as if it happened or as if it had happened

[chance22]

Usually in a subjunctive sentence we use past participle “had done” when referring to something that didn’t happen. E.g. If he had come yesterday...
Then how to understand the sentence “I remember everything as if it happened yesterday”? Why not “as if it had happened yesterday”?

 

[GoesStation]

Hi, and welcome to the forum. :hi:

Native speakers often use the past simple where careful use would suggest the past perfect. Your sentence is an example of this. I'd use the past perfect, but I'd quite likely elide "it had" to "it'd" or even just /id/. This could sound almost the same as "it".