What does pretender mean in English?

Pretender means "to intend" in English.

How do you conjugate pretender in Spanish?

Pretender is conjugated across all Spanish tenses including present, preterite, imperfect, future, conditional, subjunctive, and more. Each tense has specific conjugations for yo, tú, él/ella/usted, nosotros, vosotros, and ellos/ustedes. You can see complete conjugation tables with audio pronunciations on this page.

What should I know about using pretender?

Pretender is a regular -er verb

How do you use pretender in a sentence?

Example: "Pretendió engañarme." which means "He/She tried to deceive me." in English.

What are synonyms for pretender?

Spanish synonyms for pretender include: intentar. The exact synonym to use depends on the context and specific meaning intended.

Pretender

to intend

🎯

Infinitive (infinitivo)

Base form of the verb

pretender

🏃

Gerund (gerundio)

Present participle (-ing form)

pretendiendo

📋

Past Participle

Used in compound tenses

pretendido

Simple Tenses

⚡

Present Indicative (presente de indicativo)

Present actions and habitual activities

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	pretendo I intend	I intend
tú	pretendes you intend	you intend
él/ella/usted	pretende he/she/you intends	he/she/you intends
nosotros	pretendemos we intend	we intend
vosotros	pretendéis you all intend	you all intend
ellos/ustedes	pretenden they/you all intend	they/you all intend

🕰️

Imperfect Indicative (imperfecto de indicativo)

Ongoing past actions and descriptions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	pretendía I used to intend	I used to intend
tú	pretendías you used to intend	you used to intend
él/ella/usted	pretendía he/she/you used to intend	he/she/you used to intend
nosotros	pretendíamos we used to intend	we used to intend
vosotros	pretendíais you all used to intend	you all used to intend
ellos/ustedes	pretendían they/you all used to intend	they/you all used to intend

📅

Preterit (pretérito)

Completed past actions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	pretendí I intended	I intended
tú	pretendiste you intended	you intended
él/ella/usted	pretendió he/she/you intended	he/she/you intended
nosotros	pretendimos we intended	we intended
vosotros	pretendisteis you all intended	you all intended
ellos/ustedes	pretendieron they/you all intended	they/you all intended

🔮

Future (futuro)

Future actions and intentions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	pretenderé I will intend	I will intend
tú	pretenderás you will intend	you will intend
él/ella/usted	pretenderá he/she/you will intend	he/she/you will intend
nosotros	pretenderemos we will intend	we will intend
vosotros	pretenderéis you all will intend	you all will intend
ellos/ustedes	pretenderán they/you all will intend	they/you all will intend

🎯

Conditional (potencial simple)

Hypothetical and conditional actions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	pretendería I would intend	I would intend
tú	pretenderías you would intend	you would intend
él/ella/usted	pretendería he/she/you would intend	he/she/you would intend
nosotros	pretenderíamos we would intend	we would intend
vosotros	pretenderíais you all would intend	you all would intend
ellos/ustedes	pretenderían they/you all would intend	they/you all would intend

💭

Present Subjunctive (presente de subjuntivo)

Subjective present actions and desires

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	pretenda that I intend	that I intend
tú	pretendas that you intend	that you intend
él/ella/usted	pretenda that he/she/you intend	that he/she/you intend
nosotros	pretendamos that we intend	that we intend
vosotros	pretendáis that you all intend	that you all intend
ellos/ustedes	pretendan that they/you all intend	that they/you all intend

🌙

Imperfect Subjunctive (imperfecto de subjuntivo)

Subjective past actions and hypothetical situations

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	pretendiera or pretendiese that I intended	that I intended
tú	pretendieras or pretendieses that you intended	that you intended
él/ella/usted	pretendiera or pretendiese that he/she/you intended	that he/she/you intended
nosotros	pretendiéramos or pretendiésemos that we intended	that we intended
vosotros	pretendierais or pretendieseis that you all intended	that you all intended
ellos/ustedes	pretendieran or pretendiesen that they/you all intended	that they/you all intended

Compound Tenses

✅

Present Perfect (perfecto de indicativo)

Actions completed recently or with present relevance

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	he pretendido I have intended	I have intended
tú	has pretendido you have intended	you have intended
él/ella/usted	ha pretendido he/she/you have intended	he/she/you have intended
nosotros	hemos pretendido we have intended	we have intended
vosotros	habéis pretendido you all have intended	you all have intended
ellos/ustedes	han pretendido they/you all have intended	they/you all have intended

⏪

Pluperfect Indicative (pluscuamperfecto de indicativo)

Actions completed before another past action

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	había pretendido I had intended	I had intended
tú	habías pretendido you had intended	you had intended
él/ella/usted	había pretendido he/she/you had intended	he/she/you had intended
nosotros	habíamos pretendido we had intended	we had intended
vosotros	habíais pretendido you all had intended	you all had intended
ellos/ustedes	habían pretendido they/you all had intended	they/you all had intended

📍

Preterit Perfect (pretérito anterior)

Actions completed immediately before another past action

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	hube pretendido I had intended	I had intended
tú	hubiste pretendido you had intended	you had intended
él/ella/usted	hubo pretendido he/she/you had intended	he/she/you had intended
nosotros	hubimos pretendido we had intended	we had intended
vosotros	hubisteis pretendido you all had intended	you all had intended
ellos/ustedes	hubieron pretendido they/you all had intended	they/you all had intended

🎊

Future Perfect (futuro perfecto)

Actions that will be completed by a future time

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	habré pretendido I will have intended	I will have intended
tú	habrás pretendido you will have intended	you will have intended
él/ella/usted	habrá pretendido he/she/you will have intended	he/she/you will have intended
nosotros	habremos pretendido we will have intended	we will have intended
vosotros	habréis pretendido you all will have intended	you all will have intended
ellos/ustedes	habrán pretendido they/you all will have intended	they/you all will have intended

🔄

Conditional Perfect (potencial compuesto)

Actions that would have been completed under certain conditions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	habría pretendido I would have intended	I would have intended
tú	habrías pretendido you would have intended	you would have intended
él/ella/usted	habría pretendido he/she/you would have intended	he/she/you would have intended
nosotros	habríamos pretendido we would have intended	we would have intended
vosotros	habríais pretendido you all would have intended	you all would have intended
ellos/ustedes	habrían pretendido they/you all would have intended	they/you all would have intended

💫

Subjunctive Present Perfect (perfecto de subjuntivo)

Subjective actions completed in relation to the present

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	haya pretendido that I have intended	that I have intended
tú	hayas pretendido that you have intended	that you have intended
él/ella/usted	haya pretendido that he/she/you have intended	that he/she/you have intended
nosotros	hayamos pretendido that we have intended	that we have intended
vosotros	hayáis pretendido that you all have intended	that you all have intended
ellos/ustedes	hayan pretendido that they/you all have intended	that they/you all have intended

🌌

Subjunctive Past Perfect (pluscuamperfecto de subjuntivo)

Subjective actions completed before another past action

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	hubiera pretendido that I had intended	that I had intended
tú	hubieras pretendido that you had intended	that you had intended
él/ella/usted	hubiera pretendido that he/she/you had intended	that he/she/you had intended
nosotros	hubiéramos pretendido that we had intended	that we had intended
vosotros	hubierais pretendido that you all had intended	that you all had intended
ellos/ustedes	hubieran pretendido that they/you all had intended	that they/you all had intended

❗

Commands (imperativo)

Commands and direct orders

Person	Command	English
tú	pretende	intend! (you)
usted	pretenda	intend! (you formal)
nosotros	pretendamos	let's intend!
vosotros	pretended	intend! (you all)
ustedes	pretendan	intend! (you all)

🚫

Negative Commands (imperativo negativo)

Negative commands and prohibitions

Person	Command	English
tú	no pretendas	don't intend! (you)
usted	no pretenda	don't intend! (you formal)
nosotros	no pretendamos	let's not intend!
vosotros	no pretendáis	don't intend! (you all)
ustedes	no pretendan	don't intend! (you all)

Más sobre "pretender"

Ejemplos en contexto

Pretendió engañarme.

He/She tried to deceive me.

Preterite

¿Qué pretendes conseguir?

What are you trying to achieve?

Present

Ha pretendido ser otra persona.

He/She has pretended to be someone else.

Present Perfect

Pretenderé resolver esto.

I will try to solve this.

Future

Sinónimos y antónimos

Sinónimos:

intentar(to try, to attempt)

More common for expressing attempts

Notas de uso

•Pretender is a regular -er verb
•Main meanings: to intend, to try, to claim
•FALSE FRIEND: Does not mean "to pretend" (use fingir)
•More about attempting or intending than faking

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