Introduction
Conducir means “to drive”, and this page covers exactly one thing: conducir in the preterite tense. The preterite is the tense Spanish speakers reach for when they talk about what is finished and done. On this page you will find the full preterite table for conducir, how the tense is formed for this verb, the situations where it is used, how it differs from the imperfect, worked examples, the mistakes learners make most often, an eight-question quiz with explained answers, and answers to the questions students ask about conducir in the preterite. Conducir in the preterite describes one finished drive: a trip you took and completed. It is the tense for telling someone where you drove and when. For example: “Yo conduje hasta Madrid ayer.” — I drove to Madrid yesterday. Everything on this page uses the forms of conducir exactly as they are conjugated in the preterite, so you can trust every form you see here.
Conducir in the Preterite Tense — full table
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | conduje |
| tú | condujiste |
| él/ella/Ud. | condujo |
| nosotros/as | condujimos |
| vosotros/as | condujisteis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | condujeron |
Gerund: conduciendo · Past participle: conducido
The gerund is conduciendo, which you use with estar to say what is happening right now: “Estoy conduciendo” means the action of conducir is in progress at this very moment. The past participle is conducido, which you use with haber in the perfect tenses: “he conducido” is the present perfect, used for a completed action. Keep both forms in mind as you read the examples below, because the preterite is only one part of how conducir is used.
How the preterite of conducir is formed
Conducir is irregular in the preterite: the whole tense is built on the irregular stem conduj-, not on the infinitive stem. Add the preterite endings -e, -iste, -o, -imos, -isteis, -eron to that stem: conduje, condujiste, condujo, condujimos, condujisteis and condujeron. The j is the giveaway: every form in this tense carries it, and the endings have no written accents, unlike regular preterites. This is the same family as traducir (traduje) and producir (produje), so learning conduj- teaches you three verbs at once. Do not use the present stem conduc- in the preterite — conducí is not a word.
The preterite stem conduj- is the heart of this tense. Every form carries the j, and the endings are -e, -iste, -o, -imos, -isteis, -eron, with no written accents anywhere. Say the six forms in order — conduje, condujiste, condujo, condujimos, condujisteis, condujeron — and the rhythm of the irregular stem becomes clear. Do not use the present stem conduc- here: conducí is not a word.
When to use the preterite of conducir
The preterite is not a single-purpose tense. Below are the five situations where you will use conducir in the preterite most often. Each one comes with a real example, so read the rule, then say the example out loud.
1. Driving somewhere yesterday
Conducir in the preterite describes one finished drive: a trip you took and completed. It is the tense for telling someone where you drove and when. Example: “Yo conduje hasta Madrid ayer.” — I drove to Madrid yesterday.
2. A finished journey
When the journey is over, the preterite is the right tense. It moves the story forward: you drove, you arrived, and the trip is done. Example: “Mi padre condujo a Madrid la semana pasada.” — My father drove to Madrid last week.
3. One careful drive
The preterite can also describe how one particular drive went: carefully, slowly, or fast. The manner belongs to that one finished drive, not to a habit. Example: “Nosotros condujimos con cuidado.” — We drove carefully.
4. A finished event in a finished time frame
The preterite is the tense of completed actions. When the action started and ended inside a finished period of time — ayer, anoche, la semana pasada, en 2019 — the preterite is the right choice, and conducir follows the same rule. Example: “Yo conduje hasta Madrid ayer.” — I drove to Madrid yesterday.
5. Moving a story forward
In a narrative, the preterite moves the story from one event to the next. Each preterite form is one step forward in time, which is why stories told in the past are built mostly from preterite verbs, with the imperfect used only for background. Example: “Nosotros condujimos con cuidado.” — We drove carefully.
Preterite Tense vs Imperfect: how to choose
The closest tense to the preterite is the imperfect, and choosing between them is one of the hardest decisions in Spanish. The rule is simple: the preterite reports one finished action, while the imperfect describes background, habits in the past, or an action that was in progress when something else happened. The three pairs below use the same verb, so the only thing that changes is whether the action is finished and counted, or ongoing and descriptive. Time words help: ayer and de repente point to the preterite, while mientras and todos los días in the past point to the imperfect.
Preterite Tense: “Yo conduje hasta Madrid ayer.” — I drove to Madrid yesterday.
Imperfect: “Yo conducía hasta Madrid cada mes.” — I used to drive to Madrid every month.
The preterite sentence reports one finished drive; the imperfect sentence describes a habit in the past. Ayer points to the preterite, cada mes in the past points to the imperfect.
Preterite Tense: “Mi padre condujo a Madrid la semana pasada.” — My father drove to Madrid last week.
Imperfect: “Mi padre conducía a Madrid cada semana.” — My father used to drive to Madrid every week.
La semana pasada names one finished week, so the preterite is right; cada semana in the past describes a routine, so the imperfect is right.
Preterite Tense: “Yo conduje hasta Madrid ayer.” — I drove to Madrid yesterday.
Imperfect: “Yo conducía hasta Madrid ayer.” — the same action, but as background or a habit in the past rather than one finished event.
The preterite sentence counts one finished action; the imperfect sentence describes how things used to be. That difference — finished event versus background — is the whole decision.
Example sentences: conducir in the preterite
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, the objects, the other verbs — because those are what make each sentence sound natural.
“Yo conduje hasta Madrid ayer.” — I drove to Madrid yesterday.
“¿Tú condujiste por la autopista?” — Did you drive on the motorway?
“Mi padre condujo a Madrid la semana pasada.” — My father drove to Madrid last week.
“Nosotros condujimos con cuidado.” — We drove carefully.
“Vosotros condujisteis despacio por la ciudad.” — You drove slowly through the city.
“Ellos condujeron un autobús ayer.” — They drove a bus yesterday.
“Yo conduje al trabajo por la mañana.” — I drove to work in the morning.
“El taxista condujo por toda la ciudad anoche.” — The taxi driver drove all over the city last night.
Common mistakes with conducir in the preterite
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: “Yo conduzo un coche.” Right: “Yo conduje un coche pequeño.” Why: The yo form of conducir is conduzco, with a zc spelling that appears only in the first person singular. Conduzo is not a word: the c of the stem becomes zc before the o ending.
Wrong: “Ellos condujo un autobús.” Right: “Ellos condujeron un autobús.” Why: Ellos needs the ellos form conducen. The singular conduce belongs with él, ella or a singular noun such as el taxista.
Wrong: “Yo conduje hasta Madrid ayer.” Right: “Ayer yo conduje hasta Madrid.” Why: The present tense cannot describe a finished drive yesterday. Ayer forces the preterite, and the preterite of conducir is built on the irregular stem conduj-: conduje, not conducí.
Wrong: “Nosotros condujiste con cuidado.” Right: “Nosotros condujimos con cuidado.” Why: Nosotros needs conducimos. The tú form conduces belongs with tú.
Quiz: conducir in the preterite
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. Complete the sentence: “Yo ______ hasta Madrid ayer.” (I drove to Madrid yesterday.)
- (a) condujiste
- (b) condujo
- (c) conduje
Answer: conduje — The yo form of conducir in the preterite is conduje. The other options are the forms for different persons, so they do not agree with the subject.
2. Complete the sentence: “¿Tú ______ por la autopista?” (Did you drive on the motorway?)
- (a) condujo
- (b) condujiste
- (c) conduje
Answer: condujiste — The tú form of conducir in the preterite is condujiste. The other options are the forms for different persons, so they do not agree with the subject.
3. Complete the sentence: “Mi padre ______ a Madrid la semana pasada.” (My father drove to Madrid last week.)
- (a) condujo
- (b) conduje
- (c) condujiste
Answer: condujo — The él/ella/Ud. form of conducir in the preterite is condujo. The other options are the forms for different persons, so they do not agree with the subject.
4. Complete the sentence: “Nosotros ______ con cuidado.” (We drove carefully.)
- (a) conduje
- (b) condujiste
- (c) condujimos
Answer: condujimos — The nosotros/as form of conducir in the preterite is condujimos. The other options are the forms for different persons, so they do not agree with the subject.
5. What is the vosotros/as form of conducir in the preterite?
- (a) condujiste
- (b) condujisteis
- (c) conduje
Answer: condujisteis — From the table above: vosotros/as takes condujisteis. Say it with the example sentence “Vosotros condujisteis despacio por la ciudad.” to fix it in your memory.
6. Complete the sentence: “Ellos ______ un autobús ayer.” (They drove a bus yesterday.)
- (a) conduje
- (b) condujiste
- (c) condujeron
Answer: condujeron — The subject needs the ellos/ellas/Uds. form, which is condujeron.
7. Which is the correct yo form of conducir in the preterite?
- (a) conduje
- (b) condujo
- (c) condujeron
Answer: conduje — The yo form is conduje. The other two options are the él/ella and ellos/ellas forms.
8. Which sentence describes one finished action in the past?
- (a) Yo conduje hasta Madrid ayer.
- (b) Yo conducía hasta Madrid cada mes.
- (c) Nosotros conduciremos a Madrid mañana.
Answer: Yo conduje hasta Madrid ayer. — “Yo conduje hasta Madrid ayer.” reports a single completed event, so it takes the preterite. The second option describes background or a past habit, and the third looks to the future.
Frequently asked questions
Is conducir regular in the present tense?
Almost. Conducir is regular except for the yo form, which is conduzco, with a zc spelling. The other five forms are regular -ir forms: conduces, conduce, conducimos, conducís, conducen. Learn conduzco as a one-form exception.
What is the preterite of conducir?
The preterite is built on the irregular stem conduj-: conduje, condujiste, condujo, condujimos, condujisteis, condujeron. The j is in every form, and there are no written accents. It is the same family as traducir (traduje) and producir (produje).
Does conducir take a preposition before a destination?
Yes, it takes a: conducir a Madrid, conducir al trabajo. For the vehicle, there is no preposition: conducir un coche. For the manner, use con: conducir con cuidado.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of conducir — every tense of conducir in one place.
- Conducir examples and quiz — more sentences with conducir and a ten-question quiz.
- Spanish preterite guide — how the preterite works for all Spanish verbs.
- Spanish verbs — the hub for every Spanish verb on VerbFlow.
- Present tense conjugator — conjugate any verb in the preterite instantly.
- Verb quiz — test yourself on conducir and other verbs.