🔍 In short. The italian imperfect make believe pattern is the formula Italians use to set up a pretend-play game: Facciamo che io ero la principessa e tu eri il drago. The imperfect tense (ero, eri, andavo, facevi) marks the leap into a make-believe world, even though the game is happening right now. Children use it constantly when assigning roles; adults reach for the same imperfect when they say facciamo che eravamo in vacanza e tu non sapevi una parola di italiano at the start of a role-play exercise, a board game, or a brainstorming session. This B2 guide covers why a past tense expresses present pretend, the canonical formula facciamo che + imperfetto, the adult facciamo finta variant, and the contrast with the canonical hypothetical subjunctive.
The italian imperfect make believe is not slang and it is not an error. The Accademia della Crusca and Treccani both document it as a regular feature of spoken Italian, common from childhood role-play through to adult improvisation. Once you hear it, you cannot un-hear it: it is everywhere Italian children play and everywhere Italian adults rehearse a scene.
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👆🏻 Jump to section
- What italian imperfect make believe means
- The formula: facciamo che + imperfetto
- Why a past tense for a present game
- Assigning and re-assigning roles
- Essere vs other verbs: ero, andavo, facevi
- Adult make-believe: rehearsals and brainstorming
- Facciamo finta che + congiuntivo: the canonical cousin
- Cheat sheet: italian imperfect make believe
- Three common mistakes
- Dialog: Cosimo and Caterina at the infiorata in Spello
- Frequently asked questions
- Related guides
What italian imperfect make believe means
Walk through Spello on the eve of Corpus Domini, around midnight, and the narrow streets are lined with tarp tunnels, plastic chairs and shallow boxes of flower petals being sorted by colour. Whole families work side by side on the flower carpets that will be unrolled by dawn. Among them, you will hear two siblings on a bench drop into a different grammar: Facciamo che io ero la principessa e tu eri il drago. The verb is in the imperfect. The game is happening now. This is italian imperfect make believe.
The italian imperfect make believe is the formula Italians use, from age four onwards, to step out of real life and into a pretend scene. The conventional opening is facciamo che followed by imperfect verbs: io ero / tu eri / noi eravamo. Once both speakers accept the opening, the whole scene unfolds in the imperfect: tu venivi a salvarmi, io scappavo dal castello, il drago sputava fuoco. The tense is not describing the past; it is marking everything inside the imaginary frame.
Italian grammarians describe this pattern alongside the other non-real uses of the imperfect, like dreams and fairy-tale openings. Treccani lists it next to the dream imperfect (imperfetto onirico) under the same heading: an imperfect that signals a made-up world without committing the speaker to any real past time. The italian imperfect make believe is the everyday, conversational face of that same logic.
The formula: facciamo che + imperfetto
The italian imperfect make believe opens with one of three set phrases, all spoken Italian, all instantly recognisable to any native:
- Facciamo che + imperfetto. The most common, used by children and adults.
Let’s play / let’s say that. - Facciamo finta che + congiuntivo imperfetto. The canonical hypothetical, slightly more formal.
Let’s pretend that. - Dai, facciamo + imperfetto. The shortest, with the opener already implied.
Come on, you were the X and I was the Y.
After the opener, every verb in the imagined scene takes the imperfect. The pattern is rigid and the choice of tense matters: switching to the present (io sono) sounds like a real-world description, not a game; switching to the future (io sarò) sounds like a plan, not a make-believe role.
- Facciamo che io ero la guida turistica di Spello e tu eri una visitatrice persa nei vicoli.
Let’s say I was the Spello tour guide and you were a visitor lost in the alleys. - Facciamo che noi due eravamo cavalieri e dovevamo difendere il tappeto di fiori dai piccioni.
Let’s say we two were knights and we had to defend the flower carpet from the pigeons. - Facciamo che tu eri il veterinario e io ti portavo il gatto che non mangiava.
Let’s say you were the vet and I was bringing you the cat that wouldn’t eat. - Facciamo che il signore dell’edicola era un mago travestito e ci dava una mappa segreta.
Let’s say the newsstand man was a wizard in disguise and was giving us a secret map.
Notice how the italian imperfect make believe carries through everything. The opening role assignment (ero la guida) sits in the imperfect, and so do the action verbs that follow (dovevamo difendere, ci dava). The imperfect is not a one-shot marker; it is the tense of the whole make-believe scene.
🔍 One opener, two grammars. Facciamo che takes the imperfetto indicativo (io ero, tu eri). Facciamo finta che takes the imperfetto congiuntivo (io fossi, tu fossi). Both are correct Italian. The first is the spoken, everyday formula; the second is the canonical hypothetical, slightly more careful. Pick the second in writing, the first in conversation.
Why a past tense for a present game
The puzzle at the heart of italian imperfect make believe is exactly the one English speakers feel when they say Let’s pretend you were the king. Why a past tense for a game that is starting right now? The grammatical logic is the same in both languages: the past tense signals a leap away from real, factual time. The imperfect marks the scene as not anchored to the present moment.
Italian deploys this distance-marking imperfect in several spots. In the canonical hypothetical: Se avessi tempo, andrei (the imperfect subjunctive marks a non-real present). In polite requests: volevo un caffè (the imperfect distances the bluntness of voglio). In dreams: stanotte sognavo che volavo sopra Assisi. In children’s games: facciamo che io ero la principessa. In every case the imperfect signals: this is not the real world right here right now.
The italian imperfect make believe pattern also has a practical advantage for children. The imperfect is one of the first past tenses Italian children master, well before the subjunctive. By the age of four most Italian children can already say ero, eri, era, andavo, facevo. Pretend-play language uses the tools the players already control: a fully fluent four-year-old can run an elaborate role-play scene because the grammar requires nothing they have not learned. The canonical facciamo finta che io fossi with subjunctive would be out of reach for the same speaker.
Assigning and re-assigning roles
The italian imperfect make believe really shines in the negotiation phase, when two children are deciding who plays what. The imperfect lets them propose, reject, swap and propose again, all without ever leaving the safety of the pretend frame. Listen to a real exchange.
- Bambino A: Facciamo che io ero il pasticcere e tu eri il cliente esigente.
Child A: Let’s say I was the pastry chef and you were the picky customer. - Bambino B: No, dai, facciamo al contrario: io ero il cliente e tu mi proponevi i dolci.
Child B: No, come on, the other way round: I was the customer and you were offering me the sweets. - Bambino A: Va bene, però alla fine io non li volevo e tu ti arrabbiavi.
Child A: Fine, but in the end I didn’t want them and you got angry. - Bambino B: D’accordo. E poi arrivava il proprietario del bar e ci faceva finire la scena.
Child B: Deal. And then the café owner showed up and made us end the scene.
Every verb in this exchange sits in the imperfect: ero, eri, proponevi, volevo, arrabbiavi, arrivava, faceva. The negotiation about who-plays-what is itself happening inside the make-believe frame. The same imperfect that opens the game also lets the players swap roles, add details, kill off characters, re-set the scene. The italian imperfect make believe is the working grammar of children’s improvisation theatre.
One more nuance: when a child wants to fix a role and stop the negotiation, the verb often switches back to the present. No, adesso io sono la guida e basta. The shift from imperfect (open, negotiable) to present (closed, real) signals that the speaker is done improvising. The grammar carries the meta-message about whether the scene is still up for discussion.
Essere vs other verbs: ero, andavo, facevi
A learner discovering the italian imperfect make believe often assumes the pattern is just the verb essere in the imperfect: io ero, tu eri. That is the canonical opening, because role assignment is identity (I was the X). But once the scene starts moving, every other verb in the italian imperfect make believe script also takes the imperfect.
- Identity: io ero, tu eri, noi eravamo, voi eravate, loro erano.
Role assignment opens the scene. - Movement: andavo, venivi, scappavo, tornava, arrivavano.
Characters move through the imagined space. - Action: facevo, prendevo, vedeva, costruivamo, raccoglievate.
The scene’s events unfold. - Emotion and state: avevo paura, eri stanca, si sentivano persi.
Inner life of the characters.
A small example shows the chain. Facciamo che io ero un artista dell’infiorata e tu mi portavi i petali. Io disegnavo sul cartone e tu decidevi i colori. Alla fine il nostro tappeto vinceva il primo premio e tutta Spello veniva a vederlo. Eight verbs, all imperfect, one continuous make-believe scene. The italian imperfect make believe is not a single verb form but a whole tense register that takes over the conversation once the opening formula is accepted.
🎯 Mini-task #1. Put each verb in the imperfetto and complete the make-believe scene.
- Facciamo che io ___ (essere) la fioraia e tu ___ (venire) a comprare un mazzo per la nonna.
- Tu mi ___ (chiedere) consiglio e io ti ___ (proporre) le margherite gialle.
- Poi ___ (arrivare) un cliente difficile che ___ (volere) solo rose nere.
- Noi due ___ (guardarsi) e ___ (decidere) di chiudere il negozio prima del solito.
- Alla fine ___ (cominciare) a piovere e tutti i fiori del banco ___ (rovinarsi).
👉 Show answers
1. ero / venivi · 2. chiedevi / proponevo · 3. arrivava / voleva · 4. ci guardavamo / decidevamo · 5. cominciava / si rovinavano
Adult make-believe: rehearsals and brainstorming
The italian imperfect make believe does not stop with childhood. Italian adults reach for the same pattern whenever they need to set up a hypothetical scene quickly: rehearsing a job interview, brainstorming a marketing pitch, walking through a board game, planning a surprise. The opener is the same: facciamo che followed by imperfetto.
- Facciamo che eravamo in commissione e tu mi facevi le domande tecniche più cattive.
Let’s say we were on the interview panel and you were asking me the nastiest technical questions. - Dai, facciamo che io ero il cliente che non voleva firmare e tu cercavi di convincermi.
Come on, let’s say I was the client who wouldn’t sign and you were trying to convince me. - Facciamo che il giornalista non sapeva nulla del caso e tu gli spiegavi tutto da zero.
Let’s say the journalist knew nothing about the case and you were explaining everything from scratch. - Facciamo che eri un turista appena arrivato a Perugia e mi chiedevi il primo posto da vedere.
Let’s say you were a tourist just arrived in Perugia and you were asking me the first place to see.
The adult use of italian imperfect make believe overlaps heavily with English let’s say, suppose, imagine that. The two languages reach for past-tense distance for the same reason: a hypothetical scenario is, by definition, not present reality. The imperfect carves out a small space where the speakers can talk about possibilities, run dialogues that are not actually happening, and switch back to the present whenever they want to.
The Italian institutional grammars confirm the continuity. Treccani lists mettiamo che, facciamo che, supponiamo che as colloquial synonyms for supporre, the verb of formal hypothesis. The italian imperfect make believe is one branch of a broader family of hypothesising openers that Italians use in everyday speech, where formal Italian would prefer supponiamo che + congiuntivo.
Facciamo finta che + congiuntivo: the canonical cousin
The canonical version of italian imperfect make believe swaps the indicative for the subjunctive and adds finta: facciamo finta che + congiuntivo imperfetto. Facciamo finta che io fossi la principessa e tu fossi il drago. The meaning is the same; the register is one notch more careful.
- Colloquial: Facciamo che io ero la principessa e tu eri il drago.
Imperfetto indicativo, spoken Italian, children’s and adult casual. - Canonical: Facciamo finta che io fossi la principessa e tu fossi il drago.
Congiuntivo imperfetto, careful spoken and written Italian. - Formal hypothesis: Supponiamo che io fossi la principessa e tu fossi il drago.
Same subjunctive, used in reasoning, brainstorming, written analysis.
Choose by context. With children, write friends or family, facciamo che + imperfetto sounds natural; the subjunctive version would feel weirdly stiff, as if you were teaching a grammar class instead of playing. In a workshop, a planning meeting, or any writing, facciamo finta che + congiuntivo or supponiamo che + congiuntivo is the cleaner choice. Both are correct Italian. The italian imperfect make believe simply lives in the spoken, informal end of the register spectrum.
One small trap: facciamo finta che with the indicative (facciamo finta che ero la principessa) is also heard in very informal speech, especially in central and southern Italy. It is the children’s italian imperfect make believe pattern wearing the canonical opener. Native speakers recognise it; learners are better off picking either the full colloquial form (facciamo che + imperfetto) or the full canonical form (facciamo finta che + congiuntivo) and avoiding the hybrid.
Cheat sheet: italian imperfect make believe
One table with every italian imperfect make believe pattern, its register, and a sample sentence.
| Opener | Verb form | Example | Register |
|---|---|---|---|
| Facciamo che | imperfetto indicativo | Facciamo che io ero la principessa. | spoken, children and adults |
| Dai, facciamo | imperfetto indicativo | Dai, io ero il drago e tu mi addomesticavi. | spoken, very casual |
| Facciamo finta che | congiuntivo imperfetto | Facciamo finta che io fossi la guida. | spoken careful, written |
| Supponiamo / mettiamo che | congiuntivo imperfetto | Supponiamo che tu fossi il cliente. | formal, written, work meetings |
| Immaginiamo che | congiuntivo imperfetto | Immaginiamo che la città fosse deserta. | formal, written, brainstorming |
| Inside the scene | imperfetto indicativo | Tu venivi, io scappavo, il drago sputava fuoco. | spoken, follows any opener |
Three common mistakes
Three slips with italian imperfect make believe flag a B2 sentence as written by a learner. Fixing them is fast.
Mistake 1. Switching to the present after the opener. Wrong: Facciamo che io ero la principessa e tu sei il drago. Correct: Facciamo che io ero la principessa e tu eri il drago. Once the imperfect frame is set, every role-assigning verb stays in the imperfect. Mixing tenses breaks the frame.
Mistake 2. Reading the imperfect literally as past time. Wrong interpretation: a child says io ero la principessa and a learner thinks the child is recounting a past game. Correct: the imperfect is the marker of the make-believe scene starting now. Context decides; the verb form is the same.
Mistake 3. Mixing the canonical and colloquial openers. Wrong: Facciamo finta che io ero la principessa. Correct: either Facciamo che io ero la principessa (full colloquial) or Facciamo finta che io fossi la principessa (full canonical). The hybrid form is heard in casual speech but reads as careless in writing; pick one register and stay consistent.
🎯 Mini-task #2. Rewrite each colloquial italian imperfect make believe sentence into its canonical congiuntivo form.
- Facciamo che io ero la guida turistica e tu eri una visitatrice persa.
- Facciamo che noi due eravamo cavalieri e dovevamo difendere la torre.
- Facciamo che tu eri il veterinario e io ti portavo il cane ferito.
- Facciamo che il vicino era un detective e ci interrogava sul furto.
- Facciamo che eravamo in un’isola deserta e non avevamo niente da mangiare.
👉 Show answers
1. Facciamo finta che io fossi la guida turistica e tu fossi una visitatrice persa · 2. Facciamo finta che noi due fossimo cavalieri e dovessimo difendere la torre · 3. Facciamo finta che tu fossi il veterinario e io ti portassi il cane ferito · 4. Facciamo finta che il vicino fosse un detective e ci interrogasse sul furto · 5. Facciamo finta che fossimo in un’isola deserta e non avessimo niente da mangiare
Dialog: Cosimo and Caterina at the infiorata in Spello
Cosimo, seven, and his sister Caterina, nine, are sitting on plastic chairs in a vicolo of Spello on the eve of Corpus Domini. Their parents are sorting petals for a flower carpet that will be unrolled at dawn. The two siblings invent a pretend-play scene to pass the time. Every italian imperfect make believe pattern shows up in seven turns.
👦🏻 Cosimo: Caterina, facciamo che io ero un grande artista dell’infiorata e tu eri la mia assistente che mi portava i petali giusti.
Caterina, let’s say I was a great flower-carpet artist and you were my assistant bringing me the right petals.
👧🏽 Caterina: Va bene, però dopo cambiamo: io ero l’artista e tu eri l’assistente. E io non ti davo i petali rossi, perché li volevo tutti per me.
OK, but then we switch: I was the artist and you were the assistant. And I wasn’t giving you the red petals, because I wanted them all for myself.
👦🏻 Cosimo: D’accordo. Allora io disegnavo un drago enorme sul cartone e tu mi dicevi che era sbagliato.
Deal. So I was drawing a huge dragon on the cardboard and you were telling me it was wrong.
👧🏽 Caterina: Sì, perché un drago sul tappeto dei fiori non andava bene per la processione. Allora arrivava il parroco di Spello e ci chiedeva di rifare tutto.
Yes, because a dragon on the flower carpet wasn’t right for the procession. So the parish priest of Spello showed up and asked us to redo everything.
👦🏻 Cosimo: E io mi arrabbiavo tantissimo, però poi avevo un’idea geniale: il drago diventava un’aquila e il parroco era contento.
And I was getting really angry, but then I had a brilliant idea: the dragon turned into an eagle and the priest was happy.
👧🏽 Caterina: Bravo. E alla fine il nostro tappeto vinceva il primo premio della giuria e tutta Spello veniva a vederlo all’alba.
Well done. And in the end our carpet won the jury’s first prize and all of Spello came to see it at dawn.
👦🏻 Cosimo: Adesso però facciamo un altro gioco. Facciamo che io sono il giudice della giuria e tu sei una bambina che ha barato.
But now let’s play another game. Let’s say I’m the judge of the jury and you’re a girl who cheated.
👧🏽 Caterina: No no, restiamo nell’imperfetto. Facciamo che tu eri il giudice e io ero la bambina che ti convinceva che non avevo barato per niente.
No no, let’s stick with the imperfect. Let’s say you were the judge and I was the girl convincing you I hadn’t cheated at all.
Count the imperfect verbs Cosimo and Caterina use: ero, eri, portava, cambiamo, ero, eri, davo, volevo, disegnavo, dicevi, era, andava, arrivava, chiedeva, arrabbiavo, avevo, diventava, era, vinceva, veniva, eri, ero, convinceva, avevo. Twenty-four imperfect verbs in eight turns, and notice the final exchange: when Cosimo briefly slips into the present (io sono il giudice), Caterina catches him and pulls the conversation back into the imperfect (restiamo nell’imperfetto, tu eri il giudice). Native children police the italian imperfect make believe frame instinctively.
🎯 Mini-challenge. Invent a short pretend-play exchange of five to six turns between two children at a real Italian event (the Palio di Siena, the Carnevale di Venezia, a school recital). Use facciamo che + imperfetto at least once, swap roles mid-scene, and finish with a verb still in the imperfect. Read it aloud and listen for the rhythm: every action verb in the make-believe scene should sit in the imperfect.
Test your understanding
Take the quiz below to test what you’ve learned about italian imperfect make believe: the formula, the why-past logic, the canonical congiuntivo cousin, and the adult uses.
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Frequently asked questions
Six questions about italian imperfect make believe come up in every B2 cohort. The answers below draw on real classroom usage and on the Treccani entry Imperfetto.
What does italian imperfect make believe mean?
It is the conversational formula Italians use to set up a pretend-play scene: facciamo che + imperfetto. Children say facciamo che io ero la principessa e tu eri il drago to assign roles in a make-believe game. The imperfect tense marks the leap into the imaginary scene, even though the game is happening now. Treccani lists it next to the dream imperfect under the same heading of non-real imperfect uses. Adults reach for the same pattern when they say facciamo che eravamo in vacanza for a role-play exercise, a board game, or a brainstorming session.
Why a past tense for a game happening now?
Because the imperfect signals distance from real, factual present time. The same logic English uses in let’s pretend you were the king. Italian uses this distance-marking imperfect in several spots: counterfactual conditionals (se avessi tempo), polite requests (volevo un caffe), dreams (sognavo che volavo), and children’s games (facciamo che io ero la principessa). In every case the imperfect carves out a space that is not the real here-and-now. The italian imperfect make believe is one branch of that broader logic.
Can adults use facciamo che + imperfetto too?
Yes, constantly. Italians say it when rehearsing a job interview, brainstorming a marketing pitch, walking through a board game, planning a surprise: facciamo che eravamo in commissione e tu mi facevi le domande tecniche piu cattive. The italian imperfect make believe overlaps heavily with English let’s say, suppose, imagine that. Both languages reach for past-tense distance for the same reason. Treccani lists facciamo che next to mettiamo che, supponiamo che as colloquial synonyms for supporre.
Is facciamo finta che io fossi correct too?
Yes, and it is the canonical, slightly more careful version. Facciamo finta che takes the congiuntivo imperfetto: facciamo finta che io fossi la principessa e tu fossi il drago. The meaning is identical to the colloquial facciamo che io ero la principessa. The choice is one of register: the colloquial form belongs to spoken Italian and to children’s play; the canonical subjunctive form is the cleaner choice in writing, in classroom exercises, and in slightly more formal speech. Avoid the hybrid facciamo finta che ero, which is heard in casual speech but reads as careless in writing.
Does only the verb essere take the imperfect, or all verbs?
All verbs. The opening role assignment uses essere (io ero, tu eri), because identity is the most natural opener. But once the scene starts moving, every action verb takes the imperfect: facciamo che io ero la guida e tu venivi al museo, ti spiegavo il quadro, tu mi facevi domande difficili, io non sapevo rispondere. The italian imperfect make believe is a whole tense register that takes over the conversation, not a single isolated verb form. Movement verbs (andavo, venivi), action verbs (facevo, prendevo), state verbs (avevo paura, eri stanca) all switch to the imperfect inside the scene.
Is the italian imperfect make believe only for children?
No. Children use it most visibly and most often, because pretend-play role assignment is a daily activity at ages four to ten. But adults use the same pattern across many situations: rehearsing scenes, playing board games and tabletop role-playing games, walking through hypothetical work scenarios, telling jokes that start with let’s say. The pattern is fully alive in adult Italian. The only register restriction is that in writing or in careful speech, the canonical facciamo finta che + congiuntivo or supponiamo che + congiuntivo is preferred. In everyday spoken Italian, facciamo che + imperfetto works for any speaker of any age.
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Related guides
Three guides that pair with this one, plus an institutional reference on the imperfect.
- Italian Imperfetto Conversational: Non-canonical Uses (B2-C1): the hub on all non-canonical imperfetto uses, of which the make-believe pattern is one branch.
- Italian Come Se: As If with the Subjunctive (B1): the canonical hypothetical structure that the colloquial make-believe formula echoes.
- Italian Se in Exclamations: Se Sapessi! (B2): another use of the imperfetto subjunctive for non-real scenarios.
- Treccani: Imperfetto: institutional entry covering all uses of the imperfect including the make-believe and dream uses.
