Porre Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Italian

porre — to place — is one of the verbs you will use every day in Italian. It is a non-reflexive, irregular -ere verb, and it comes up in conversation, at work and at home. It is one of the -rre verbs, and it is totally irregular: the present, the remoto and the participle use different stems, so the io form is pongo, the participle is posto and the future is porrò. It means to place or to put something somewhere, and it is more formal than mettere. On this page you will find porre 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 porre conjugation page, and the deep dive into its most practised tense is on the porre passato prossimo tense page.

Example sentences with porre

In the present tense

  • “Io pongo il libro sul tavolo ogni giorno.” — “I place the book on the table”
  • “Tu poni il libro sul tavolo ogni giorno.” — “You place the book on the table”
  • “Lui pone il libro sul tavolo ogni giorno.” — “He places the book on the table”
  • “Noi poniamo il libro sul tavolo ogni giorno.” — “We place the book on the table”
  • “Voi ponete il libro sul tavolo ogni giorno.” — “You place the book on the table”
  • “Loro pongono il libro sul tavolo ogni giorno.” — “They place the book on the table”

In the passato prossimo

  • “Io ho posto il libro sul tavolo questa settimana.” — “I have placed the book on the table”
  • “Tu hai posto il libro sul tavolo questa settimana.” — “You have placed the book on the table”
  • “Lui ha posto il libro sul tavolo questa settimana.” — “He has placed the book on the table”
  • “Noi abbiamo posto il libro sul tavolo questa settimana.” — “We have placed the book on the table”
  • “Voi avete posto il libro sul tavolo questa settimana.” — “You have placed the book on the table”
  • “Loro hanno posto il libro sul tavolo questa settimana.” — “They have placed the book on the table”

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 ponevo il libro sul tavolo una volta.” — “I used to place the book on the table”
  • “Tu porrai il libro sul tavolo domani.” — “You will place the book on the table”
  • “Lui porrebbe il libro sul tavolo un giorno.” — “He would place the book on the table”
  • “È importante che noi poniamo il libro sul tavolo.” — “It is important that we place the book on the table”
  • “Poni il libro sul tavolo!” — “Place the book on the table!”

How porre is used

The first thing to know about porre is its core meaning: to place. It is one of the -rre verbs, and it is totally irregular: the present, the remoto and the participle use different stems, so the io form is pongo, the participle is posto and the future is porrò. It means to place or to put something somewhere, and it is more formal than mettere. 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 porre keeps. The present io form is pongo, 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 posto, 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 porre does not do. It never appears as a bare infinitive after a subject pronoun — after io you need pongo, never porre. It never takes the wrong auxiliary in the perfect tenses: the passato prossimo is ho posto, built with avere, and the other auxiliary does not belong here. And its participle posto is given in the masculine singular form in the tables, with agreement depending on the sentence, not on the verb table.

Porre in context

Io pongo il libro sul tavolo ogni giorno. Tu poni il libro sul tavolo ogni giorno. Lui pone il libro sul tavolo ogni giorno. Noi poniamo il libro sul tavolo ogni giorno. That is a normal part of the routine, and that is why the present of porre is the first form worth learning. Each sentence uses a different person, so read them aloud and notice how the form changes — pongo, poni, pone, poniamo — while the meaning stays the same: to place. Io ho posto il libro sul tavolo questa settimana. Tu hai posto il libro sul tavolo questa settimana. Lui ha posto il libro sul tavolo questa settimana. Noi abbiamo posto il libro sul tavolo questa settimana. That was a normal day, but it is exactly on days like this that the passato prossimo of porre 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 place — 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 porre il libro sul tavolo.”

✓ Right: “Io pongo il libro sul tavolo ogni giorno.”

The infinitive porre never takes a subject. After io you need the conjugated present form pongo.

2. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Io poni il libro sul tavolo.”

✓ Right: “Io pongo il libro sul tavolo ogni giorno.”

poni is the tu form, not the io form. The io form is pongo — check the person before you write the form.

3. Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Io pongo il libro sul tavolo ieri.”

✓ Right: “Io ho posto il libro sul tavolo questa settimana.”

Ieri points to the past, so use the passato prossimo ho posto here, not the present pongo.

4. Mixing up the auxiliary

✗ Wrong: “Io sono posto il libro sul tavolo.”

✓ Right: “Io ho posto il libro sul tavolo questa settimana.”

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

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) pongo
    • B) poni
    • C) pone
    • D) poniamo

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

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

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

    • A) ponevo
    • B) ponevi
    • C) ponevamo
    • D) poneva

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

    • A) porremo
    • B) porrò
    • C) porrai
    • D) porrà

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

    • A) porrei
    • B) porresti
    • C) porrebbe
    • D) porremmo

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

    • A) ponesti
    • B) pose
    • C) posi
    • D) ponemmo

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

    • A) ponga
    • B) poniate
    • C) pongano
    • D) poniamo

  8. What is the gerund of porre?

    • A) ponendo
    • B) posto
    • C) porre
    • D) pongo

  9. What is the past participle of porre?

    • A) ponendo
    • B) posto
    • C) porre
    • D) pongo

  10. What does porre mean in English?

  • A) to explain
  • B) to answer
  • C) to place
  • D) to ask

Answer key

  1. B) poni — the correct form is poni. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) ho posto — the correct form is ho posto. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) poneva — the correct form is poneva. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) porremo — the correct form is porremo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) porresti — the correct form is porresti. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) posi — the correct form is posi. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) poniamo — the correct form is poniamo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) ponendo — the correct form is ponendo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. B) posto — the correct form is posto. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  10. C) to place — the correct form is to place. The other options are other forms of the same verb.

Frequently asked questions

What does porre mean in English?

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

Is porre regular or irregular?

porre is irregular. porre is irregular in present, passato-remoto, imperfect, future, conditional, present-perfect, pluperfect, future-perfect, conditional-perfect, present-subjunctive, imperfect-subjunctive, gerund, past-participle, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative — learn those forms as a set.

What are the gerund and past participle of porre?

The gerund is ponendo and the past participle is posto. The perfect tenses use avere + posto.

Where can I see the full conjugation of porre?

On the porre conjugation page — every tense, every person, with tables. The porre passato prossimo 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 porre, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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