How exactly do you say as if in Italian?
In this lesson, we will take a look at how to translate and use this expression in Italian. Read on to learn everything you need to know.
Let’s get started! Iniziamo!
How do you say as if in Italian?
Come se
Come se is how you say as if in Italian.
Come se
As if
For example, you could say…
Ricordo quella giornata come se fosse ieri.
I remember that day as if it were yesterday.
Parli come se sapessi tutto.
You speak as if you knew everything.
Title: Italian All-in-One For Dummies
Language: English / Italian
Publisher: For Dummies
Pages: 672
Learn to speak Italian like a native? Easy.
Italian All-in-One For Dummies appeals to those readers looking for a comprehensive, all-encompassing guide to mastering the Italian language. It contains content from all For Dummies Italian language instruction titles, including Italian For Dummies, Intermediate Italian For Dummies, Italian Verbs For Dummies, Italian Phrases For Dummies, Italian Grammar For Dummies, and Italian For Dummies Audio Set.
How to use come se
As in English, as if in Italian is used to describe imaginary scenarios. The situation itself may be likely to happen or downright impossible. It introduces a hypothetical situation.
Sonia parla inglese come se fosse la sua lingua madre.
Sonia speaks English as if it were her mother tongue.
If you are a beginner of Italian, you may have wondered where fosse comes from.
You see, whenever we talk about a hypothetical situation in Italian, we have to use the subjunctive mood. This mood doesn’t exist anymore in the English language, but if you think about it, remnants of it still live on in expressions like if it were.
There are two tenses in the Italian subjunctive mood:
- congiuntivo imperfetto (imperfect subjunctive)
- congiuntivo trapassato (past perfect subjunctive)
➡️ Brush up on your Italian verb conjugations here!
Come se + congiuntivo imperfetto
First things first, let’s see the cogiuntivo imperfetto conjugations for the very common verbs essere and avere.
| io | fossi | avessi |
| tu | fossi | avessi |
| lui, lei | fosse | avesse |
| noi | fossimo | avessimo |
| voi | foste | aveste |
| loro | fossero | avessero |
You use congiuntivo imperfetto to introduce events happening in the present, hypothetical possibilities, and events happening at the same time. For example, you could say…
Che bel tramonto! È come se il cielo andasse a fuoco.
What a beautiful sunset! It’s like the sky was on fire.
Come se fossi ricco!
As if I were rich!
Come se + congiuntivo trapassato
Yet again, let’s start with the congiuntivo trapassato conjugations of the verbs essere and avere.
| io | fossi stato/a | avessi avuto |
| tu | fossi stato/a | avessi avuto |
| lui, lei | fosse stato/a | avesse avuto |
| noi | fossimo stati/e | avessimo avuto |
| voi | foste stati/e | aveste avuto |
| loro | fossero stati/e | avessero avuto |
You use congiuntivo trapassato to introduce past events and hypothetical possibilities that occur before any other events introduced in the same sentence. For example, we could say…
È come se avessi sempre saputo come sarebbe andata a finire.
It’s as if I had always known how everything was going to end.
Il gatto saltò in aria come se avesse calpestato una spina.
The cat jumped up as if it had stepped on a thorn.
Here are some other examples of as if in Italian:
Tom si comportò come se nulla fosse successo.
Tom acted as if nothing had happened.
Tom si comportò come se nulla fosse successo.
Tom acted as if nothing had happened.
Mi sentivo come se decine di occhi mi stessero guardando.
I felt as if dozens of eyes were looking at me.
Laura guida come se fosse la padrona della strada.
Laura drives as if she owned the road.
Idiomatic expressions with come se in Italian
There are a number of idioms featuring the translation for as if in Italian. Some of these are…
- fai come se fossi a casa tua! (make yourself at home!)
- fare come se niente fosse (do as if nothing happened)
- come se non bastasse (as if this weren’t enough)
And that’s it, now you know how to say as if in Italian!
What next?
Now that you’ve seen how to say as if in Italian, you might want to keep learning Italian online with these free Italian resources:
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