comprassero

Comprassero is the third-person plural imperfect subjunctive form of the Italian verb comprare, meaning “to buy.” It is used in subordinate clauses to express doubt, possibility, wishes, or hypothetical situations, typically after verbs or expressions that govern the subjunctive, or after conjunctions such as se, affinché, or benché. The form is part of the imperfect subjunctive for -are verbs and is built from the stem compr- with the endings -assi, -assi, -asse, -assimo, -aste, -assero in the respective persons: io comprassi, tu comprassi, lui/lei comprasse, noi comprassimo, voi compraste, loro comprassero.

In modern Italian, the imperfect subjunctive is more common in formal writing or literary contexts and is less frequent in everyday speech, where speakers often replace it with the present subjunctive or the conditional mood, especially in informal registers. Despite this, comprassero remains standard in contexts requiring the imperfect subjunctive to convey ongoing, uncertain, or counterfactual time frames in the present or future.

Examples include: Se loro comprassero quel vestito, sarebbe una buona scelta. Non credo che loro comprassero subito i biglietti, ma forse li comprerebbero se diventassero disponibili. These usages illustrate how comprassero appears in hypothetical or subordinate clauses and how the tense interacts with the main clause in conveying timing and modality.

See also: Italian verb conjugation, congiuntivo imperfetto, comprare.