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ITALIAN VERB

pretendere

to demand, to expect

  • #460 most used
  • Irregular -ere verb
  • Past participle: preteso
  • Gerund: pretendendo

Conjugation

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

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Passato prossimo · finished actions: “ho parlato”

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

Imperfect

Imperfetto · “used to” and “was …ing”

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

Future

Futuro semplice · plans and guesses

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

Conditional

Condizionale · “would”, polite requests

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

Present subjunctive

Congiuntivo presente · wishes, doubts, “che …”

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

Imperative

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

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

How to use pretendere

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

  1. Present

    Pretendo una spiegazione, e subito.

    I demand an explanation, and right now.

  2. Past

    Ha preteso di parlare con il direttore.

    He demanded to speak to the manager.

  3. Imperfect

    Il capo pretendeva troppo da tutti noi.

    The boss expected too much from all of us.

  4. Future

    Pretenderanno il rimborso completo del viaggio.

    They'll demand a full refund for the trip.

  5. Conditional

    Non pretenderei tanto da un bambino.

    I wouldn't expect so much from a child.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Non mi piace che tu pretenda sempre tutto.

    I don't like you always demanding everything.

  7. Imperative

    Non pretendere troppo da te stessa.

    Don't expect too much of yourself.

Good to know

  • A false friend: pretendere is to demand, not to pretend, which is fare finta.

Verbs like this one

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