Guardare Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Italian

guardare — to look — is one of the verbs you will use every day in Italian. It is a non-reflexive, regular -are verb, and it comes up in conversation, at work and at home. It means to look at something and to watch, and it is the verb for looking at a view, a film or a person. It is completely regular, and it is different from vedere, which means to see without necessarily looking on purpose. On this page you will find guardare 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 guardare conjugation page, and the deep dive into its most practised tense is on the guardare present tense page.

Example sentences with guardare

In the present tense

  • “Io guardo la televisione ogni giorno.” — “I look at the television”
  • “Tu guardi la televisione ogni giorno.” — “You look at the television”
  • “Lui guarda la televisione ogni giorno.” — “He looks at the television”
  • “Noi guardiamo la televisione ogni giorno.” — “We look at the television”
  • “Voi guardate la televisione ogni giorno.” — “You look at the television”
  • “Loro guardano la televisione ogni giorno.” — “They look at the television”

In the passato prossimo

  • “Io ho guardato la televisione questa settimana.” — “I have looked at the television”
  • “Tu hai guardato la televisione questa settimana.” — “You have looked at the television”
  • “Lui ha guardato la televisione questa settimana.” — “He has looked at the television”
  • “Noi abbiamo guardato la televisione questa settimana.” — “We have looked at the television”
  • “Voi avete guardato la televisione questa settimana.” — “You have looked at the television”
  • “Loro hanno guardato la televisione questa settimana.” — “They have looked at the television”

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 guardavo la televisione una volta.” — “I used to look at the television”
  • “Tu guarderai la televisione domani.” — “You will look at the television”
  • “Lui guarderebbe la televisione un giorno.” — “He would look at the television”
  • “È importante che noi guardiamo la televisione.” — “It is important that we look at the television”
  • “Guarda la televisione!” — “Look at the television!”

How guardare is used

The first thing to know about guardare is its core meaning: to look. It means to look at something and to watch, and it is the verb for looking at a view, a film or a person. It is completely regular, and it is different from vedere, which means to see without necessarily looking on purpose. 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 guardare keeps. The present io form is guardo, 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 guardato, 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 guardare does not do. It never appears as a bare infinitive after a subject pronoun — after io you need guardo, never guardare. It never takes the wrong auxiliary in the perfect tenses: the passato prossimo is ho guardato, built with avere, and the other auxiliary does not belong here. And its participle guardato is given in the masculine singular form in the tables, with agreement depending on the sentence, not on the verb table.

Guardare in context

Io guardo la televisione ogni giorno. Tu guardi la televisione ogni giorno. Lui guarda la televisione ogni giorno. Noi guardiamo la televisione ogni giorno. That is a normal part of the routine, and that is why the present of guardare is the first form worth learning. Each sentence uses a different person, so read them aloud and notice how the form changes — guardo, guardi, guarda, guardiamo — while the meaning stays the same: to look. Io ho guardato la televisione questa settimana. Tu hai guardato la televisione questa settimana. Lui ha guardato la televisione questa settimana. Noi abbiamo guardato la televisione questa settimana. That was a normal day, but it is exactly on days like this that the passato prossimo of guardare 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 look — 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 guardare la televisione.”

✓ Right: “Io guardo la televisione ogni giorno.”

The infinitive guardare never takes a subject. After io you need the conjugated present form guardo.

2. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Io guardi la televisione.”

✓ Right: “Io guardo la televisione ogni giorno.”

guardi is the tu form, not the io form. The io form is guardo — check the person before you write the form.

3. Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Io guardo la televisione ieri.”

✓ Right: “Io ho guardato la televisione questa settimana.”

Ieri points to the past, so use the passato prossimo ho guardato here, not the present guardo.

4. Mixing up the auxiliary

✗ Wrong: “Io sono guardato la televisione.”

✓ Right: “Io ho guardato la televisione questa settimana.”

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

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) guardo
    • B) guardi
    • C) guarda
    • D) guardiamo

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

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

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

    • A) guardavo
    • B) guardavi
    • C) guardavamo
    • D) guardava

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

    • A) guarderemo
    • B) guarderò
    • C) guarderai
    • D) guarderà

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

    • A) guarderei
    • B) guarderesti
    • C) guarderebbe
    • D) guarderemmo

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

    • A) guardasti
    • B) guardò
    • C) guardai
    • D) guardammo

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

    • A) guardi
    • B) guardiate
    • C) guardino
    • D) guardiamo

  8. What is the gerund of guardare?

    • A) guardando
    • B) guardato
    • C) guardare
    • D) guardo

  9. What is the past participle of guardare?

    • A) guardando
    • B) guardato
    • C) guardare
    • D) guardo

  10. What does guardare mean in English?

  • A) to be
  • B) to have
  • C) to look
  • D) to do, to make

Answer key

  1. B) guardi — the correct form is guardi. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) ho guardato — the correct form is ho guardato. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) guardava — the correct form is guardava. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) guarderemo — the correct form is guarderemo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) guarderesti — the correct form is guarderesti. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) guardai — the correct form is guardai. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) guardiamo — the correct form is guardiamo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) guardando — the correct form is guardando. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. B) guardato — the correct form is guardato. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  10. C) to look — the correct form is to look. The other options are other forms of the same verb.

Frequently asked questions

What does guardare mean in English?

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

Is guardare regular or irregular?

guardare is regular. guardare is regular: every form follows the standard -are endings, so once you know the pattern you can build every tense from the stem.

What are the gerund and past participle of guardare?

The gerund is guardando and the past participle is guardato. The perfect tenses use avere + guardato.

Where can I see the full conjugation of guardare?

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

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