comporre — Italian conjugation
to compose
Indicative
Present (Presente) Irregular
The presente covers habits, ongoing situations, and plans about to start — much like English “I study” and “I am studying”. One present tense does both in Italian.
Lavora da casa tre giorni a settimana.
| Pronoun | Italian | English |
|---|---|---|
| io | compongo | I compose |
| tu | componi | you compose |
| lui/lei | compone | he/she/it composes |
| noi | componiamo | we compose |
| voi | componete | you (pl.) compose |
| loro | compongono | they compose |
Simple past (Passato remoto) Irregular
The passato remoto tells a completed, narrative past, especially in the south and in literature. The passato prossimo is the normal spoken past in the north, so you choose register and region, not a difference in time alone.
Quella sera arrivò tardi, senza alibi.
| Pronoun | Italian | English |
|---|---|---|
| io | composi | I composed |
| tu | componesti | you composed |
| lui/lei | compose | he/she/it composed |
| noi | componemmo | we composed |
| voi | componeste | you (pl.) composed |
| loro | composero | they composed |
Imperfect (Imperfetto) Irregular
The imperfetto is for incomplete past actions, context, and repeated or habitual situations without a clear end. The passato prossimo, not the remoto, is its usual “event” partner in speech.
Da bambina passavo le estati al mare.
| Pronoun | Italian |
|---|---|
| io | componevo |
| tu | componevi |
| lui/lei | componeva |
| noi | componevamo |
| voi | componevate |
| loro | componevano |
Conditional (Condizionale) Regular
The condizionale is for polite “would you…”, first-condition hypotheticals, and reported future from a past point of view. The classic if-chain is se + imperfetto → condizionale.
Potresti alzare un poco la voce?
| Pronoun | Italian | English |
|---|---|---|
| io | comporrei | I would compose |
| tu | comporresti | you would compose |
| lui/lei | comporrebbe | he/she/it would compose |
| noi | comporremmo | we would compose |
| voi | comporreste | you (pl.) would compose |
| loro | comporrebbero | they would compose |
Future (Futuro semplice) Irregular
The futuro semplice is for predictions and far decisions. In speech you often hear the present (with a time adverb) or a paraphrase, and a famous trick is the futuro di probabilità for a present guess: saranno le tre.
Domani partiremo all'alba.
| Pronoun | Italian | English |
|---|---|---|
| io | comporrò | I will compose |
| tu | comporrai | you will compose |
| lui/lei | comporrà | he/she/it will compose |
| noi | comporremo | we will compose |
| voi | comporrete | you (pl.) will compose |
| loro | comporranno | they will compose |
Present perfect (Passato prossimo) Regular
The passato prossimo is the workhorse preterit-like past in the north and in everyday Italian: avere/essere + participle, essere for reflexives, motion, and other change-of-state patterns.
Siamo andati a piedi, poi abbiamo preso l'autobus.
| Pronoun | Italian | English |
|---|---|---|
| io | ho composto | I have composed |
| tu | hai composto | you have composed |
| lui/lei | ha composto | he/she/it has composed |
| noi | abbiamo composto | we have composed |
| voi | avete composto | you (pl.) have composed |
| loro | hanno composto | they have composed |
Pluperfect (Trapassato prossimo) Regular
The trapassato prossimo is “further in the past than another past” — the Italian pluperfect. It pairs with a main past clause to mark sequence.
Avevamo già mangiato quando suonò il telefono.
| Pronoun | Italian | English |
|---|---|---|
| io | avevo composto | I had composed |
| tu | avevi composto | you had composed |
| lui/lei | aveva composto | he/she/it had composed |
| noi | avevamo composto | we had composed |
| voi | avevate composto | you (pl.) had composed |
| loro | avevano composto | they had composed |
Conditional perfect (Condizionale passato) Regular
The condizionale passato is for unreal or missed past results and often appears with se + trapassato prossimo in the protasis.
Avrei accettato, se mi avessero avvisato in tempo.
| Pronoun | Italian |
|---|---|
| io | avrei composto |
| tu | avresti composto |
| lui/lei | avrebbe composto |
| noi | avremmo composto |
| voi | avreste composto |
| loro | avrebbero composto |
Future perfect (Futuro anteriore) Regular
The futuro anteriore says something will already be over before a still-later future, or, like the French, can express a logical guess about a past result.
Entro le cinque, avrà già lasciato l'ufficio.
| Pronoun | Italian | English |
|---|---|---|
| io | avrò composto | I will have composed |
| tu | avrai composto | you will have composed |
| lui/lei | avrà composto | he/she/it will have composed |
| noi | avremo composto | we will have composed |
| voi | avrete composto | you (pl.) will have composed |
| loro | avranno composto | they will have composed |
Subjunctive
Present subjunctive (Congiuntivo presente) Irregular
The congiuntivo presente is required after many verbs and fixed phrases of will, fear, purpose, and doubt. Impersonal and semi-impersonal triggers (è importante che) also force the subjunctive mood.
Penso che sia la scelta giusta.
| Pronoun | Italian |
|---|---|
| io | componga |
| tu | componga |
| lui/lei | componga |
| noi | componiamo |
| voi | componiate |
| loro | compongano |
Imperfect subjunctive (Congiuntivo imperfetto) Regular
The congiuntivo imperfetto is the past of the congiuntivo system after a past matrix clause and in se + congi. imperf. → condizionale with unreal conditions.
Se avessi più tempo, viaggerei ogni mese.
| Pronoun | Italian |
|---|---|
| io | componessi |
| tu | componessi |
| lui/lei | componesse |
| noi | componessimo |
| voi | componeste |
| loro | componessero |
Other forms
Imperative (affirmative) (Imperativo) Regular
The affirmative imperativo reuses the tu form as 3sg for -are verbs, while other conjugations use the normal tu present. It is the direct command register.
Raccontami com'è andata l'esame.
| Pronoun | Italian |
|---|---|
| tu | componi |
| lui/lei | componga |
| noi | componiamo |
| voi | componete |
| loro | compongano |
Imperative (negative) (Imperativo negativo) Regular
Negative commands use non + full infinitive in modern Italian, which is a distinctive rule compared to other Romance languages. Polite or indirect “please don’t” can still soften the tone in context.
Non aprire quella finestra, per favore.
| Pronoun | Italian |
|---|---|
| tu | non comporre |
| lui/lei | non componga |
| noi | non componiamo |
| voi | non componete |
| loro | non compongano |