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  • Asked on February 4, 2022 in Grammar.

    Google Books claims 17,300 instances of it’s not as if I had and 11,700 of it’s not as if I have, which I think suggests that the short answer for OP is “both tenses are fairly common” in such constructions. Read why?

    I have money and today I am a rich man. Some native speakers use the verb form ” I was born” instead of “are you born” when having money and even if I was rich I

    still wouldn’t help In practice many native speakers today

    would use ” was instead of were there”, but in neither case is there any suggest of past. Also note this example……my throat

    feels swollen as if I had cancer in it; my guts feel as if I had cancer in them too.

    Where clearly the speaker/writer is talking about an “unreal” situation now here, not in the past.


    In practice, most native speakers probably would use present tense in OP’s specific example, if only to reflect the preceding I don’t want to help. Is it wrong to use the subjunctive (?)? (i.e in this case it looks just like the past “tense” anyway.

    • 32449 views
    • 388 answers
    • 11366 votes
  • Asked on February 4, 2022 in Grammar.

    Google Books claims 17,300 instances of it’s not as if I had and 11,700 of it’s not as if I have, which I think suggests that the short answer for OP is “both tenses are fairly common” in such constructions. Read why?

    I have money and today I am a rich man. Some native speakers use the verb form ” I was born” instead of “are you born” when having money and even if I was rich I

    still wouldn’t help In practice many native speakers today

    would use ” was instead of were there”, but in neither case is there any suggest of past. Also note this example……my throat

    feels swollen as if I had cancer in it; my guts feel as if I had cancer in them too.

    Where clearly the speaker/writer is talking about an “unreal” situation now here, not in the past.


    In practice, most native speakers probably would use present tense in OP’s specific example, if only to reflect the preceding I don’t want to help. Is it wrong to use the subjunctive (?)? (i.e in this case it looks just like the past “tense” anyway.

    • 32449 views
    • 388 answers
    • 11366 votes
  • Asked on February 3, 2022 in Grammar.

    Google Books claims 17,300 instances of it’s not as if I had and 11,700 of it’s not as if I have, which I think suggests that the short answer for OP is “both tenses are fairly common” in such constructions. Read why?

    I have money and today I am a rich man. Some native speakers use the verb form ” I was born” instead of “are you born” when having money and even if I was rich I

    still wouldn’t help In practice many native speakers today

    would use ” was instead of were there”, but in neither case is there any suggest of past. Also note this example……my throat

    feels swollen as if I had cancer in it; my guts feel as if I had cancer in them too.

    Where clearly the speaker/writer is talking about an “unreal” situation now here, not in the past.


    In practice, most native speakers probably would use present tense in OP’s specific example, if only to reflect the preceding I don’t want to help. Is it wrong to use the subjunctive (?)? (i.e in this case it looks just like the past “tense” anyway.

    • 32449 views
    • 388 answers
    • 11366 votes
  • Asked on February 2, 2022 in Grammar.

    Google Books claims 17,300 instances of it’s not as if I had and 11,700 of it’s not as if I have, which I think suggests that the short answer for OP is “both tenses are fairly common” in such constructions. Read why?

    I have money and today I am a rich man. Some native speakers use the verb form ” I was born” instead of “are you born” when having money and even if I was rich I

    still wouldn’t help In practice many native speakers today

    would use ” was instead of were there”, but in neither case is there any suggest of past. Also note this example……my throat

    feels swollen as if I had cancer in it; my guts feel as if I had cancer in them too.

    Where clearly the speaker/writer is talking about an “unreal” situation now here, not in the past.


    In practice, most native speakers probably would use present tense in OP’s specific example, if only to reflect the preceding I don’t want to help. Is it wrong to use the subjunctive (?)? (i.e in this case it looks just like the past “tense” anyway.

    • 32449 views
    • 388 answers
    • 11366 votes
  • Asked on February 2, 2022 in Grammar.

    Google Books claims 17,300 instances of it’s not as if I had and 11,700 of it’s not as if I have, which I think suggests that the short answer for OP is “both tenses are fairly common” in such constructions. Read why?

    I have money and today I am a rich man. Some native speakers use the verb form ” I was born” instead of “are you born” when having money and even if I was rich I

    still wouldn’t help In practice many native speakers today

    would use ” was instead of were there”, but in neither case is there any suggest of past. Also note this example……my throat

    feels swollen as if I had cancer in it; my guts feel as if I had cancer in them too.

    Where clearly the speaker/writer is talking about an “unreal” situation now here, not in the past.


    In practice, most native speakers probably would use present tense in OP’s specific example, if only to reflect the preceding I don’t want to help. Is it wrong to use the subjunctive (?)? (i.e in this case it looks just like the past “tense” anyway.

    • 32449 views
    • 388 answers
    • 11366 votes
  • Asked on January 31, 2022 in Grammar.

    Google Books claims 17,300 instances of it’s not as if I had and 11,700 of it’s not as if I have, which I think suggests that the short answer for OP is “both tenses are fairly common” in such constructions. Read why?

    I have money and today I am a rich man. Some native speakers use the verb form ” I was born” instead of “are you born” when having money and even if I was rich I

    still wouldn’t help In practice many native speakers today

    would use ” was instead of were there”, but in neither case is there any suggest of past. Also note this example……my throat

    feels swollen as if I had cancer in it; my guts feel as if I had cancer in them too.

    Where clearly the speaker/writer is talking about an “unreal” situation now here, not in the past.


    In practice, most native speakers probably would use present tense in OP’s specific example, if only to reflect the preceding I don’t want to help. Is it wrong to use the subjunctive (?)? (i.e in this case it looks just like the past “tense” anyway.

    • 32449 views
    • 388 answers
    • 11366 votes
  • Asked on January 31, 2022 in Grammar.

    Google Books claims 17,300 instances of it’s not as if I had and 11,700 of it’s not as if I have, which I think suggests that the short answer for OP is “both tenses are fairly common” in such constructions. Read why?

    I have money and today I am a rich man. Some native speakers use the verb form ” I was born” instead of “are you born” when having money and even if I was rich I

    still wouldn’t help In practice many native speakers today

    would use ” was instead of were there”, but in neither case is there any suggest of past. Also note this example……my throat

    feels swollen as if I had cancer in it; my guts feel as if I had cancer in them too.

    Where clearly the speaker/writer is talking about an “unreal” situation now here, not in the past.


    In practice, most native speakers probably would use present tense in OP’s specific example, if only to reflect the preceding I don’t want to help. Is it wrong to use the subjunctive (?)? (i.e in this case it looks just like the past “tense” anyway.

    • 32449 views
    • 388 answers
    • 11366 votes
  • Asked on January 31, 2022 in Grammar.

    Google Books claims 17,300 instances of it’s not as if I had and 11,700 of it’s not as if I have, which I think suggests that the short answer for OP is “both tenses are fairly common” in such constructions. Read why?

    I have money and today I am a rich man. Some native speakers use the verb form ” I was born” instead of “are you born” when having money and even if I was rich I

    still wouldn’t help In practice many native speakers today

    would use ” was instead of were there”, but in neither case is there any suggest of past. Also note this example……my throat

    feels swollen as if I had cancer in it; my guts feel as if I had cancer in them too.

    Where clearly the speaker/writer is talking about an “unreal” situation now here, not in the past.


    In practice, most native speakers probably would use present tense in OP’s specific example, if only to reflect the preceding I don’t want to help. Is it wrong to use the subjunctive (?)? (i.e in this case it looks just like the past “tense” anyway.

    • 32449 views
    • 388 answers
    • 11366 votes
  • Asked on January 31, 2022 in Grammar.

    Google Books claims 17,300 instances of it’s not as if I had and 11,700 of it’s not as if I have, which I think suggests that the short answer for OP is “both tenses are fairly common” in such constructions. Read why?

    I have money and today I am a rich man. Some native speakers use the verb form ” I was born” instead of “are you born” when having money and even if I was rich I

    still wouldn’t help In practice many native speakers today

    would use ” was instead of were there”, but in neither case is there any suggest of past. Also note this example……my throat

    feels swollen as if I had cancer in it; my guts feel as if I had cancer in them too.

    Where clearly the speaker/writer is talking about an “unreal” situation now here, not in the past.


    In practice, most native speakers probably would use present tense in OP’s specific example, if only to reflect the preceding I don’t want to help. Is it wrong to use the subjunctive (?)? (i.e in this case it looks just like the past “tense” anyway.

    • 32449 views
    • 388 answers
    • 11366 votes
  • Asked on January 31, 2022 in Grammar.

    Google Books claims 17,300 instances of it’s not as if I had and 11,700 of it’s not as if I have, which I think suggests that the short answer for OP is “both tenses are fairly common” in such constructions. Read why?

    I have money and today I am a rich man. Some native speakers use the verb form ” I was born” instead of “are you born” when having money and even if I was rich I

    still wouldn’t help In practice many native speakers today

    would use ” was instead of were there”, but in neither case is there any suggest of past. Also note this example……my throat

    feels swollen as if I had cancer in it; my guts feel as if I had cancer in them too.

    Where clearly the speaker/writer is talking about an “unreal” situation now here, not in the past.


    In practice, most native speakers probably would use present tense in OP’s specific example, if only to reflect the preceding I don’t want to help. Is it wrong to use the subjunctive (?)? (i.e in this case it looks just like the past “tense” anyway.

    • 32449 views
    • 388 answers
    • 11366 votes