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I wanna make sure how to use as if and as though. On the internet it is possible to find information about that topic (which I did) but it is not accurate enough.

  1. He acts as if he doesn't do anything wrong

  2. He acts as if he didn't do anything wrong

  3. He acts as if he hasn't done anything wrong

  4. He acts as if he hadn't done anything wrong

As far I know once we start with the present tenses and add "as if" still present but also past tenses will refer to the present, which means that my 2 example isn't about the past but about the present. It just expresses bigger doubts. On the other hand, I heard that we have to use perfect tenses to mark past if starting our sentence with a present verb like my 3 and 4 examples.

Yet, one teacher told me that my 2 example could refer to the past as well, but books and internet sites say it is not true. How do you see that?

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  • English speakers use "as if" and "as though" interchangeably although some online sources make a distinction. In practice, no-one will fault you on your choice.
    – Ronald Sole
    Commented Sep 23 at 9:38
  • Delete "He acts as if" from all these examples and note the changes in meaning. Those meanings remain.
    – Andy Bonner
    Commented Sep 23 at 17:28

2 Answers 2

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In (3) and (4), the wrongdoing is in the past.

(1) is not idiomatic. If he is doing something wrong now, strictly speaking you should use the subjunctive;

He acts as if he were not doing anything wrong.

(See this, scrolling down to the bottom.) In informal language, you can get away with saying

He acts as if he wasn't doing anything wrong.

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  • My second example refers to the present or past
    – user203412
    Commented Sep 23 at 12:02
  • Does my second example refer to the present or the past? I would understand it to refer to the past, but I wouldn't express it that way myself.
    – Kate Bunting
    Commented Sep 23 at 14:52
  • as a non native speaker I always look for patterns. Why then, this "He acts as if he were not doing anything wrong." Refers to the present not past but this"He acts as if he didn't do anything wrong" to the past?
    – user203412
    Commented Sep 23 at 19:59
  • "I do" and "I am doing" are the present - "I did" is the past.
    – Kate Bunting
    Commented Sep 24 at 7:31
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He is acting as if he isn't doing anything wrong.

That would be how you'd point out that someone is behaving now in a manner that would suggest he is either unaware or does not care that he is doing something wrong.

Simple present acts could refer to habitual or characteristic behavior. It could appear in a conversation about a person and be used to describe how they usually act.

didn't always refers to the past, though the past could be just a moment ago.

Sorry, I didn't hear you knocking. Come in.

The ancient Romans didn't eat pineapple pizza.

hasn't done refers to the past but in terms of its relevance to the present such as a person's guilt or innocence when being judged for past actions.

Ladies and gentlemen the jury, my client hasn't done anything wrong. He has committed no crime.

hadn't done (the past perfect generally) refers to a past action that took place before some other past action, but it can also be used to express a counterfactual, such as:

He is scarfing that pineapple pizza down as if he hadn't eaten anything for days. But he had a big breakfast at the House of Pancakes.

He is sitting there calmly, acting as if he hadn't done anything wrong, but we both saw him push that very pregnant woman out of the way so he could take the seat on the bus.

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  • My 2 example refer to the present or past?
    – user203412
    Commented Sep 23 at 12:02
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    acts refers to present behavior or habitual/characteristic behavior; didn't do cannot refer to something he is doing now but to something he did a long while ago or has done a moment ago. If you want the as-if clause to refer to action or behavior that is ongoing now, you must use the present continuous tense.
    – TimR
    Commented Sep 23 at 12:23
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    He is acting as if he isn't doing anything wrong, Or He is acting as if he were not doing anything wrong The latter, with were, is a backshift to indicate the counterfactual.
    – TimR
    Commented Sep 23 at 12:51
  • as a non native speaker I always look for patterns. Why then, this "He acts as if he were not doing anything wrong." Refers to the present not past but this"He acts as if he didn't do anything wrong" to the past?
    – user203412
    Commented Sep 23 at 20:00

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