Costituono

Costituono is typically encountered as a linguistic form related to the Italian verb costituire, which means to constitute, to form, or to establish. In standard Italian, the present indicative third-person plural form is costituiscono. The form costituono is not the standard spelling for that tense in modern Italian and is generally regarded as a nonstandard variant or a misspelling arising from phonetic simplification, regional speech patterns, or typographical error.

Etymology and grammar

Costituire derives from the Latin constituere, sharing a common Indo-European origin with many terms related to establishing or forming structures, groups, or rules. The correct present-tense paradigm in standard Italian includes costituiscono as the third-person plural, while costituire’s other forms follow the usual -ire verb patterns (io costituisco, tu costituisti, lui costituisce, noi costruiamo, voi costituite, loro costituiscono).

Usage notes

In formal writing and edited texts, costituono should be avoided in favor of costituiscono. If costituono appears, it is usually due to a typographical oversight or a nonstandard usage rather than accepted Italian grammar. Readers encountering this form should consider the surrounding context to determine whether the intended meaning is "they constitute" or whether the writer intended the standard costituiscono.

Examples

Correct standard usage: Queste parti costituiscono una base solida per il progetto.

Nonstandard or mistaken usage: Queste parti costituono una base solida per il progetto (intended meaning: they constitute).

See also

costituire; costituzione; costituente; italiano standard.