He behaves as if he is / were mad.

[Tan Elaine]

1. He behaves as if he is mad.

2. He behaves as if he were mad.

Does the first sentence mean that he behaves as a mad person would, while the second means he is not mad, but behaves like an insane person?

Thanks.

 

[Tan Elaine]

Could someone please help? Thank you very much.

 

[charliedeut]

1. He behaves as if he is mad.

2. He behaves as if he were mad.

Does the first sentence mean that he behaves as a mad person would, while the second means he is not mad, but behaves like an insane person?

Thanks.

Hi Tan Elaine,

I'll give it a go. In my opinion, the use of "as if" implies that he is not mad at all, but he's acting the way a madman would do. So I would use option 2. I'm not sure whether option 1 is incorrect, but it does sound unnatural to me.

Greetings,

Charliedeut

 

[CarloSsS]

1. He behaves as if he is mad.

2. He behaves as if he were mad.

Does the first sentence mean that he behaves as a mad person would, while the second means he is not mad, but behaves like an insane person?

Thanks.

NOT A TEACHER

The first suggest that he might be mad.
The second says that although he behaves as a mad man, he definitely is not mad.

Hi Tan Elaine,

I'll give it a go. In my opinion, the use of "as if" implies that he is not mad at all, but he's acting the way a madman would do. So I would use option 2. I'm not sure whether option 1 is incorrect, but it does sound unnatural to me.

Greetings,

Charliedeut

There is nothing unnatural about the first sentence. However, it is probably less frequent than the second structure ("as if he/she were/was").

 

[Tan Elaine]

Could a native speaker please confirm if the answers given by Charliedeut and CarloSsS are fine? Thanks.