Introduction

Guardare means “to look”, and this page covers exactly one thing: guardare in the present tense. The present is the tense Italian speakers reach for when they talk about what happens regularly, what is true in general, and what is happening right now. On this page you will find the full present table for guardare, how the tense is formed for this verb, the situations where it is used, how it differs from the passato prossimo, worked examples, the mistakes learners make most often, an eight-question quiz with explained answers, and answers to the questions students ask about guardare in the present. 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. For example: “Lui guarda la televisione ogni giorno.” — “He looks at the television.” Everything on this page uses the forms of guardare exactly as they are conjugated in the present, so you can trust every form you see here.

Guardare in the Present — full table

Person Form
io guardo
tu guardi
lui/lei guarda
noi guardiamo
voi guardate
loro guardano
Gerund: guardando · Past participle: guardato
The gerund is guardando, which you use with stare to say what is happening at the same time as the main action: “Guardando la televisione, imparo molto.” — “While looking at the television, I learn a lot.” The past participle is guardato, which you use with avere in the perfect tenses: ho guardato is the passato prossimo, used for a completed action. Keep both forms in mind as you read the examples below, because the present is only one part of how guardare is used.
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.

How the present of guardare is formed

The present tense of guardare has six forms: io guardo, tu guardi, lui guarda, noi guardiamo, voi guardate, loro guardano. Say them in order — io, tu, lui, noi, voi, loro — and notice which forms share a stem and which do not. guardare is regular: every form follows the standard -are endings, so once you know the pattern you can build every tense from the stem. There are no surprises in any tense — the tables below are exactly what the endings predict. The present is the tense you will use most, so learn these six forms before you learn any other tense of this verb.

Two things about the present of guardare are worth noticing. First, the noi and voi forms are the anchor of the verb: the imperfect is built from the same stem, and the present subjunctive takes its noi and voi forms from the same stem, so learning guardiamo and guardate pays off in three tenses at once. Second, the present is the tense Italian uses where English would often use the continuous form, so guardo can mean both “I look” and “I am looking” — context tells the listener which one you mean.

Because guardare is regular in the present, the six forms follow the standard -are endings exactly. Once you know the pattern for one regular -are verb, you know it for all of them — only the stem changes. That is why the present of a regular verb is the cheapest tense to learn in the whole language.

When to use the present of guardare

The present is not a single-purpose tense. Below are the five situations where you will use guardare in the present most often. Each one comes with a real example, so read the rule, then say the example out loud.

1. Habits and routines

The present tense is the tense of routine. When something happens every day, every week or every morning, the present is the natural choice, and guardare is no exception. Use time expressions such as ogni giorno, sempre or ogni settimana to make the routine explicit. Example: “Io guardo la televisione ogni giorno.” — “I look at the television.”

2. General truths

Use the present for things that are true in general, not just today. A fact about guardare does not need a time expression, because it is true whenever you say it. Example: “Lui guarda la televisione ogni giorno.” — “He looks at the television.”

3. What is happening right now

The present also describes an action in progress at this very moment. Italian often prefers the simple present where English would use the continuous form, so a sentence with guardare in the present can mean both “I do this” and “I am doing this now”. Context tells the listener which one you mean. Example: “Noi guardiamo la televisione ogni giorno.” — “We look at the television.”

4. Scheduled future events

Italian uses the present for something already fixed in the near future, especially with a time expression. It sounds more certain than the future tense, because the plan is already made. Example: “Tu guardi la televisione ogni giorno.” — “You look at the television.”

5. Narration and commentary

In stories, instructions and live commentary, the present brings the action into the room. A recipe, a game or a story told in the present feels immediate, and guardare in the present is the tense that carries it. Example: “Loro guardano la televisione ogni giorno.” — “They look at the television.”

Present Tense vs Passato Prossimo: how to choose

The closest tense to the present is the passato prossimo, and learners mix them up constantly. The rule is simple: the present describes habits, general truths and what is happening now, while the passato prossimo describes one finished action in the past. The three pairs below use the same verb, so the only thing that changes is the time frame — and with it, the tense. Notice how the present sentences use words such as ogni giorno or sempre, while the passato prossimo sentences use ieri or la settimana scorsa. Those time words are your best clue when you are choosing a tense.

  • Present Tense: “Lui guarda la televisione ogni giorno.” — “He looks at the television”
  • Passato Prossimo: “Lui ha guardato la televisione questa settimana.” — “He has looked at the television”
  • The present sentence is a routine or a general truth; the passato prossimo sentence is one finished event. Ogni giorno points to the present, ieri points to the passato prossimo.
  • Present Tense: “Io guardo la televisione ogni giorno.” — “I look at the television”
  • Passato Prossimo: “Io ho guardato la televisione questa settimana.” — “I have looked at the television”
  • The present sentence is a routine or a general truth; the passato prossimo sentence is one finished event. Ogni giorno points to the present, ieri points to the passato prossimo.
  • Present Tense: “Tu guardi la televisione ogni giorno.” — “You look at the television”
  • Passato Prossimo: “Tu hai guardato la televisione questa settimana.” — “You have looked at the television”
  • The present sentence is a routine or a general truth; the passato prossimo sentence is one finished event. Ogni giorno points to the present, ieri points to the passato prossimo.

Example sentences: guardare in the present

Read these eight sentences out loud. They cover all six persons, so by the end you will have seen every form in the table used in a real sentence. Pay attention to the words around the verb — the time expressions and the objects — because those are what make each sentence sound natural.

  1. “Io guardo la televisione ogni giorno.” — “I look at the television”
  2. “Tu guardi la televisione ogni giorno.” — “You look at the television”
  3. “Lui guarda la televisione ogni giorno.” — “He looks at the television”
  4. “Noi guardiamo la televisione ogni giorno.” — “We look at the television”
  5. “Voi guardate la televisione ogni giorno.” — “You look at the television”
  6. “Loro guardano la televisione ogni giorno.” — “They look at the television”
  7. “Io guardo la televisione ogni giorno.” — “I look at the television”
  8. “Lui guarda la televisione ogni giorno.” — “He looks at the television”

Common mistakes

These are the errors learners actually make with this verb in this tense. Each one shows the wrong version, the right version, and why the correction matters.

  • Wrong: “Io guardi la televisione.” Right: “Io guardo la televisione ogni giorno.” Why: The io form is guardo, not guardi. guardi is the tu form. Mixing the two persons is the most common error with this verb.
  • Wrong: “Noi guardo la televisione.” Right: “Noi guardiamo la televisione ogni giorno.” Why: Noi needs the noi form guardiamo. guardo belongs with io only. Learn the six forms as two groups — singular and plural — and the pattern becomes automatic.
  • Wrong: “Io guardo la televisione ogni giorno ieri.” Right: “Io ho guardato la televisione questa settimana.” Why: Ieri points to the past, so the present is wrong here. Use the passato prossimo ho guardato for a finished action yesterday.
  • Wrong: “Io guardare la televisione.” Right: “Io guardo la televisione ogni giorno.” Why: The infinitive guardare never takes a subject. After io you need the conjugated form guardo.

Quiz: test yourself

Choose the correct answer for each question, then check the answer key. Every answer is explained, so a wrong answer still teaches you something.

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

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

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

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

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

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

  4. What is the noi form of guardare in the Present indicative?

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

  5. What is the voi form of guardare in the Present indicative?

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

  6. What is the loro form of guardare in the Present indicative?

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

  7. What is the io form of guardare in the Present indicative?

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

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

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

Answer key

  1. B) guardo — the correct form is guardo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) guardi — the correct form is guardi. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) guarda — the correct form is guarda. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) guardiamo — the correct form is guardiamo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) guardate — the correct form is guardate. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) guardano — the correct form is guardano. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) guardo — the correct form is guardo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) guardi — the correct form is guardi. The other options are other forms of the same verb.

Frequently asked questions

What does guardare mean in English?

guardare means “to look”. It is a non-reflexive, regular -are verb.

How is the present tense of guardare formed?

The six present forms are: io guardo, tu guardi, lui guarda, noi guardiamo, voi guardate, loro guardano. guardare is regular: every form follows the standard -are endings, so once you know the pattern you can build every tense from the stem.

When do I use the present instead of the passato prossimo?

Use the present for habits, general truths and what is happening now. Use the passato prossimo for one finished action in the past. The time words are your best clue: ogni giorno points to the present, ieri points to the passato prossimo.

What are the gerund and past participle of guardare?

The gerund is guardando and the past participle is guardato.

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