fare finta di + Infinitive
'Fare Finta Di' + Infinitive (To Pretend to)
fare finta di + [infinitive]
Example: Faccio finta di dormire. (I pretend to sleep.)
How It Works
The expression fare finta di is the most common way to say 'to pretend' in everyday Italian. It is more informal and frequent than the literary verb fingere.
Key Rules:
- Invariability: The word finta is a feminine noun and never changes, even if the subject is plural. You say facciamo finta, never facciamo finte.
- Truncation: In spoken Italian, fare is often shortened to far (e.g., far finta di) for better flow. This is a common case of troncamento.
- Auxiliary Verb: In compound tenses like the passato prossimo, it always uses avere (e.g., Ho fatto finta di...).
- Subject Agreement: This infinitive construction is used when the person pretending and the person doing the action are the same. If the subjects are different, you use fare finta che. In this case, the subjunctive is the standard and preferred mood (e.g., faccio finta che tu sia qui), though the indicative is often heard in informal speech.
- Comparison with 'fingere': While fare finta is used with di + infinitive or che + clause, the verb fingere can also be used transitively with a direct object (e.g., fingere la morte - to fake death).
Examples (4)
- Ha fatto finta di non sentirmi per non aiutarmi.
He pretended not to hear me so as not to help me.
Word by Word: He has made pretense of not to hear me for not to help me.
Notice that even though the action is negative, the 'di' remains before the 'non'.
- Non far finta di essere sorpreso, sapevi tutto!
Don't pretend to be surprised; you knew everything!
Word by Word: Not to make pretense of to be surprised, you knew everything!
This uses the informal imperative with truncation (far instead of fare).
- I bambini facevano finta di volare nel giardino.
The children were making believe they were flying in the garden.
Word by Word: The children were making pretense of to fly in the garden.
Here, the imperfetto is used to describe a continuous state of play.
- Abbiamo fatto finta di niente.
We acted as if nothing happened.
Word by Word: We have made pretense of nothing.
A very common fixed expression: 'fare finta di niente' (to act like nothing is wrong/happened).
Common Mistakes
Using 'pretendere' to mean 'to pretend'.
Pretendo di essere stanco.Faccio finta di essere stanco.In Italian, 'pretendere' is a false friend; it means 'to demand' or 'to claim.' To say 'to pretend,' you must use 'fare finta di' or 'fingere'.
Omitting the preposition 'di' before the infinitive.
Faccio finta dormire.Faccio finta di dormire.The construction requires the preposition 'di' to link the noun 'finta' to the following verb.
Pluralizing 'finta' when the subject is plural.
Loro hanno fatto finte di non vederci.Loro hanno fatto finta di non vederci.Even if the subject is plural (loro), 'finta' remains singular because it is part of a fixed idiomatic phrase.
How It Connects
Learn This First
To learn 'fare finta di + infinito', you need to be comfortable conjugating the irregular verb 'fare' and understand the general rule of how Italian verbs can be followed by an infinitive using the preposition 'di'.
- Verb + Infinitive
This pattern follows the structure of a conjugated verb followed by a preposition and an infinitive, which is a fundamental syntactic structure in Italian.
Level 1 - di + Possessor'Di' for Possession
The pattern uses the preposition 'di' to link the expression 'fare finta' to the following infinitive.
Level 1
Related Patterns
- fare (espressioni idiomatiche)Common Expressions with 'Fare'
'Fare finta di' is one of many essential idiomatic expressions built using the verb 'fare'.
Level 1 - Truncation
The common shortening of 'fare' to 'far' in this expression is a classic example of truncation for phonetic flow.
Level 1 - avere + Past ParticiplePresent Perfect with 'Avere'
Even when the following infinitive would normally take 'essere' (like 'uscire'), 'fare finta' always uses 'avere' in compound tenses.
Level 2
Words in This Pattern
Practice fare finta di + Infinitive in Bubblegum
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