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Here's a sentence that I get mixed up.

  1. It's as if we were all friends that have know each other for a long time even though it is the first time that I see them.

  2. It's as if we were all friends that have know each other for a long time even though it is the first time that I've seen them.

I think both are possible, but which one is the best?

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Neither example is correct.

  • You need to be consistent about the tense of the frame story.
  • If the frame story is present tense, you need "we are", "have known", "it is", and "I've".
  • If the frame story is past tense, you need "we were", "had known", "it was", and "I'd".
  • Most authors would put a comma after "known each other for a long time".

If these problems were fixed, #2 would be correct.

To my (American) ear, the following re-write sounds more natural:

It's as if we were all friends that had known each other for a long time, even though it was the first time we'd met.

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    One extra comment: I'd use the present test if everyone was still together (say, seated around the table): It's as if we are all friends who have known each other for a long time, even though this is the first time we've met.). If I were telling someone else about the event the next day, though, I'd word it the way you did (although I might start with It was as if instead of It's as if).
    – J.R. ♦
    Commented Mar 20, 2015 at 8:41

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