As if

Alice felt as if she [color=red]was in a nice dream.

Why “was”? Why not “had been” ?

Thanks

Hi,

The comparison is being made between two similar times - ‘was’ and ‘felt’. In this case it would be appropriate to use the past subjunctive ‘were’.

Alan

Oh, yeah, I was wrong. :slight_smile:

So what’s the difference between using “were” and using “was” here?

Hi,

I wouldn’t say that using ‘was’ is wrong. This is a topic that has been aired many times on these forums over the years - whether to use the subjunctive or not as in an expression like: If I were/was you’. As you know it is only in the verb ‘be’ that we have a separate form for the subjunctive even though we use it all the time without knowing it with other verbs because the indicative and the subjunctive are the same. By using ‘were’ in your sentence instead of ‘was’ you are simply highlighting the unreality of a person being a dream.

Alan