Introduction
Ricordare means “to remember”, and this page covers exactly one thing: ricordare 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 ricordare, 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 ricordare in the present. It means to remember someone or something, and it is completely regular. Do not confuse it with dimenticare, which means to forget: ricordare keeps a memory, dimenticare loses it. For example: “Lui ricorda Maria ogni giorno.” — “He remembers Maria.” Everything on this page uses the forms of ricordare exactly as they are conjugated in the present, so you can trust every form you see here.
Ricordare in the Present — full table
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | ricordo |
| tu | ricordi |
| lui/lei | ricorda |
| noi | ricordiamo |
| voi | ricordate |
| loro | ricordano |
| Gerund: ricordando · Past participle: ricordato | |
| The gerund is ricordando, which you use with stare to say what is happening at the same time as the main action: “Ricordando Maria, imparo molto.” — “While remembering Maria, I learn a lot.” The past participle is ricordato, which you use with avere in the perfect tenses: ho ricordato 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 ricordare is used. | |
| Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for ricordare, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one. |
How the present of ricordare is formed
The present tense of ricordare has six forms: io ricordo, tu ricordi, lui ricorda, noi ricordiamo, voi ricordate, loro ricordano. Say them in order — io, tu, lui, noi, voi, loro — and notice which forms share a stem and which do not. ricordare 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 ricordare 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 ricordiamo and ricordate pays off in three tenses at once. Second, the present is the tense Italian uses where English would often use the continuous form, so ricordo can mean both “I remember” and “I am remembering” — context tells the listener which one you mean.
Because ricordare 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 ricordare
The present is not a single-purpose tense. Below are the five situations where you will use ricordare 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 ricordare is no exception. Use time expressions such as ogni giorno, sempre or ogni settimana to make the routine explicit. Example: “Io ricordo Maria ogni giorno.” — “I remember Maria.”
2. General truths
Use the present for things that are true in general, not just today. A fact about ricordare does not need a time expression, because it is true whenever you say it. Example: “Lui ricorda Maria ogni giorno.” — “He remembers Maria.”
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 ricordare 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 ricordiamo Maria ogni giorno.” — “We remember Maria.”
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 ricordi Maria ogni giorno.” — “You remember Maria.”
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 ricordare in the present is the tense that carries it. Example: “Loro ricordano Maria ogni giorno.” — “They remember Maria.”
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 ricorda Maria ogni giorno.” — “He remembers Maria”
- Passato Prossimo: “Lui ha ricordato Maria questa settimana.” — “He has remembered Maria”
- 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 ricordo Maria ogni giorno.” — “I remember Maria”
- Passato Prossimo: “Io ho ricordato Maria questa settimana.” — “I have remembered Maria”
- 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 ricordi Maria ogni giorno.” — “You remember Maria”
- Passato Prossimo: “Tu hai ricordato Maria questa settimana.” — “You have remembered Maria”
- 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: ricordare 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.
- “Io ricordo Maria ogni giorno.” — “I remember Maria”
- “Tu ricordi Maria ogni giorno.” — “You remember Maria”
- “Lui ricorda Maria ogni giorno.” — “He remembers Maria”
- “Noi ricordiamo Maria ogni giorno.” — “We remember Maria”
- “Voi ricordate Maria ogni giorno.” — “You remember Maria”
- “Loro ricordano Maria ogni giorno.” — “They remember Maria”
- “Io ricordo Maria ogni giorno.” — “I remember Maria”
- “Lui ricorda Maria ogni giorno.” — “He remembers Maria”
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 ricordi Maria.” Right: “Io ricordo Maria ogni giorno.” Why: The io form is ricordo, not ricordi. ricordi is the tu form. Mixing the two persons is the most common error with this verb.
- Wrong: “Noi ricordo Maria.” Right: “Noi ricordiamo Maria ogni giorno.” Why: Noi needs the noi form ricordiamo. ricordo belongs with io only. Learn the six forms as two groups — singular and plural — and the pattern becomes automatic.
- Wrong: “Io ricordo Maria ogni giorno ieri.” Right: “Io ho ricordato Maria questa settimana.” Why: Ieri points to the past, so the present is wrong here. Use the passato prossimo ho ricordato for a finished action yesterday.
- Wrong: “Io ricordare Maria.” Right: “Io ricordo Maria ogni giorno.” Why: The infinitive ricordare never takes a subject. After io you need the conjugated form ricordo.
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.
What is the io form of ricordare in the Present indicative?
- A) ricordi
- B) ricordo
- C) ricorda
- D) ricordiamo
What is the tu form of ricordare in the Present indicative?
- A) ricordo
- B) ricorda
- C) ricordi
- D) ricordiamo
What is the lui/lei form of ricordare in the Present indicative?
- A) ricordo
- B) ricordi
- C) ricordiamo
- D) ricorda
What is the noi form of ricordare in the Present indicative?
- A) ricordiamo
- B) ricordo
- C) ricordi
- D) ricorda
What is the voi form of ricordare in the Present indicative?
- A) ricordo
- B) ricordate
- C) ricordi
- D) ricorda
What is the loro form of ricordare in the Present indicative?
- A) ricordo
- B) ricordi
- C) ricordano
- D) ricorda
What is the io form of ricordare in the Present indicative?
- A) ricordi
- B) ricorda
- C) ricordiamo
- D) ricordo
What is the tu form of ricordare in the Present indicative?
- A) ricordi
- B) ricordo
- C) ricorda
- D) ricordiamo
Answer key
- B) ricordo — the correct form is ricordo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) ricordi — the correct form is ricordi. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) ricorda — the correct form is ricorda. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) ricordiamo — the correct form is ricordiamo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) ricordate — the correct form is ricordate. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) ricordano — the correct form is ricordano. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) ricordo — the correct form is ricordo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) ricordi — the correct form is ricordi. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
Frequently asked questions
What does ricordare mean in English?
ricordare means “to remember”. It is a non-reflexive, regular -are verb.
How is the present tense of ricordare formed?
The six present forms are: io ricordo, tu ricordi, lui ricorda, noi ricordiamo, voi ricordate, loro ricordano. ricordare 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 ricordare?
The gerund is ricordando and the past participle is ricordato.
Related pages
- ricordare conjugation — full tables
- ricordare examples and quiz
- Italian present tense guide — the full guide to the present tense in Italian.
- Chiamare conjugation — another Italian verb in this batch.
- Cercare conjugation — another Italian verb in this batch.
- Italian verbs — the full hub of Italian conjugation pages.
- VerbFlow home — all languages, tools and verb lists.
- Present Tense Conjugator — practise ricordare with the interactive tool.
- Verb Quiz — practise ricordare with the interactive tool.
- Tense Finder — practise ricordare with the interactive tool.