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TOEIC Link Part 5 — As If and As Though: Choosing the Tense for Real vs. Unreal Comparison

As if and as though look like simple linkers, but Part 5 hides a decision in them: do you keep the present tense, or shift back to the past to signal that the comparison is unreal? This guide separates the situations where the clause describes something plausible from those where it describes something contrary to fact, gives you the were-not-was rule that catches the trap answer, and works the distractor logic on workplace items.

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The new hire handles client calls as if she ____ here for years. The options offer works, has worked, had worked, and will work. Learners who treat as if as a neutral linker pick has worked because the sentence is about present competence. The intended answer is had worked — she has not been here for years, so the comparison is unreal, and unreal comparisons after as if shift the tense back. This guide sorts out when as if and as though keep the present and when they force a backshift.

The two meanings behind one linker

As if and as though are interchangeable in meaning, and both introduce a comparison. The tense inside the clause tells the reader whether that comparison is real or imagined:

  • Plausible / possibly true → keep the natural tense. It looks as if the shipment **has arrived**. (Maybe it really has — the speaker is drawing a likely conclusion from evidence.)
  • Contrary to fact → shift one step back. He talks about the merger as though he **owned** the company. (He does not own it — the past tense marks the comparison as unreal.)

The distractor logic in Part 5 lives in this split. When the surrounding sentence signals that the compared situation is not actually the case, the present-tense option is the trap and the backshifted option is correct — the same one-step-back logic that governs wish and if only hypothetical selection.

The backshift, step by step

When the comparison is unreal, move the verb one tense back from where it would sit if the clause were a plain statement:

  • Present reality → past in the clause: She acts as if she **knew** the answer. (She doesn't know it now.)
  • Past reality → past perfect in the clause: He described the trip as though he **had been** there. (He was never there.)

In the opening item, the reality is present ("she is a new hire now"), and the unreal comparison reaches back into a fictional long tenure, so the clause needs the past perfect had worked. works and has worked both read the comparison as true; will work points forward and ignores the comparison entirely.

The were, not was, refinement

In careful, formal English — the register TOEIC rewards — an unreal as if/as though clause with be uses the subjunctive were for all subjects, not was:

  • ✓ The manager treats the intern as if he **were** a full partner.
  • ✗ The manager treats the intern as if he **was** a full partner. (accepted in speech, but the tested form is were)

So when the blank sits before a be-comparison you know is contrary to fact, expect were regardless of whether the subject is I, he, she, or it. This is the same subjunctive were that appears in conditional inversion and omitting if in formal registers.

Deciding fast on the exam

Work the item in three moves:

  1. Locate the as if / as though clause and read the main clause it attaches to.
  2. Ask: is the compared situation actually true, or contrary to fact? Evidence-based conclusion → keep the natural tense. Imagined or false → backshift.
  3. If it backshifts and the verb is be, choose were. Otherwise take past for a present reality, past perfect for a past reality.

Watch for the giveaway that the comparison is unreal: the main clause usually describes someone behaving or speaking a certain way (acts, talks, treats, describes), not reporting a fact. That behavioral frame is your signal that the as if clause is painting a fiction, and the backshifted answer is the one to pick.

Quick checklist

  • As if and as though mean the same thing; the tense inside decides real vs. unreal.
  • Plausible conclusion → keep the natural tense (It seems as if it **has** rained).
  • Contrary to fact → backshift one step (present→past, past→past perfect).
  • Unreal be-comparison → subjunctive were for every subject.
  • The trap answer keeps the present and treats a fiction as true.

For the broader machinery behind these backshifts, review mixed conditionals and conditional perfect selection, which relies on the same reality-to-clause tense mapping.