Comporre (to compose, to put together, to dial) is built from the prefix com- ("together, with") plus porre, giving etymologically "to put together". The Latin source is compōnere, and the same root has spread across European languages: English compose, French composer, Spanish componer. As with all porre derivatives, what Italian preserves is the irregular conjugation — every form below mirrors the porre paradigm with the com- prefix glued on.
The semantic range of comporre is wider than English compose in everyday use. It covers:
- Music and writing: comporre una sinfonia, comporre un poema, comporre un articolo.
- Physical assembly: comporre un puzzle, comporre un mazzo di fiori (to put together a bouquet).
- Dialing a phone number: comporre il numero — the standard verb for entering digits on a phone or keypad.
- Constituting: la squadra è composta da undici giocatori (the team is made up of eleven players).
- Settling a dispute (formal): comporre una controversia (to settle a dispute).
That last meaning explains why a componimento in school is an essay — literally "a putting-together of words" — and why a compositore is a composer.
Indicativo presente
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | compongo |
| tu | componi |
| lui / lei / Lei | compone |
| noi | componiamo |
| voi | componete |
| loro | compongono |
The same g-stem alternation as porre: compong- in 1sg and 3pl, plain compon- elsewhere.
Compongo musica al pianoforte da quando avevo sei anni.
I've been composing music at the piano since I was six.
Componi il numero e aspetta che risponda.
Dial the number and wait for them to answer.
L'orchestra si compone di sessanta musicisti.
The orchestra is made up of sixty musicians.
A scuola componiamo un tema di letteratura ogni due settimane.
At school we write a literature essay every two weeks.
Le particelle si ricombinano e compongono nuove molecole.
The particles recombine and form new molecules.
Imperfetto
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | componevo |
| tu | componevi |
| lui / lei / Lei | componeva |
| noi | componevamo |
| voi | componevate |
| loro | componevano |
Da bambino componevo piccoli racconti illustrati per i miei nonni.
As a kid I'd write little illustrated stories for my grandparents.
Passato remoto
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | composi |
| tu | componesti |
| lui / lei / Lei | compose |
| noi | componemmo |
| voi | componeste |
| loro | composero |
The 1-3-3 strong stem compos- mirrors porre → posi/pose/posero exactly. The form is composi (NOT componsi).
Mozart compose la sua prima sinfonia all'età di otto anni.
Mozart composed his first symphony at the age of eight.
Verdi compose il Nabucco in un periodo di profondo dolore personale.
Verdi composed Nabucco during a period of deep personal grief.
Futuro semplice
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | comporrò |
| tu | comporrai |
| lui / lei / Lei | comporrà |
| noi | comporremo |
| voi | comporrete |
| loro | comporranno |
Doubled-rr from the n→r assimilation, exactly as in porre → porr-. Not componerò.
Per la cerimonia comporrò un brano originale.
I'll write an original piece for the ceremony.
Condizionale presente
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | comporrei |
| tu | comporresti |
| lui / lei / Lei | comporrebbe |
| noi | comporremmo |
| voi | comporreste |
| loro | comporrebbero |
Watch the double m in comporremmo — single-m comporremo is the future.
Comporrei una canzone per te, se sapessi suonare uno strumento.
I'd write a song for you, if I knew how to play an instrument.
Congiuntivo presente
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| (che) io | componga |
| (che) tu | componga |
| (che) lui / lei | componga |
| (che) noi | componiamo |
| (che) voi | componiate |
| (che) loro | compongano |
Voglio che ognuno componga una breve poesia per il compleanno della nonna.
I want each of you to write a short poem for grandma's birthday.
Congiuntivo imperfetto
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| (che) io | componessi |
| (che) tu | componessi |
| (che) lui / lei | componesse |
| (che) noi | componessimo |
| (che) voi | componeste |
| (che) loro | componessero |
Pensavo che la giuria si componesse di soli tre giudici, invece sono cinque.
I thought the jury was made up of just three judges, but there are five.
Imperativo
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | componi |
| Lei (formal) | componga |
| noi | componiamo |
| voi | componete |
| loro (formal pl.) | compongano |
Per assistenza, componga il numero seguente.
For assistance, please dial the following number. (formal)
Forme non finite
| Form | Italian |
|---|---|
| Infinito presente | comporre |
| Infinito passato | aver composto |
| Gerundio presente | componendo |
| Gerundio passato | avendo composto |
| Participio passato | composto |
The participle composto doubles as a common adjective ("composed, made up of, calm") and noun (un composto chimico — a chemical compound). The phrase rimanere calmi e composti ("to stay calm and composed") shows the participle's life as an adjective, with full agreement: una donna composta, un atteggiamento composto, bambini composti.
Compound tenses
Auxiliary: avere. Participle: composto. Reflexive uses (la squadra si è composta di...) take essere with subject agreement, but these are limited to a small number of constructions; the default is avere.
| Tense | io | noi |
|---|---|---|
| Passato prossimo | ho composto | abbiamo composto |
| Trapassato prossimo | avevo composto | avevamo composto |
| Futuro anteriore | avrò composto | avremo composto |
| Condizionale passato | avrei composto | avremmo composto |
| Congiuntivo passato | abbia composto | abbiamo composto |
| Congiuntivo trapassato | avessi composto | avessimo composto |
Ho composto questa melodia nel giro di una sera.
I composed this melody in the space of one evening.
Distinctive uses and idioms
| Italian | English |
|---|---|
| comporre il numero | to dial a number |
| comporre un brano / una sinfonia | to compose a piece / a symphony |
| comporre una controversia | to settle a dispute (formal) |
| essere composto da | to be made up of, to consist of |
| comporsi di | to consist of (reflexive) |
| comporsi (di una persona) | to compose oneself, to regain composure |
| tempo composto | compound tense (grammar term) |
Il consiglio di amministrazione è composto da nove membri.
The board of directors consists of nine members.
Si è composto rapidamente dopo la brutta notizia.
He pulled himself together quickly after the bad news.
In italiano, il passato prossimo è un tempo composto.
In Italian, the present perfect is a compound tense.
Le parti hanno finalmente composto la lite davanti al giudice.
The parties finally settled the dispute before the judge.
Common mistakes
❌ Ho composto il numero ma nessuno ha rispondito.
Incorrect — the participle of rispondere is risposto, not rispondito.
✅ Ho composto il numero ma nessuno ha risposto.
Correct — composto is right; risposto is the participle of rispondere.
❌ La banda componerà tre nuovi brani per il festival.
Incorrect — the future stem is comporr-, not componer-.
✅ La banda comporrà tre nuovi brani per il festival.
Correct — comporrà, with double-r.
❌ Ho componuto una poesia per lei.
Incorrect — componuto is a non-form.
✅ Ho composto una poesia per lei.
Correct — composto is the participle, parallel to posto.
❌ Penso che il quadro è composto bene.
Incorrect — penso che triggers the subjunctive.
✅ Penso che il quadro sia composto bene.
Correct — sia composto, with the auxiliary in the subjunctive.
Key takeaways
Comporre conjugates identically to porre, with the prefix com- prepended to every form. The participle is composto (parallel to posto).
Three points to internalise:
Compongo / componga — the g-stem 1sg and the entire congiuntivo presente. Same shape as propongo / proponga.
Composi, compose, compongono, comporrò, composto — the five "drop the n" or "assimilate the n" forms. Each parallels the porre equivalent.
The semantic range is wide: composing music, dialing numbers, being made up of components, settling disputes, regaining composure. The thread is "putting things together" — keep that metaphor in mind and the meanings cohere.
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Open the Italian course →Related Topics
- Porre: Full ConjugationB1 — Complete paradigm of porre (to place, to pose) — a hidden-stem verb whose two-syllable infinitive masks the Latin pon- stem that surfaces throughout the conjugation, and the model paradigm for an entire family of common derivatives.
- Proporre: Full ConjugationB1 — Complete paradigm of proporre (to propose, to suggest) — a porre-family derivative that conjugates identically to its parent verb but, unlike formal porre, is entirely natural in everyday conversation.
- Supporre: Full ConjugationB1 — Complete paradigm of supporre (to suppose, to assume) — a porre-family derivative that systematically triggers the subjunctive in subordinate clauses, making it one of the most useful verbs for practising che + congiuntivo.
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- The -g- Insertion PatternA2 — How a single irregularity — the inserted -g- in the io and loro forms — unites a dozen of Italian's most-used verbs and turns chaos into a learnable pattern.