Comprare Conjugation in Italian
comprare means “to buy” in English, and it is one of the first verbs Italian learners meet — it sits at number 87 in VerbFlow’s frequency list for Italian verbs. 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. This page gives you the complete conjugation of comprare — every tense, every person, the gerund and the past participle — with notes, examples, common mistakes and a quiz. Here is the verb in a natural sentence: “Io compro un libro ogni giorno.” — “I buy a book.”
Quick facts
- Infinitive: comprare
- English: to buy
- Verb type: Regular -are verb
- Irregular in: none — regular in every tense
- Gerund: comprando
- Present participle: comprante
- Past participle: comprato
- Auxiliary: avere (all perfect tenses are formed with avere + the past participle)
- Ending: -are verbs; pattern are in the verified tables
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. Learn the spelling of the forms first, and listen to a native speaker for the sounds rather than trusting an invented transcription. The forms below are the ones that matter: once you can read comprare in every tense, you can recognise it in speech even before you can pronounce every form perfectly.
Three things to remember about comprare
- It is regular: every form follows the ordinary -are pattern, so once you know the stem you can build the whole table. The only work is learning the endings, not memorising exceptions.
- The perfect tenses use avere: the passato prossimo is formed with avere in the present plus the past participle comprato. The tables on this page give the participle in the masculine singular form, exactly as it appears in the verified dump; agreement with the subject is a separate step that depends on the sentence, not on the verb table.
- The participles are comprante and comprato: keep both in mind as you read the tables, because the present participle appears as an adjective and the past participle appears in every perfect tense. If you know those two forms and the present tense, you already know the skeleton of the whole conjugation.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for comprare. Learn the present tense first, then the passato prossimo and the imperfect, and add the remaining tenses one at a time.
Present indicative (presente)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | compro |
| tu | compri |
| lui/lei | compra |
| noi | compriamo |
| voi | comprate |
| loro | comprano |
The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. For example: “Io compro un libro ogni giorno.” — “I buy a book”
Passato remoto
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | comprai |
| tu | comprasti |
| lui/lei | comprò |
| noi | comprammo |
| voi | compraste |
| loro | comprarono |
The passato remoto is used for completed actions in the distant past, mostly in written and literary Italian and in the south of Italy. For example: “Io comprai un libro ieri.” — “I bought a book”
Imperfect (imperfetto)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | compravo |
| tu | compravi |
| lui/lei | comprava |
| noi | compravamo |
| voi | compravate |
| loro | compravano |
The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and for background description. For example: “Io compravo un libro una volta.” — “I used to buy a book”
Future (futuro semplice)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | comprerò |
| tu | comprerai |
| lui/lei | comprerà |
| noi | compreremo |
| voi | comprerete |
| loro | compreranno |
The future is used for what will happen, for predictions and for probability. For example: “Io comprerò un libro domani.” — “I will buy a book”
Conditional (condizionale)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | comprerei |
| tu | compreresti |
| lui/lei | comprerebbe |
| noi | compreremmo |
| voi | comprereste |
| loro | comprerebbero |
The conditional is used for what would happen, for polite requests and for hypothetical situations. For example: “Io comprerei un libro un giorno.” — “I would buy a book”
Present perfect (passato prossimo)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | ho comprato |
| tu | hai comprato |
| lui/lei | ha comprato |
| noi | abbiamo comprato |
| voi | avete comprato |
| loro | hanno comprato |
The passato prossimo is used for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken Italian. For example: “Lui ha comprato un libro questa settimana.” — “He has bought a book”
Pluperfect (trapassato prossimo)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | avevo comprato |
| tu | avevi comprato |
| lui/lei | aveva comprato |
| noi | avevamo comprato |
| voi | avevate comprato |
| loro | avevano comprato |
The pluperfect is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “Io avevo comprato un libro prima della festa.” — “I had bought a book”
Future perfect (futuro anteriore)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | avrò comprato |
| tu | avrai comprato |
| lui/lei | avrà comprato |
| noi | avremo comprato |
| voi | avrete comprato |
| loro | avranno comprato |
The future perfect is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Io avrò comprato un libro per domani.” — “I will have bought a book”
Conditional perfect (condizionale passato)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | avrei comprato |
| tu | avresti comprato |
| lui/lei | avrebbe comprato |
| noi | avremmo comprato |
| voi | avreste comprato |
| loro | avrebbero comprato |
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Io avrei comprato un libro ieri.” — “I would have bought a book”
Present subjunctive (congiuntivo presente)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | compri |
| tu | compri |
| lui/lei | compri |
| noi | compriamo |
| voi | compriate |
| loro | comprino |
The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after che. For example: “È importante che io compri un libro.” — “It is important that I buy a book”
Imperfect subjunctive (congiuntivo imperfetto)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | comprassi |
| tu | comprassi |
| lui/lei | comprasse |
| noi | comprassimo |
| voi | compraste |
| loro | comprassero |
The imperfect subjunctive is used in the past for wishes and hypotheticals after che, and in if-clauses. For example: “Era importante che io comprassi un libro.” — “It was important that I buy a book”
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | compra |
| lui/lei | compri |
| noi | compriamo |
| voi | comprate |
| loro | comprino |
The affirmative imperative is used for direct commands and instructions. For example: “Compra un libro!” — “Buy a book!”
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | comprare |
| lui/lei | compri |
| noi | compriamo |
| voi | compriate |
| loro | comprino |
The negative imperative is used for prohibitions and negative commands. For example: “Non comprare un libro.” — “Do not buy a book.”
Gerund
| Form | Italian |
|---|---|
| Gerund | comprando |
The gerund is used for an action happening at the same time as another action, often with stare for the progressive. For example: “Comprando un libro, imparo molto.” — “While buying a book, I learn a lot.”
Present participle
| Form | Italian |
|---|---|
| Present participle | comprante |
The present participle is used as an adjective, describing an ongoing action. For example, the participle comprante is used to describe something that is happening at the same time as the main action, much like an English -ing adjective.
Past participle
| Form | Italian |
|---|---|
| Past participle | comprato |
The past participle is used with an auxiliary to form the perfect tenses, and as an adjective. For example: “Io ho comprato un libro questa settimana.” — “I have bought a book.”
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with comprare, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the Italian and try to produce it from the English.
- “Io compro un libro ogni giorno.” — “I buy a book”
- “Tu comprasti un libro ieri.” — “You bought a book”
- “Lui comprava un libro una volta.” — “He used to buy a book”
- “Io comprerò un libro domani.” — “I will buy a book”
- “Tu compreresti un libro un giorno.” — “You would buy a book”
- “Lui ha comprato un libro questa settimana.” — “He has bought a book”
- “Io avevo comprato un libro prima della festa.” — “I had bought a book”
- “Tu avrai comprato un libro per domani.” — “You will have bought a book”
- “È importante che io compri un libro.” — “It is important that I buy a book”
- “Compra un libro!” — “Buy a book!”
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’s form
✗ Wrong: “Io compri un libro.”
✓ Right: “Io compro un libro ogni giorno.”
compri is the tu form, not the io form. Match the verb to the subject every time: io goes with compro.
3. Using the present for a finished past action
✗ Wrong: “Io compro un libro ieri.”
✓ Right: “Io ho comprato un libro questa settimana.”
Yesterday points to the past, so the present is wrong here. Use the passato prossimo ho comprato for a finished action yesterday.
4. Using the wrong auxiliary in the passato prossimo
✗ Wrong: “Io sono comprato un libro.”
✓ Right: “Io ho comprato un libro questa settimana.”
The passato prossimo of comprare is formed with avere plus the past participle comprato: the io form is ho comprato. Check the auxiliary in the table above before you build a perfect tense.
5. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
✗ Wrong: “È importante che io compro un libro.”
✓ Right: “È importante che io compri un libro.”
After è importante che Italian needs the subjunctive, so use compri here, not the indicative compro.
6. Using the gerund instead of the past participle in a perfect tense
✗ Wrong: “Io ho comprando un libro.”
✓ Right: “Io ho comprato un libro questa settimana.”
The perfect tenses need the past participle comprato, not the gerund comprando. The gerund belongs in progressive constructions, never after an auxiliary in a perfect tense.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on comprare. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
What is the io form of comprare in the Present indicative?
- A) compri
- B) compro
- C) compra
- D) compriamo
What is the lui/lei form of comprare in the Passato remoto?
- A) comprai
- B) comprasti
- C) comprò
- D) comprammo
What is the noi form of comprare in the Imperfect?
- A) compravo
- B) compravi
- C) comprava
- D) compravamo
What is the tu form of comprare in the Future?
- A) comprerai
- B) comprerò
- C) comprerà
- D) compreremo
What is the io form of comprare in the Conditional?
- A) compreresti
- B) comprerei
- C) comprerebbe
- D) compreremmo
What is the lui/lei form of comprare in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?
- A) ho comprato
- B) hai comprato
- C) ha comprato
- D) abbiamo comprato
What is the lui/lei form of comprare in the Present subjunctive?
- A) compriamo
- B) compriate
- C) comprino
- D) compri
What is the io form of comprare in the Imperfect subjunctive?
- A) comprassi
- B) comprasse
- C) comprassimo
- D) compraste
What is the gerund of comprare?
- A) comprato
- B) comprando
- C) comprare
- D) compro
What does comprare mean in English?
- A) to sit down
- B) to get dressed
- C) to buy
- D) to call
Answer key
- B) compro — the correct form is compro. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) comprò — the correct form is comprò. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) compravamo — the correct form is compravamo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) comprerai — the correct form is comprerai. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) comprerei — the correct form is comprerei. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) ha comprato — the correct form is ha comprato. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) compri — the correct form is compri. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) comprassi — the correct form is comprassi. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) comprando — the correct form is comprando. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- 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”. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is comprare regular or irregular?
comprare is regular: it follows the ordinary -are pattern in every tense. The gerund is comprando and the past participle is comprato.
What are the gerund and past participle of comprare?
The gerund is comprando — use it with stare for the progressive. The past participle is comprato — use it with avere for the perfect tenses, as in ho comprato.
Which auxiliary does comprare take in the passato prossimo?
comprare takes avere in the passato prossimo: the io form is ho comprato. All four perfect tenses on this page are built with avere plus the past participle comprato.
How do I say “I buy” in Italian?
Say “Io compro un libro ogni giorno.” — “I buy a book” The io form of the present is compro, and it is the form you will use most often.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of comprare — every tense of comprare in one place.
- Comprare in the present tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Comprare examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- Italian present tense guide — the full guide to the present tense in Italian.
- Chiamare conjugation — another everyday Italian verb.
- Cercare conjugation — another everyday Italian verb.
- Italian verbs — the full hub of Italian conjugation pages.
- VerbFlow home — all languages, tools and verb lists.
- Verb Conjugator — practise comprare with the interactive tool.
- Conjugation Chart Printer — practise comprare with the interactive tool.
- Tense Finder — practise comprare with the interactive tool.