Breakdown of Ne dévoile pas le cadeau et fais semblant de travailler.
et
and
ne
not (used before the verb)
pas
not (used after the verb)
travailler
to work
le cadeau
the gift
dévoiler
to unveil
faire semblant de
to pretend to
Questions & Answers about Ne dévoile pas le cadeau et fais semblant de travailler.
Why is there no 's' at the end of dévoile?
Even though this is the tu form, regular -er verbs drop the final -s in the imperative (command) mood. So tu dévoiles becomes just dévoile.
Can I use the verb prétendre instead of faire semblant to say 'pretend'?
Not exactly. Prétendre is a false friend that usually means 'to claim' or 'to assert' (e.g., claiming something is true). To express acting like you are doing something, the fixed expression faire semblant de is the correct choice.
Why do we use de before travailler?
The expression faire semblant (to pretend) must always be followed by the preposition de when linking to an infinitive verb. Together, faire semblant de + infinitive means 'to pretend to do' something.
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