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Vous dissimulez votre pauvreté derrière cet éventail comme si nous étions idiots.

Vous dissimulez votre pauvreté derrière cet éventail comme si nous étions idiots.
You conceal your poverty behind this hand fan as if we were idiots.
From Lesson 366:Unreal comparisons (comme si)·French

Questions & Answers about Vous dissimulez votre pauvreté derrière cet éventail comme si nous étions idiots.

Why is étions in the imperfect tense here rather than the present tense?
It follows comme si (as if) to express a hypothetical or unreal comparison in the present. The speaker is saying "you are acting as if we are idiots, but we are not." Notice that English does the exact same thing here: we say "as if we were idiots" rather than "as if we are."
Could I just say cachez instead of dissimulez?
Yes, vous cachez works perfectly and is the everyday way to say "you hide." Dissimuler is a slightly more formal synonym, much like using "to conceal" instead of "to hide" in English. It is often used when hiding the truth, one's feelings, or reality.
Why does the sentence use cet éventail instead of ce éventail?
Éventail is a masculine singular noun, so the standard word for "this" would normally be ce. However, because éventail starts with a vowel sound, ce changes to cet to make the pronunciation smoother and avoid a "clash" of two vowel sounds.
Would I also use the word éventail for an electric fan?
No, an éventail specifically refers to a handheld fan, like a traditional folding paper or silk fan. If you are talking about a mechanical, electric, or ceiling fan, the word is ventilateur.

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