fingere — Italian conjugation
to pretend
Indicative
Present (Presente) Regular
The presente covers habits, ongoing situations, and plans about to start — much like English “I study” and “I am studying”. One present tense does both in Italian.
Lavora da casa tre giorni a settimana.
| Pronoun | Italian | English |
|---|---|---|
| io | fingo | I pretend |
| tu | fingi | you pretend |
| lui/lei | finge | he/she/it pretends |
| noi | fingiamo | we pretend |
| voi | fingete | you (pl.) pretend |
| loro | fingono | they pretend |
Simple past (Passato remoto) Irregular
The passato remoto tells a completed, narrative past, especially in the south and in literature. The passato prossimo is the normal spoken past in the north, so you choose register and region, not a difference in time alone.
Quella sera arrivò tardi, senza alibi.
| Pronoun | Italian | English |
|---|---|---|
| io | finsi | I pretended |
| tu | fingesti | you pretended |
| lui/lei | finse | he/she/it pretended |
| noi | fingemmo | we pretended |
| voi | fingeste | you (pl.) pretended |
| loro | finsero | they pretended |
Imperfect (Imperfetto) Regular
The imperfetto is for incomplete past actions, context, and repeated or habitual situations without a clear end. The passato prossimo, not the remoto, is its usual “event” partner in speech.
Da bambina passavo le estati al mare.
| Pronoun | Italian |
|---|---|
| io | fingevo |
| tu | fingevi |
| lui/lei | fingeva |
| noi | fingevamo |
| voi | fingevate |
| loro | fingevano |
Conditional (Condizionale) Regular
The condizionale is for polite “would you…”, first-condition hypotheticals, and reported future from a past point of view. The classic if-chain is se + imperfetto → condizionale.
Potresti alzare un poco la voce?
| Pronoun | Italian | English |
|---|---|---|
| io | fingerei | I would pretend |
| tu | fingeresti | you would pretend |
| lui/lei | fingerebbe | he/she/it would pretend |
| noi | fingeremmo | we would pretend |
| voi | fingereste | you (pl.) would pretend |
| loro | fingerebbero | they would pretend |
Future (Futuro semplice) Regular
The futuro semplice is for predictions and far decisions. In speech you often hear the present (with a time adverb) or a paraphrase, and a famous trick is the futuro di probabilità for a present guess: saranno le tre.
Domani partiremo all'alba.
| Pronoun | Italian | English |
|---|---|---|
| io | fingerò | I will pretend |
| tu | fingerai | you will pretend |
| lui/lei | fingerà | he/she/it will pretend |
| noi | fingeremo | we will pretend |
| voi | fingerete | you (pl.) will pretend |
| loro | fingeranno | they will pretend |
Present perfect (Passato prossimo) Regular
The passato prossimo is the workhorse preterit-like past in the north and in everyday Italian: avere/essere + participle, essere for reflexives, motion, and other change-of-state patterns.
Siamo andati a piedi, poi abbiamo preso l'autobus.
| Pronoun | Italian | English |
|---|---|---|
| io | ho finto | I have pretended |
| tu | hai finto | you have pretended |
| lui/lei | ha finto | he/she/it has pretended |
| noi | abbiamo finto | we have pretended |
| voi | avete finto | you (pl.) have pretended |
| loro | hanno finto | they have pretended |
Pluperfect (Trapassato prossimo) Regular
The trapassato prossimo is “further in the past than another past” — the Italian pluperfect. It pairs with a main past clause to mark sequence.
Avevamo già mangiato quando suonò il telefono.
| Pronoun | Italian | English |
|---|---|---|
| io | avevo finto | I had pretended |
| tu | avevi finto | you had pretended |
| lui/lei | aveva finto | he/she/it had pretended |
| noi | avevamo finto | we had pretended |
| voi | avevate finto | you (pl.) had pretended |
| loro | avevano finto | they had pretended |
Conditional perfect (Condizionale passato) Regular
The condizionale passato is for unreal or missed past results and often appears with se + trapassato prossimo in the protasis.
Avrei accettato, se mi avessero avvisato in tempo.
| Pronoun | Italian |
|---|---|
| io | avrei finto |
| tu | avresti finto |
| lui/lei | avrebbe finto |
| noi | avremmo finto |
| voi | avreste finto |
| loro | avrebbero finto |
Future perfect (Futuro anteriore) Regular
The futuro anteriore says something will already be over before a still-later future, or, like the French, can express a logical guess about a past result.
Entro le cinque, avrà già lasciato l'ufficio.
| Pronoun | Italian | English |
|---|---|---|
| io | avrò finto | I will have pretended |
| tu | avrai finto | you will have pretended |
| lui/lei | avrà finto | he/she/it will have pretended |
| noi | avremo finto | we will have pretended |
| voi | avrete finto | you (pl.) will have pretended |
| loro | avranno finto | they will have pretended |
Subjunctive
Present subjunctive (Congiuntivo presente) Regular
The congiuntivo presente is required after many verbs and fixed phrases of will, fear, purpose, and doubt. Impersonal and semi-impersonal triggers (è importante che) also force the subjunctive mood.
Penso che sia la scelta giusta.
| Pronoun | Italian |
|---|---|
| io | finga |
| tu | finga |
| lui/lei | finga |
| noi | fingiamo |
| voi | fingiate |
| loro | fingano |
Imperfect subjunctive (Congiuntivo imperfetto) Regular
The congiuntivo imperfetto is the past of the congiuntivo system after a past matrix clause and in se + congi. imperf. → condizionale with unreal conditions.
Se avessi più tempo, viaggerei ogni mese.
| Pronoun | Italian |
|---|---|
| io | fingessi |
| tu | fingessi |
| lui/lei | fingesse |
| noi | fingessimo |
| voi | fingeste |
| loro | fingessero |
Other forms
Imperative (affirmative) (Imperativo) Regular
The affirmative imperativo reuses the tu form as 3sg for -are verbs, while other conjugations use the normal tu present. It is the direct command register.
Raccontami com'è andata l'esame.
| Pronoun | Italian |
|---|---|
| tu | fingi |
| lui/lei | finga |
| noi | fingiamo |
| voi | fingete |
| loro | fingano |
Imperative (negative) (Imperativo negativo) Regular
Negative commands use non + full infinitive in modern Italian, which is a distinctive rule compared to other Romance languages. Polite or indirect “please don’t” can still soften the tone in context.
Non aprire quella finestra, per favore.
| Pronoun | Italian |
|---|---|
| tu | non fingere |
| lui/lei | non finga |
| noi | non fingiamo |
| voi | non fingete |
| loro | non fingano |