(1) he acts as if he knew (past indicative) the answers yesterday, last week etc. He probably did know the answers yesterday, last week etc: certainly, that's how he acts. 
(2) he acts as if he knew (past subjunctive) the answers; but in fact this is pretty unlikely - and I don't believe it for a minute.


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## JamesM

Starfrown said:


> I would use "had" to make it clear that it is counterfactual, but I wouldn't be surprised to hear simply "made" in colloquial English.


 
Interesting.  Would you do the same with "Who made _him _boss?"


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## Starfrown

Loob said:


> I'm sure this has already been said in this thread, but I can't actually find the post that says it...
> 
> _He acts as if he knew the answers _has two possible interpretations:
> 
> (1) he acts as if he knew (past indicative) the answers yesterday, last week etc. He probably did know the answers yesterday, last week etc: certainly, that's how he acts.
> (2) he acts as if he knew (past subjunctive) the answers; but in fact this is pretty unlikely - and I don't believe it for a minute.


My post, #30

I actually cite three possible interpretations, but I'd like to know what you think.



JamesM said:


> Interesting. Would you do the same with "Who made _him _boss?"


No, I definitely would not use "had" here. "Has" would be fine, I think:

"Who's made _him_ boss?"

In my alteration of the sentence you posted above, I was simply transferring "has made" into the subjunctive. There is no doubt that "had made" with a main verb in the present is counterfactual because there is simply no other way to interpret it (i.e. it is impossible to read it as a pluperfect indicative).


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## JamesM

> In my alteration of the sentence you posted above, I was simply transferring "has made" into the subjunctive. There is no doubt that "had made" with a main verb in the present is counterfactual because there is simply no other way to interpret it (i.e. it is impossible to read it as a pluperfect indicative).


 
I'll have to ruminate on it a bit (that is, using the pluperfect to signal a counterfactual situation which seems odd to me), but I would like to point out that I didn't have "has made". I had the simple past: "made". You jumped two steps backward. 

I certainly wouldn't say:

He acts as if he had known all the answers.

to indicate a counterfactual condition.


I've also never heard "Who*'s* made him boss?"  As far as I know, the expression invariably uses the simple past: "Who made you/him boss?"


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## Loob

Starfrown said:


> My post, #30.


Thanks, Starfrown, I knew I'd seen the idea before


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## panjandrum

Thomas1 said:


> I was asking particularly about the sentence with "knew", Panj.
> My point is that if you accept: "He acts as if he were rich" as a present state, why do you balk at "He acts as if he knew the answers" expressing the same?
> ...


Sorry, I didn't answer your question clearly.  You asked
_... how would you express the hypothesis that he actually doesn't know the answers please (using as if)?_
I can't.
But I posed an equivalent question of those for whom knew/knows is a marker of current knowledge.
How would you express in this sentence structure the statement that his current behaviour suggests that he had, in the past, knowledge of the answers? 	

I have, by this stage, gone round so many possibilities and changes of mind that I'm not sure what I think any more


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## Starfrown

JamesM said:


> I'll have to ruminate on it a bit (that is, using the pluperfect to signal a counterfactual situation which seems odd to me), but I would like to point out that I didn't have "has made". I had the simple past: "made". You jumped two steps backward.
> 
> I certainly wouldn't say:
> 
> He acts as if he had known all the answers.
> 
> to indicate a counterfactual condition.


Actually, I think:

"He acts as if he had known all the answers."

may be possible in a sentence with mixed tense. It means:

"He acts [now] as if he had known all the answers [when we were taking the test yesterday]."

I stress, though, that it is not the same as:

"He acts as if he knew all the answers."

which I discussed above, *although it may be in colloquial English*.
----
I know that you did not use the perfect, but consider:

"He acts as if someone has made him boss."

I don't know whether someone has made him boss or not. Contrast:

"He acts as if someone had made him boss."

I know for certain (in the present) that someone has not made him boss (in the past, with present implications).



JamesM said:


> I've also never heard "Who*'s* made him boss?" As far as I know, the expression invariably uses the simple past: "Who made you/him boss?"


I agree that I would choose the simple past over the perfect in this case. I was commenting primarily on a hypothetical.


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## ortak

panjandrum said:


> How would you express the statement that his current behaviour suggests that he had, in the past, knowledge of the answers?


 
I think we can not explain because it is contrary to the logic of *'as if/as though'* _conjuctions so they can not refer to something real._ It only can refer somebody or something ( i.e. a situation) that is pretending as something else.

From My Toefl book ; 

*'as if/as though' ; *these conjuctions indicate something *unreal *or *contrary to fact* and thus are very similar in form to conditional sentences. The verb which follows these conjuctions must be in the *past tense* or *past perfect.* Remember that the past tense of *be* in a contrary to fact statement must be *were *and NEVER *was*.

*so it may be wrong to say* *'He acts as if he knows the answer'*
*We should use KNEW instead of KNOWS,* for both logical and grammatical aspect.

and i go on from the book ;

*Note :* The two preceeding rules apply only when as if or as though indicated a contrary fact meaning. At times, they do not have meaning and then would not be followed by these tenses.

He looks as if he has finished the test.
(_Perhaps _he has finished)

He looked as though he was leaving.
(_Perhaps _he was leaving)


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## JamesM

> I know that you did not use the perfect, but consider:
> 
> "He acts as if someone has made him boss."
> 
> I don't know whether someone has made him boss or not. Contrast:
> 
> "He acts as if someone had made him boss."
> 
> I know for certain (in the present) that someone has not made him boss (in the past, with present implications).


 
Sorry, I just don't see that distinction. I would simply say, "He acts as if somebody made him boss" (simple past) to indicate that I'm pretty sure he wasn't. The pluperfect sounds odd and superfluous here.

Since it's really a type of subjunctive, as an unreal condition, I think it always calls for the simple past:

She acts as if she were queen of all she surveyed.
She acted as if she were queen of all she surveyed.
He acts as if someone made him boss.
He acted as if someone made him boss.


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## Starfrown

panjandrum said:


> How would you express in this sentence structure the statement that his current behaviour suggests that he had, in the past, knowledge of the answers?


As I pointed out above, I believe that the following sentence suggests that he *may* have known the answers at the time when he took the test:

"He acts as if he knew the answers."

I don't think there is any way to express that he definitely knew the answers with the "as if" construction. By its very nature, it is intended to indicate either that an action may have taken place, or that it certainly did not take place.


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## ortak

ortak said:


> Here some examples from my book :
> 
> You look *as if* you*'re having* second thoughts. (True. He is having second thoughts.)


 
This is another sentence with *as if* from my another Advanced book. Contrary to the Toefl book, *present continous* tense is used instead of past tense and some natives said *'Jack acts as if he knows all the answers'* sentence is correct.

Yes, the situaiton is very complicated indeed


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## Starfrown

JamesM said:


> Sorry, I just don't see that distinction. I would simply say, "He acts as if somebody made him boss" (simple past) to indicate that I'm pretty sure he wasn't. The pluperfect sounds odd and superfluous here.


First, I'd like to point out that, in colloquial English, I'd likely interpret the statement in the same way as you. 

However, in formal English, I have a problem with "made." It should mean that I don't know whether he was made boss or not. That is, it must be a sentence with mixed tense--main verb in present indicative, verb in the "as if" clause in simple past indicative--because there is no possibility that it is the result of transferring the following present sentence into the subjunctive:

"He acts as if somebody makes him boss."

which is unacceptable English. That is to say that we must also consider the nature of the verb in the "as if" clause in this discussion. "Know" is stative, unlike "make," so differences will necessarily arise.

This is getting quite complicated.  My main point is that, in formal English, if the verb in the "as if" clause is indicative, we cannot be sure as to the certainty of its action or state, while if the verb is subjunctive, we can be sure that its action or state is counterfactual.


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## Starfrown

ortak said:


> This is another sentence with *as if* from my another Advanced book. Contrary to the Toefl book, *present continous* tense is used instead of past tense and some natives said *'Jack acts as if he knows all the answers'* sentence is correct.
> 
> Yes, the situaiton is very complicated indeed


"Jack acts as if he knows all the answers" is definitely correct.  It simply means that we don't know for certain whether or not he knows the answers.

Likewise "You look as if you're having second thoughts" is correct.  While the subject may indeed be having second thoughts, the speaker is not entirely certain that that is the case.

Keep in mind, also, that the rules of formal English do not necessarily apply to colloquial English.  I would not be terribly surprised to see "He acts as if he knows all the answers" used in a plainly counterfactual sense.  The shift away from the subjunctive in colloquial English--and for that matter, standard English--is a well-known phenomenon.


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## Aaar

ortak said:


> Jack acts as if he *knows* all the answers. -> I think it may be correct for the aspect that Jack's behaviour, he pretends as he really knows the answers.
> 
> Jack acts as if he *knew* all the answers. -> I think it may be correct for another aspect that Jack, he pretends as he knows the answers, but in fact, he doesn't.
> 
> I think both of them can be used with different aspects. Am I correct? If not, please show me my mistake



Wow.  Will this be in the next _Threads Gone Wild_ video?  BlueGiraffe, Loob, StarFrown have each/all answered the question , yet it lives on.

Reaching back to the original question: neither sentence says anything probative about Jack's knowledge.  Both directly address his behavior.

The second sentence refers to a set of answers given (known) in the past.  The questions have been asked, answers given (or known but not given).  It's done. Past. Over.  But we don't know if Jack knew the answers.

The first sentence is wide open.  Does Jack act as if he knows all the answers--the meaning of life, the price of gold next Tuesday, Caesar's wife's name--or just the answers to yesterday's pop quiz?  Unknown.  The sentence doesn't say.

The use of "as if", in idiomatic AE, suggests the suspicion that the following statement is untrue.  We don't know.

Is the question now "How do we say that Jack acted as if he knew the answers, but he really didn't?"?  How about this: 
"Jack acted as if he knew the answers, but he really didn't."


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## Starfrown

Aaar said:


> Wow. Will this be in the next _Threads Gone Wild_ video? BlueGiraffe, Loob, StarFrown have each/all answered the question , yet it lives on.
> 
> Reaching back to the original question: neither sentence says anything probative about Jack's knowledge. Both directly address his behavior.
> 
> The second sentence refers to a set of answers given (known) in the past. The questions have been asked, answers given (or known but not given). It's done. Past. Over. But we don't know if Jack knew the answers.
> 
> The first sentence is wide open. Does Jack act as if he knows all the answers--the meaning of life, the price of gold next Tuesday, Caesar's wife's name--or just the answers to yesterday's pop quiz? Unknown. The sentence doesn't say.
> 
> The use of "as if", in idiomatic AE, suggests the suspicion that the following statement is untrue. We don't know.
> 
> Is the question now "How do we say that Jack acted as if he knew the answers, but he really didn't?"? How about this:
> "Jack acted as if he knew the answers, but he really didn't."


Maybe you'd better get the video rolling, because I'm not even sure I know what's going on anymore.  When you make the main verb past, it seems as though you should have to use "had known" in the "as if" clause to state that the indicated action or state was definitely counterfactual.  However, "Jack acted as if he had known the answers" seems strange to me.


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## ortak

Starfrown said:


> That is, it must be a sentence with mixed tense--main verb in present indicative, verb in the "as if" clause in simple past indicative--because there is no possibility that it is the result of transferring the following present sentence into the subjunctive:
> 
> "He acts as if somebody makes him boss."
> 
> which is unacceptable English. That is to say that we must also consider the nature of the verb in the "as if" clause in this discussion. "Know" is stative, unlike "make," so differences will necessarily arise.


 
Yes, these are other things we need to take into account when we make sentences with 'as if'.


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## Karen123456

1. He talks as though he *knows *a lot.

2. He talks as though he *knew *a lot.

I think both sentences are correct, but I don't know the difference in meaning between them.

Could somebody please tell me whether I am correct to say that both sentences are correct and, if so, what is the difference in meaning?

Thanks in advance.


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## sabretoof

_knew _makes it sound like it is no longer true, probably because he forgot it all.


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## Thomas1

He talks in such a way that shows you he knows a lot. (he must know a lot) Here, you are bieng admirative.
  He talks as if he knew a lot. (he doesn’t know a lot) Here, you are being ironic.


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## ortak

I think, here it is important what meaning you want to give. 
There can be different points of views, as stated here.
To sum up, there is no a definite conclusion.


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## Karen123456

Thomas1 said:


> He talks in such a way that shows you he knows a lot. (he must know a lot) Here, you are bieng admirative.
> He talks as if he knew a lot. (he doesn’t know a lot) Here, you are being ironic.


I agree with Thomas's explanation. It makes sense to me. I now recall being taught that distinction at school.


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