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Dans cette soirée mondaine, tout le monde agit comme s'il dissimulait sa vraie identité.

Dans cette soirée mondaine, tout le monde agit comme s'il dissimulait sa vraie identité.
At this high-society party, everyone acts as if they were concealing their true identity.
From Lesson 366:Unreal comparisons (comme si)·French

Questions & Answers about Dans cette soirée mondaine, tout le monde agit comme s'il dissimulait sa vraie identité.

Why is dissimulait in the imperfect tense when the first verb (agit) is in the present?
This is the classic rule for comme si (as if). To express an unreal or hypothetical comparison happening at the same time as the main verb, French uses comme si followed by the imperfect tense (l'imparfait). Even though the party is happening in the present, they aren't actually concealing their identities, so the imperfect is required.
The English translation says 'as if they were', so why does the French use s'il (as if he were)?
In French, the expression tout le monde (everyone) is grammatically a singular masculine noun. Therefore, any pronoun referring back to it must be the singular masculine il. English uses the singular 'everyone' but often switches to the plural 'they', which you cannot do in French.
Why is the possessive adjective sa used instead of leur for 'their true identity'?
This ties back to tout le monde being strictly singular. Since 'everyone' acts as a singular entity (like 'he' or 'she'), it requires the singular possessive adjectives son, sa, or ses. Because identité is a feminine noun, we must use sa.
Why is the 'i' dropped in s'il?
The word si (if) drops its 'i' and uses an apostrophe only when it is directly followed by the pronouns il or ils. This makes si + il become s'il. Keep in mind this elision doesn't happen with feminine pronouns: si + elle remains si elle.
What kind of party is a soirée mondaine?
The adjective mondain (or mondaine in the feminine) refers to high society, socialites, or the fashionable elite. A soirée mondaine is a formal, elegant gathering for wealthy or influential people, which gives a clue as to why people might be acting fake!

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