vorgibt

Vorgibt is not a standard standalone verb form in German; it is typically seen as a concatenation or typographical variant of the separable verb vorgeben, which means to pretend, to claim, or to present as fact. The core sense of vorgeben is to present something to others as true, often to influence perception or to mask one’s real status, motives, or knowledge. It is commonly used in contexts such as political discourse, journalism, and everyday conversation.

Grammatical notes: vorgehen is a separable prefix verb, so in the present tense the prefix separates from the stem. The correct present-tense form for “he/she/it” is er gibt vor, not vorgibt; the two-word construction is standard: gibt vor. The past participle is vorgegeben, and other forms include gab vor (simple past) and hat vorgegeben (present perfect). The form vorgibt is not the normative orthography for the standard present tense and may appear only as a misspelling or in contexts where space is compressed, such as headlines.

Usage and nuance: vorgeben expresses intentional presenting or feigning rather than a straightforward claim. It often implies a pretense or a belated justification, sometimes with a critical tone when describing someone’s stated qualifications, beliefs, or abilities. Distinct verbs with similar meanings include behaupten (to claim), angeben (to indicate or claim a fact), and tun als ob (to pretend as if).

Translations and related terms: to pretend, to pretend to be, to claim, to pose as. See also vorgeben, geben, and behaupten for related grammar and usage.