As If v. As Though?

Open Forum in English
1

I’m kind of confused about the usage of , “as if” and “as though”. I know that they are used slightly differently and I do understand their meanings in the sentence. However, I don’t understand why you would use one over another. It is, “I felt as if I was dreaming”, or “I felt as though I was dreaming”? Maybe it’s a tense thing? I don’t know. Haha. Any explanation would be great, thank you so much.

2

Hi Adlai,

I found the following two grammar explanations, that both tell, that “as if” and “as though” mean the same and can be exchanged arbitrarily:

http://www.grammaring.com/as-if-as-though

They only discuss the meanings for different tenses there. I think I have read “as if” more often than “as though” so maybe this one is just more common?

Regards,
Kathi

3

As far as I know, they mean exactly the same.

4

Kathi - Ah, okay, so, “as if” is just less formal. Thank you very much for the sites and your answer, I appreciate it!
Elric - Thanks very much!

5

Yes they are the same - although as far as I can recall, I hear “as if” used much more often in spoken language.

6

“As though” is fairly commonly used in English as well. Their meanings are identical: “As would be the case if…”.

“As if!”, by itself, can also be used informally to mean: “I very much doubt it!” or “That is definitely not the case!” It could sound impolite or even very rude in various circumstances, though.

7

Ah, okay, I understand. Thank you very much!

8