Breakdown of El se preface că este naiv.
fi
to be (sunt, ești, este, suntem, sunteți, sunt)
el
he
că
that (conjunction)
se preface
to pretend
Questions & Answers about El se preface că este naiv.
The current lesson is about ca și cum and de parcă (as if). How could we rewrite this sentence to use them?
To say "He acts as if he were naive", you would change the verb to se poartă (he acts/behaves) and use de parcă or ca și cum. Because these introduce an unreal situation, you must follow them with the conditional or imperfect: El se poartă de parcă ar fi naiv (conditional) or ...de parcă era naiv (imperfect). In our original sentence, however, se preface (he pretends) just states a direct fake fact using că (that) followed by the normal present tense.
Why is there a se before preface?
The verb is a se preface, which is a reflexive verb meaning "to pretend". If you drop the reflexive pronoun se, the base verb a preface means something completely different: "to transform" or "to turn into" (for example, transforming water into wine). The se is essential to get the meaning of "pretending".
Could I use să instead of că here?
No. Even though pretending involves something untrue, the verb a se preface takes că (that) plus the normal present tense (este). This is because the subject is presenting the false information as if it were a solid reality. You use să for desires, commands, or goals (like vreau să fiu - I want to be).
If a woman were pretending, what would change in this sentence?