fingir — Spanish conjugation

to pretend

Frequency#761IrregularReflexivefingirse — to pretend to be

Indicative

Present (Presente) Irregular

The present tense is the most versatile tense in Spanish. It covers actions happening right now, habitual actions, and even near-future plans. One form does the work of three English constructions.

Ella habla inglés — She speaks / is speaking English

PronounSpanishEnglish
yofinjoI pretend
fingesyou pretend
vosfingísyou pretend
él/ella/Ud.fingehe/she/it pretends
nosotrosfingimoswe pretend
vosotrosfingísyou (pl.) pretend
ellos/ellas/Uds.fingenthey pretend

Preterite (Pretérito indefinido) Regular

Used for completed past actions with a defined endpoint — a single event, a series of events, or an action that interrupted another. Common with time expressions like ayer, el lunes, una vez.

Ella habló de ti ayer — She spoke about you yesterday

PronounSpanishEnglish
yofingíI pretended
fingisteyou pretended
vosfingisteyou pretended
él/ella/Ud.fingióhe/she/it pretended
nosotrosfingimoswe pretended
vosotrosfingisteisyou (pl.) pretended
ellos/ellas/Uds.fingieronthey pretended

Imperfect (Pretérito imperfecto) Regular

Describes ongoing or habitual past states — what things were like, background context, what used to happen. Contrasts with the preterite which marks completed events.

Cuando era niño vivía en Valencia — When I was a child I lived in Valencia

PronounSpanish
yofingía
fingías
vosfingías
él/ella/Ud.fingía
nosotrosfingíamos
vosotrosfingíais
ellos/ellas/Uds.fingían

Conditional (Condicional) Regular

Expresses hypothetical actions, polite requests, and what would happen under certain conditions. Also used for reported speech about the future from a past perspective.

¿Podrías ayudarme? — Could you help me?

PronounSpanishEnglish
yofingiríaI would pretend
fingiríasyou would pretend
vosfingiríasyou would pretend
él/ella/Ud.fingiríahe/she/it would pretend
nosotrosfingiríamoswe would pretend
vosotrosfingiríaisyou (pl.) would pretend
ellos/ellas/Uds.fingiríanthey would pretend

Future (Futuro) Regular

Expresses future actions, predictions, and probability about the present. Formed with the full infinitive as stem for most verbs. In spoken Spanish, ir a + infinitive is often preferred for near future.

Ella hablará en conferencia mañana — She will speak at the conference tomorrow

PronounSpanishEnglish
yofingiréI will pretend
fingirásyou will pretend
vosfingirásyou will pretend
él/ella/Ud.fingiráhe/she/it will pretend
nosotrosfingiremoswe will pretend
vosotrosfingiréisyou (pl.) will pretend
ellos/ellas/Uds.fingiránthey will pretend

Present perfect (Pretérito perfecto) Regular

A compound past tense linking a past action to the present moment — something that has happened and still feels recent or relevant. More common in Spain than Latin America where preterite is preferred.

Hoy he hablado con el jefe — Today I have spoken with the boss

PronounSpanishEnglish
yohe fingidoI have pretended
has fingidoyou have pretended
voshas fingidoyou have pretended
él/ella/Ud.ha fingidohe/she/it has pretended
nosotroshemos fingidowe have pretended
vosotroshabéis fingidoyou (pl.) have pretended
ellos/ellas/Uds.han fingidothey have pretended

Pluperfect (Pretérito pluscuamperfecto) Regular

The past of the past — describes an action that was already completed before another past event happened. Always implies a reference point in the past.

Ya había hablado cuando llegaste — She had already spoken when you arrived

PronounSpanishEnglish
yohabía fingidoI had pretended
habías fingidoyou had pretended
voshabías fingidoyou had pretended
él/ella/Ud.había fingidohe/she/it had pretended
nosotroshabíamos fingidowe had pretended
vosotroshabíais fingidoyou (pl.) had pretended
ellos/ellas/Uds.habían fingidothey had pretended

Conditional perfect (Condicional perfecto) Regular

Expresses what would have happened — actions that were possible but did not occur, or regrets about the past. Formed with conditional of haber + past participle.

Habría hablado, pero no me dejaron — I would have spoken, but they did not let me

PronounSpanish
yohabría fingido
habrías fingido
voshabrías fingido
él/ella/Ud.habría fingido
nosotroshabríamos fingido
vosotroshabríais fingido
ellos/ellas/Uds.habrían fingido

Future perfect (Futuro perfecto) Regular

Describes an action that will have been completed by a certain point in the future, or expresses probability about a recent past action.

Para el lunes habré terminado — By Monday I will have finished

PronounSpanishEnglish
yohabré fingidoI will have pretended
habrás fingidoyou will have pretended
voshabrás fingidoyou will have pretended
él/ella/Ud.habrá fingidohe/she/it will have pretended
nosotroshabremos fingidowe will have pretended
vosotroshabréis fingidoyou (pl.) will have pretended
ellos/ellas/Uds.habrán fingidothey will have pretended

Subjunctive

Present subjunctive (Subjuntivo presente) Irregular

Used in subordinate clauses after expressions of desire, doubt, emotion, necessity, or impersonal statements. Triggered by a change of subject between the main and subordinate clause.

Espero que hable — I hope she speaks

PronounSpanish
yofinja
finjas
vosfinjas
él/ella/Ud.finja
nosotrosfinjamos
vosotrosfinjáis
ellos/ellas/Uds.finjan

Imperfect subjunctive (-ra) (Subjuntivo imperfecto (-ra)) Regular

The past subjunctive used after past main verbs, in if-clauses with conditional, and for polite softening. The -ra form is more common in everyday speech than the -se form.

Si pudiera, lo haría — If I could, I would do it

PronounSpanish
yofingiera
fingieras
vosfingieras
él/ella/Ud.fingiera
nosotrosfingiéramos
vosotrosfingierais
ellos/ellas/Uds.fingieran

Imperfect subjunctive (-se) (Subjuntivo imperfecto (-se)) Regular

The alternative past subjunctive form. Interchangeable with -ra in most contexts but slightly more literary or formal. Both forms are grammatically correct in all regions.

Si pudiese, lo haría — If I could, I would do it

PronounSpanish
yofingiese
fingieses
vosfingieses
él/ella/Ud.fingiese
nosotrosfingiésemos
vosotrosfingieseis
ellos/ellas/Uds.fingiesen

Perfect subjunctive (Pretérito perfecto de subjuntivo) Regular

A compound subjunctive that expresses completed actions in a subjunctive context — used after present or future main verbs expressing doubt, emotion or desire.

Dudo que ya haya llegado — I doubt she has already arrived

PronounSpanish
yohaya fingido
hayas fingido
voshayas fingido
él/ella/Ud.haya fingido
nosotroshayamos fingido
vosotroshayáis fingido
ellos/ellas/Uds.hayan fingido

Pluperfect subjunctive (Pluscuamperfecto de subjuntivo) Regular

Expresses what had happened in hypothetical or unreal past contexts — the subjunctive equivalent of the pluperfect. Common in contrary-to-fact past conditions.

Si hubiera hablado, lo habrían creído — If she had spoken, they would have believed her

PronounSpanish
yohubiera fingido
hubieras fingido
voshubieras fingido
él/ella/Ud.hubiera fingido
nosotroshubiéramos fingido
vosotroshubierais fingido
ellos/ellas/Uds.hubieran fingido

Other forms

Imperative (affirmative) (Imperativo afirmativo) Irregular

Direct commands and instructions. The imperative only exists for tú, usted, nosotros, vosotros and ustedes — yo has no command form. Affirmative and negative forms use different conjugations.

Habla más despacio — Speak more slowly

PronounSpanish
finge
vosfingí
él/ella/Ud.finja
nosotrosfinjamos
vosotrosfingid
ustedesfinjan

Imperative (negative) (Imperativo negativo) Regular

Negative commands use the subjunctive forms for all persons. Formed with no + present subjunctive. This applies to all persons including tú where the affirmative uses a different form.

No hables tan rápido — Do not speak so fast

PronounSpanish
no finjas
vosno finjas
él/ella/Ud.no finja
nosotrosno finjamos
vosotrosno finjáis
ustedesno finjan

Present progressive (Presente progresivo) Regular

Emphasises that an action is happening right now at this very moment. Less common than in English since the present tense already covers ongoing actions in Spanish.

Estoy hablando contigo — I am speaking with you

PronounSpanish
yoestoy fingiendo
estás fingiendo
vosestás fingiendo
él/ella/Ud.está fingiendo
nosotrosestamos fingiendo
vosotrosestáis fingiendo
ellos/ellas/Uds.están fingiendo

Preterite progressive (Pretérito indefinido progresivo) Regular

Describes an action that was in progress throughout a completed past period. Uses the preterite of estar + gerund to emphasise the ongoing nature within a defined timeframe.

Estuvo hablando toda la tarde — He was talking all afternoon

PronounSpanish
yoestuve fingiendo
estuviste fingiendo
vosestuviste fingiendo
él/ella/Ud.estuvo fingiendo
nosotrosestuvimos fingiendo
vosotrosestuvisteis fingiendo
ellos/ellas/Uds.estuvieron fingiendo

Imperfect progressive (Pretérito imperfecto progresivo) Regular

Emphasises an ongoing background action using the imperfect of estar + gerund. Layered on top of the imperfect which already conveys continuity — used for extra emphasis on the progressive nature.

Estaba hablando cuando entró — I was speaking when he came in

PronounSpanish
yoestaba fingiendo
estabas fingiendo
vosestabas fingiendo
él/ella/Ud.estaba fingiendo
nosotrosestábamos fingiendo
vosotrosestabais fingiendo
ellos/ellas/Uds.estaban fingiendo

Conditional progressive (Condicional progresivo) Regular

Expresses what would be in progress under hypothetical conditions. Uses the conditional of estar + gerund. Less common but used for emphasis on the ongoing nature of a hypothetical action.

Estaría hablando ahora si pudiera — I would be speaking now if I could

PronounSpanish
yoestaría fingiendo
estarías fingiendo
vosestarías fingiendo
él/ella/Ud.estaría fingiendo
nosotrosestaríamos fingiendo
vosotrosestaríais fingiendo
ellos/ellas/Uds.estarían fingiendo

Future progressive (Futuro progresivo) Regular

Describes an action that will be in progress at a future point, or expresses probability about an ongoing present action. Uses the future of estar + gerund.

Mañana a esta hora estaré viajando — At this time tomorrow I will be travelling

PronounSpanish
yoestaré fingiendo
estarás fingiendo
vosestarás fingiendo
él/ella/Ud.estará fingiendo
nosotrosestaremos fingiendo
vosotrosestaréis fingiendo
ellos/ellas/Uds.estarán fingiendo