He talked if he were a millionaire

[angliholic]

He talked as if he were a millionaire.
He talked as if he had been a millionaire.


Do the above two samples sound as right and good to you? If yes, are they the same in meaning? Thanks.

[Naamplao]

He talked as if he were a millionaire.
He talked as if he had been a millionaire.


Do the above two samples sound as right and good to you? If yes, are they the same in meaning? Thanks.

They sound fine to me. The first sentence refers to a man that is still a millionaire or at least talks like one. The second sentence refers to a man who perhaps once was a millionaire or at least talks as if he once was one.

[angliholic]

Thanks, Naamplao.
Do you mean sentence 1 and 2 are equal in meaning? While sentence 3 and 4 are the same?

1. He talked as if he were a millionaire.
2. He talks as if he were a millionaire.

3. He talks as if had been a millionaire.
4. He talked as if he had been a millionaire.

[Noego]

They sound fine to me. The first sentence refers to a man that is still a millionaire or at least talks like one. The second sentence refers to a man who perhaps once was a millionaire or at least talks as if he once was one.

I don't mean to question your interpretation as I'm not a native speaker myself, but reading this sentence:

'' He talked as if he were a millionaire.''

I have a different impression.

Here's how I see it:

1. First of all, it's someone talking in the past (talked)
2. But in my opinion, the person here isn't a millionaire, but rather talks as if he was one.

[BobK]

I don't mean to question your interpretation as I'm not a native speaker myself, but reading this sentence:

'' He talked as if he were a millionaire.''

I have a different impression.

Here's how I see it:

1. First of all, it's someone talking in the past (talked)
2. But in my opinion, the person here isn't a millionaire, but rather talks as if he was one.

This has effectively the same meaning as 'He talked as if he had been a millionaire' - that is 'He talked like a millionaire'.

If you want to make the past perfect version refer to a state that had actually been true at one stage, you need to add an adverb:

'He talked as if he had still been a millionaire.' [In this case he had indeed been a millionaire once, and still talked as if he was. You could convey a similar meaning with 'He talked as if he was/were still a millionaire', but the past perfect emphasizes the fact that the one-time millionaire had a change of fortune.]

b