fingir Present Conjugation
fingir — to pretend
The present tense of fingir is regular except for the 'yo' form, which changes to 'finjo' to keep the sound right.
fingir Present Forms
When to Use the Present
Use the present to talk about someone who habitually fakes things or is currently pretending to be someone else.
Notes on fingir in the Present
To maintain the soft 'h' sound (the Spanish 'j' sound) before an 'o', the 'g' changes to a 'j' in the 'yo' form: finjo. All other forms use 'g'.
Example Sentences
Yo no finjo mis sentimientos.
I don't fake my feelings.
yo
Ella siempre finge que está muy ocupada.
She always pretends she is very busy.
él/ella/usted
¿Por qué finges que te gusta esa música?
Why do you pretend you like that music?
tú
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Writing 'fingo' for the yo form.
Correct: finjo
Why: In Spanish, 'go' is a hard sound (like 'goat'). To keep the soft sound of 'fingir', we must use 'j' before the 'o'.
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Related Tenses
Preterite
yo: fingí
The preterite of fingir is mostly regular, but watch for the spelling change in the third person: fingió and fingieron.
Imperfect
yo: fingía
The imperfect of fingir is entirely regular: fingía, fingías, fingía, fingíamos, fingíais, fingían.
Future
yo: fingiré
The future tense of fingir is completely regular: fingiré, fingirás, fingirá, fingiremos, fingiréis, fingirán.
Conditional
yo: fingiría
The conditional of fingir is regular: fingiría, fingirías, fingiría, fingiríamos, fingiríais, fingirían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: finja
The present subjunctive of fingir uses a 'j' in all forms: finja, finjas, finja, finjamos, finjáis, finjan.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: fingiera
The imperfect subjunctive of fingir is built from the third-person preterite: fingiera, fingieras, fingiera, fingiéramos, fingierais, fingieran.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: finge
The imperative of fingir tells someone to pretend: finge (tú), finja (usted), finjamos (nosotros), fingid (vosotros), finjan (ustedes).
Negative Imperative
yo: no finjas
The negative imperative of fingir always uses the 'j' spelling: no finjas, no finja, no finjamos, no finjáis, no finjan.