Guiar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The present tense of guiar — "to guide" in English — is the form you need for what happens now, for habits and for general truths. This page gives you the full present conjugation table for guiar with all six persons, explains exactly how the tense is formed for this verb, shows when to use it with real examples, and finishes with a quiz so you can test yourself. Guiar means to guide someone or something: guiar a los turistas, guiar el coche. The present has a written accent on the í: guío, guías, guía, guían — the accent is part of the form. To see it in a real sentence: Yo guío a los turistas por la ciudad — "I guide the tourists around the city".
Present tense conjugation table: guiar
Every person of guiar in the present tense. The gerund is guiando and the past participle is guiado.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | guío |
| tú | guías |
| él/ella/Ud. | guía |
| nosotros/as | guiamos |
| vosotros/as | guiáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | guían |
How the present of guiar is formed
The present of guiar is built from the stem gui- plus the present endings for -ar verbs. Take the infinitive, drop the -ar ending, and add the ending that matches the person. The table below shows the endings, and the full table above shows them attached to the stem.
| Person | Ending | Form |
|---|---|---|
| yo | -o | guío |
| tú | -as | guías |
| él/ella/Ud. | -a | guía |
| nosotros/as | -amos | guiamos |
| vosotros/as | -áis | guiáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -an | guían |
The gerund of guiar is guiando and the past participle is guiado. Both are the forms you need with estar and haber respectively.
When to use the present tense of guiar
The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and guiar appears in all of them. The five uses below are the ones you will meet most often, each with an example that shows the verb in a natural sentence.
Habits and routines
The present describes things that happen regularly, as a habit or routine.
"Cada día, yo guío a los turistas por la ciudad" — "Every day, I guide the tourists around the city"
General truths
The present states facts that are always true, not just true today.
"Mi amigo guía al grupo por el museo" — "My friend guides the group through the museum"
What is happening now
The present describes an action in progress right now.
"Ahora, yo guío a su hijo en sus estudios" — "Right now, I guide his son in his studies"
Near-future plans
Spanish often uses the present for a plan that is already fixed.
"Mañana, nosotros guiamos el coche por la carretera" — "Tomorrow, we guide the car along the road"
Timetables and scheduled events
The present is the tense for timetables, programmes and things that happen on a schedule.
"Ellos guían a los visitantes hasta la puerta" — "They guide the visitors to the door"
The present tense vs the closest tenses
Present — habit or general fact vs Preterite — one finished occasion
The present describes a habit, a routine or a general fact — something that happens again and again or that is true in general. The preterite reports one finished occasion in the past. Use the present when the action repeats or is still true, and the preterite when you are telling what happened once, on a specific day.
- Present — habit or general fact: {'pre_es': 'Cada día, ', 'pre_en': 'Every day, '}yo guío a los turistas por la ciudad — "I guide the tourists around the city"
- Preterite — one finished occasion: {'pre_es': 'Ayer, ', 'pre_en': 'Yesterday, '}yo guie a los turistas por la ciudad — "I guided the tourists around the city"
Present — now vs Imperfect — a past habit or background
The present talks about now. The imperfect talks about the past as a background — a repeated habit, an ongoing situation, something that used to happen. If you can add "used to" in English, the imperfect is usually the right choice; if it is happening now or always, use the present.
- Present — now: {}tú guías al grupo por el museo — "You guide the group through the museum"
- Imperfect — a past habit or background: {}tú guiabas al grupo por el museo — "You used to guide the group through the museum"
Present — now or a fixed plan vs Future — what will happen
The present describes what happens now, what you do regularly, or a plan that is already fixed. The future describes what will happen later — a promise, a prediction, a plan that is not yet under way. Spanish often uses the present for near-future plans, but the future is the form for a clear statement about tomorrow.
- Present — now or a fixed plan: {'subj_es': 'Mi amigo', 'subj_en': 'My friend'}él guía a su hijo en sus estudios — "He guides his son in his studies"
- Future — what will happen: {'subj_es': 'Mi amigo', 'subj_en': 'My friend'}él guiará a su hijo en sus estudios — "He will guide his son in his studies"
Examples: guiar in the present tense
Seven sentences that show guiar in the present tense only, across all six persons. Read each one aloud, notice the ending, and check the translation.
- Yo guío a los turistas por la ciudad — "I guide the tourists around the city"
- Tú guías al grupo por el museo — "You guide the group through the museum"
- Él guía a su hijo en sus estudios — "He guides his son in his studies"
- Nosotros guiamos el coche por la carretera — "We guide the car along the road"
- Vosotros guiáis a los visitantes hasta la puerta — "You guide the visitors to the door"
- Ellos guían a los turistas por la ciudad — "They guide the tourists around the city"
- Yo guío al grupo por el museo — "I guide the group through the museum"
Common mistakes with guiar in the present tense
These are the errors learners actually make with guiar in the present tense. Each one shows the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.
✗ *Yo guío los turistas por la ciudad.
✓ Correct: Yo guío a los turistas por la ciudad.
guiar takes a before this complement: Yo guío a los turistas por la ciudad. Dropping the preposition is a common learner error.
✗ *Tú guía al grupo por el museo.
✓ Correct: Tú guías al grupo por el museo.
The tú form and the él form are different: tú takes guías, él takes guía.
✗ *Cada día, yo guie a su hijo en sus estudios
✓ Correct: Cada día, yo guío a su hijo en sus estudios
Cada día describes a habit, so it needs the present, not the preterite.
✗ *Vosotros guiais el coche por la carretera.
✓ Correct: Vosotros guiáis el coche por la carretera.
The vosotros present form carries a written accent: guiáis, not guiais.
Quiz: guiar in the present tense
Eight questions on the present tense of guiar. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below — every answer is explained.
Which is the correct present form of guiar for tú? A. guías B. guío C. guía D. guiamos
Complete the sentence: Yo ______ a los turistas por la ciudad — "I guide the tourists around the city" (present) A. guiamos B. guío C. guías D. guía
Complete the sentence: Él ______ al grupo por el museo — "He guides the group through the museum" (present) A. guío B. guías C. guiamos D. guía
Which is the correct present form of guiar for nosotros? A. guías B. guía C. guían D. guiamos
Which sentence uses guiar correctly in the present? A. Mi amigo guiamos a su hijo en sus estudios B. Mi amigo guía a su hijo en sus estudios C. Mi amigo guías a su hijo en sus estudios D. Mi amigo guiaba a su hijo en sus estudios
Complete the sentence: Vosotros ______ el coche por la carretera — "You guide the car along the road" (present) A. guiáis B. guío C. guías D. guía
Complete the sentence: Ellos ______ a los visitantes hasta la puerta — "They guide the visitors to the door" (present) A. guían B. guío C. guías D. guía
What is the gerund of guiar? A. guío B. guie C. guiando D. guiado
Answer key
- guías — The tú form in the present is guías.
- guío — The present form for yo is guío.
- guía — The present form for él/ella/Ud. is guía.
- guiamos — The nosotros form in the present is guiamos.
- Mi amigo guía a su hijo en sus estudios — Mi amigo guía a su hijo en sus estudios is correct: the verb agrees with its subject and the tense is the present.
- guiáis — The present form for vosotros/as is guiáis.
- guían — The present form for ellos/ellas/Uds. is guían.
- guiando — The gerund is guiando. It is the form you use with estar for the progressive, and it is not the past participle guiado.
Frequently asked questions
Is guiar regular in the present tense?
Yes — in the present tense guiar follows the regular endings for -ar verbs, as the table above shows.
What is the gerund and the past participle of guiar?
The gerund is guiando and the past participle is guiado. Use the gerund with estar for the progressive, and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses.
How do you say "I guide" in the present tense?
Say guío. For example: Yo guío a los turistas por la ciudad — "I guide the tourists around the city".
What is the difference between the present and the preterite of guiar?
The present describes a habit or what happens now: Yo guío a los turistas por la ciudad — "I guide the tourists around the city". The preterite reports one finished occasion: Ayer, yo guie a los turistas por la ciudad — "Yesterday, I guided the tourists around the city". Use the present when the action repeats or is still true, and the preterite when you are telling what happened once.
Related links
- Full conjugation of guiar — every tense and mood, with the complete tables.
- guiar examples and quiz — more sentences, dialogues and a longer quiz.
- Spanish Present tense guide — how the present tense works for all Spanish verbs.
- Spanish verbs — the full list of Spanish verbs on VerbFlow.