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ITALIAN VERB

fare finta

to pretend

  • #477 most used
  • Irregular -are verb
  • Past participle: fatto finta
  • Gerund: facendo finta

Conjugation

Tap any form to hear it. The part that changes is in colour.

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

  1. io I pretend
  2. tu you pretend
  3. lui, lei, Lei he/she pretends
  4. noi we pretend
  5. voi you all pretend
  6. loro they pretend

Past

Passato prossimo · finished actions: “ho parlato”

  1. io I pretended
  2. tu you pretended
  3. lui, lei, Lei he/she pretended
  4. noi we pretended
  5. voi you all pretended
  6. loro they pretended

Imperfect

Imperfetto · “used to” and “was …ing”

  1. io I used to pretend
  2. tu you used to pretend
  3. lui, lei, Lei he/she used to pretend
  4. noi we used to pretend
  5. voi you all used to pretend
  6. loro they used to pretend

Future

Futuro semplice · plans and guesses

  1. io I will pretend
  2. tu you will pretend
  3. lui, lei, Lei he/she will pretend
  4. noi we will pretend
  5. voi you all will pretend
  6. loro they will pretend

Conditional

Condizionale · “would”, polite requests

  1. io I would pretend
  2. tu you would pretend
  3. lui, lei, Lei he/she would pretend
  4. noi we would pretend
  5. voi you all would pretend
  6. loro they would pretend

Present subjunctive

Congiuntivo presente · wishes, doubts, “che …”

  1. io (that) I pretend
  2. tu (that) you pretend
  3. lui, lei, Lei (that) he/she pretend
  4. noi (that) we pretend
  5. voi (that) you all pretend
  6. loro (that) they pretend

Imperative

Imperativo · requests and orders: tu, Lei, noi, voi

  1. tu pretend!
  2. Lei pretend! (formal)
  3. noi pretend! (let’s)
  4. voi pretend! (all of you)

How to use fare finta

One sentence for each tense, the way people say it.

  1. Present

    Il gatto fa finta di non sentirmi.

    The cat pretends not to hear me.

  2. Past

    Ho fatto finta di niente e sono andata avanti.

    I acted as if nothing had happened and carried on.

  3. Imperfect

    Da piccoli facevamo finta di essere pirati.

    As kids we pretended to be pirates.

  4. Future

    Farò finta di non averlo visto.

    I'll pretend I didn't see him.

  5. Conditional

    Farei finta di dormire, al posto tuo.

    I'd pretend to be asleep, if I were you.

  6. Present subjunctive

    È inutile che tu faccia finta di stare bene.

    There's no point in you pretending to be fine.

  7. Imperative

    Fa' finta di niente, sta arrivando.

    Act natural, she's coming.

Good to know

  • Fare finta di + verb: fa finta di dormire, he's pretending to sleep; fare finta di niente, to act as if nothing happened.

Verbs like this one

The same pattern, on other verbs: irregular -are verb.