Comprare Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Italian

comprare — to buy — is one of the verbs you will use every day in Italian. It is a non-reflexive, regular -are verb, and it comes up in conversation, at work and at home. It means to buy something, and it is completely regular. It is the natural opposite of vendere, which means to sell, and the two verbs share the same regular pattern. On this page you will find comprare in real sentences, grouped by meaning and tense, two short texts that show it in context, the mistakes learners actually make with it, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. Start with the examples, say them aloud, and then test yourself. The full conjugation tables are on the comprare conjugation page, and the deep dive into its most practised tense is on the comprare present tense page.

Example sentences with comprare

In the present tense

  • “Io compro un libro ogni giorno.” — “I buy a book”
  • “Tu compri un libro ogni giorno.” — “You buy a book”
  • “Lui compra un libro ogni giorno.” — “He buys a book”
  • “Noi compriamo un libro ogni giorno.” — “We buy a book”
  • “Voi comprate un libro ogni giorno.” — “You buy a book”
  • “Loro comprano un libro ogni giorno.” — “They buy a book”

In the passato prossimo

  • “Io ho comprato un libro questa settimana.” — “I have bought a book”
  • “Tu hai comprato un libro questa settimana.” — “You have bought a book”
  • “Lui ha comprato un libro questa settimana.” — “He has bought a book”
  • “Noi abbiamo comprato un libro questa settimana.” — “We have bought a book”
  • “Voi avete comprato un libro questa settimana.” — “You have bought a book”
  • “Loro hanno comprato un libro questa settimana.” — “They have bought a book”

In other tenses

The same verb in the imperfect, the future, the conditional, the present subjunctive and the imperative — the tenses that complete the picture. All forms come from the verified tables.

  • “Io compravo un libro una volta.” — “I used to buy a book”
  • “Tu comprerai un libro domani.” — “You will buy a book”
  • “Lui comprerebbe un libro un giorno.” — “He would buy a book”
  • “È importante che noi compriamo un libro.” — “It is important that we buy a book”
  • “Compra un libro!” — “Buy a book!”

How comprare is used

The first thing to know about comprare is its core meaning: to buy. It means to buy something, and it is completely regular. It is the natural opposite of vendere, which means to sell, and the two verbs share the same regular pattern. In everyday speech it appears most often in the present and the passato prossimo, the two tenses on this page, because most of what we say is either what we do every day or what we have just done. Learn those two tenses first and the rest of the conjugation becomes a matter of adding forms one at a time. The second thing to know is the company comprare keeps. The present io form is compro, and it pairs naturally with the time words ogni giorno and sempre for habits, and with adesso for what is happening right now. The passato prossimo io form is ho comprato, and it pairs with ieri and questa settimana for finished actions. When you learn a verb form, learn its time words with it, and choosing the tense becomes automatic. The third thing to know is what comprare does not do. It never appears as a bare infinitive after a subject pronoun — after io you need compro, never comprare. It never takes the wrong auxiliary in the perfect tenses: the passato prossimo is ho comprato, built with avere, and the other auxiliary does not belong here. And its participle comprato is given in the masculine singular form in the tables, with agreement depending on the sentence, not on the verb table.

Comprare in context

Io compro un libro ogni giorno. Tu compri un libro ogni giorno. Lui compra un libro ogni giorno. Noi compriamo un libro ogni giorno. That is a normal part of the routine, and that is why the present of comprare is the first form worth learning. Each sentence uses a different person, so read them aloud and notice how the form changes — compro, compri, compra, compriamo — while the meaning stays the same: to buy. Io ho comprato un libro questa settimana. Tu hai comprato un libro questa settimana. Lui ha comprato un libro questa settimana. Noi abbiamo comprato un libro questa settimana. That was a normal day, but it is exactly on days like this that the passato prossimo of comprare appears constantly: a finished action, a precise moment, and the story goes on. Compare these sentences with the present ones above: the verb changes tense, but the basic meaning — to buy — does not change. That is the difference between a habit and a finished event.

Common mistakes

1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Io comprare un libro.”

✓ Right: “Io compro un libro ogni giorno.”

The infinitive comprare never takes a subject. After io you need the conjugated present form compro.

2. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Io compri un libro.”

✓ Right: “Io compro un libro ogni giorno.”

compri is the tu form, not the io form. The io form is compro — check the person before you write the form.

3. Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Io compro un libro ieri.”

✓ Right: “Io ho comprato un libro questa settimana.”

Ieri points to the past, so use the passato prossimo ho comprato here, not the present compro.

4. Mixing up the auxiliary

✗ Wrong: “Io sono comprato un libro.”

✓ Right: “Io ho comprato un libro questa settimana.”

comprare takes avere in the passato prossimo. The io form is ho comprato — the other auxiliary never belongs with this verb.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on comprare across the tenses. Answers with explanations follow each question.

  1. What is the tu form of comprare in the Present indicative?

    • A) compro
    • B) compri
    • C) compra
    • D) compriamo

  2. What is the io form of comprare in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?

    • A) hai comprato
    • B) ha comprato
    • C) ho comprato
    • D) abbiamo comprato

  3. What is the lui/lei form of comprare in the Imperfect?

    • A) compravo
    • B) compravi
    • C) compravamo
    • D) comprava

  4. What is the noi form of comprare in the Future?

    • A) compreremo
    • B) comprerò
    • C) comprerai
    • D) comprerà

  5. What is the tu form of comprare in the Conditional?

    • A) comprerei
    • B) compreresti
    • C) comprerebbe
    • D) compreremmo

  6. What is the io form of comprare in the Passato remoto?

    • A) comprasti
    • B) comprò
    • C) comprai
    • D) comprammo

  7. What is the noi form of comprare in the Present subjunctive?

    • A) compri
    • B) compriate
    • C) comprino
    • D) compriamo

  8. What is the gerund of comprare?

    • A) comprando
    • B) comprato
    • C) comprare
    • D) compro

  9. What is the past participle of comprare?

    • A) comprando
    • B) comprato
    • C) comprare
    • D) compro

  10. What does comprare mean in English?

  • A) to sit down
  • B) to get dressed
  • C) to buy
  • D) to call

Answer key

  1. B) compri — the correct form is compri. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) ho comprato — the correct form is ho comprato. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) comprava — the correct form is comprava. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) compreremo — the correct form is compreremo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) compreresti — the correct form is compreresti. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) comprai — the correct form is comprai. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) compriamo — the correct form is compriamo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) comprando — the correct form is comprando. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. B) comprato — the correct form is comprato. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  10. C) to buy — the correct form is to buy. The other options are other forms of the same verb.

Frequently asked questions

What does comprare mean in English?

comprare means “to buy”. You use it whenever you talk about to buy in Italian, in the present, the past and the future.

Is comprare regular or irregular?

comprare is regular. comprare is regular: every form follows the standard -are endings, so once you know the pattern you can build every tense from the stem.

What are the gerund and past participle of comprare?

The gerund is comprando and the past participle is comprato. The perfect tenses use avere + comprato.

Where can I see the full conjugation of comprare?

On the comprare conjugation page — every tense, every person, with tables. The comprare present tense page goes deeper into its most practised tense.

Pronunciation

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for comprare, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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