Introduction

Guidare means “to drive”, and this page covers exactly one thing: guidare 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 guidare, 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 guidare in the present. It is the everyday verb for driving a car, and it is completely regular in every tense. Do not confuse it with condurre, the -rre verb for leading or driving in a formal sense: guidare is the verb you use for the car, the bus and the road. For example: “Lui guida la macchina ogni giorno.” — “He drives the car.” Everything on this page uses the forms of guidare exactly as they are conjugated in the present, so you can trust every form you see here.

Guidare in the Present — full table

Person Form
io guido
tu guidi
lui/lei guida
noi guidiamo
voi guidate
loro guidano
Gerund: guidando · Past participle: guidato
The gerund is guidando, which you use with stare to say what is happening at the same time as the main action: “Guidando la macchina, imparo molto.” — “While driving the car, I learn a lot.” The past participle is guidato, which you use with avere in the perfect tenses: ho guidato 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 guidare is used.
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for guidare, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

How the present of guidare is formed

The present tense of guidare has six forms: io guido, tu guidi, lui guida, noi guidiamo, voi guidate, loro guidano. Say them in order — io, tu, lui, noi, voi, loro — and notice which forms share a stem and which do not. guidare 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 guidare 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 guidiamo and guidate pays off in three tenses at once. Second, the present is the tense Italian uses where English would often use the continuous form, so guido can mean both “I drive” and “I am driving” — context tells the listener which one you mean.

Because guidare 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 guidare

The present is not a single-purpose tense. Below are the five situations where you will use guidare 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 guidare is no exception. Use time expressions such as ogni giorno, sempre or ogni settimana to make the routine explicit. Example: “Io guido la macchina ogni giorno.” — “I drive the car.”

2. General truths

Use the present for things that are true in general, not just today. A fact about guidare does not need a time expression, because it is true whenever you say it. Example: “Lui guida la macchina ogni giorno.” — “He drives the car.”

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 guidare 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 guidiamo la macchina ogni giorno.” — “We drive the car.”

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 guidi la macchina ogni giorno.” — “You drive the car.”

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 guidare in the present is the tense that carries it. Example: “Loro guidano la macchina ogni giorno.” — “They drive the car.”

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 guida la macchina ogni giorno.” — “He drives the car”
  • Passato Prossimo: “Lui ha guidato la macchina questa settimana.” — “He has driven the car”
  • 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 guido la macchina ogni giorno.” — “I drive the car”
  • Passato Prossimo: “Io ho guidato la macchina questa settimana.” — “I have driven the car”
  • 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 guidi la macchina ogni giorno.” — “You drive the car”
  • Passato Prossimo: “Tu hai guidato la macchina questa settimana.” — “You have driven the car”
  • 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: guidare 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 guido la macchina ogni giorno.” — “I drive the car”
  2. “Tu guidi la macchina ogni giorno.” — “You drive the car”
  3. “Lui guida la macchina ogni giorno.” — “He drives the car”
  4. “Noi guidiamo la macchina ogni giorno.” — “We drive the car”
  5. “Voi guidate la macchina ogni giorno.” — “You drive the car”
  6. “Loro guidano la macchina ogni giorno.” — “They drive the car”
  7. “Io guido la macchina ogni giorno.” — “I drive the car”
  8. “Lui guida la macchina ogni giorno.” — “He drives the car”

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

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 guidare in the Present indicative?

    • A) guidi
    • B) guido
    • C) guida
    • D) guidiamo

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

    • A) guido
    • B) guida
    • C) guidi
    • D) guidiamo

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

    • A) guido
    • B) guidi
    • C) guidiamo
    • D) guida

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

    • A) guidiamo
    • B) guido
    • C) guidi
    • D) guida

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

    • A) guido
    • B) guidate
    • C) guidi
    • D) guida

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

    • A) guido
    • B) guidi
    • C) guidano
    • D) guida

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

    • A) guidi
    • B) guida
    • C) guidiamo
    • D) guido

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

    • A) guidi
    • B) guido
    • C) guida
    • D) guidiamo

Answer key

  1. B) guido — the correct form is guido. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) guidi — the correct form is guidi. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) guida — the correct form is guida. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) guidiamo — the correct form is guidiamo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) guidate — the correct form is guidate. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) guidano — the correct form is guidano. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) guido — the correct form is guido. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) guidi — the correct form is guidi. The other options are other forms of the same verb.

Frequently asked questions

What does guidare mean in English?

guidare means “to drive”. It is a non-reflexive, regular -are verb.

How is the present tense of guidare formed?

The six present forms are: io guido, tu guidi, lui guida, noi guidiamo, voi guidate, loro guidano. guidare 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 guidare?

The gerund is guidando and the past participle is guidato.

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