Introduction
Conducir means «to drive». Conducir means to drive: a car, to Madrid, carefully through the city. It is an irregular -ir verb: the present yo is conduzco, and the preterite has a j-stem (conduje, condujo). In Latin America, manejar is often used instead. It is a irregular -ir verb, so the tables below show you exactly how it behaves in every tense. On this page you will find the full conjugation of conducir in all thirteen tenses, notes on when to use each one, example sentences, the mistakes learners make most often, a ten-question quiz and answers to the questions students ask about this verb. For example: «Yo conduzco a Madrid todos los días.» — I drive to Madrid every day.
Quick facts
| Infinitive | conducir |
| English | to drive |
| Verb type | Irregular -ir verb |
| Gerund | conduciendo |
| Past participle | conducido |
| Auxiliary verb | haber |
Full conjugation tables
Gerund: conduciendo · Past participle: conducido
Present Indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | conduzco |
| tú | conduces |
| él/ella/Ud. | conduce |
| nosotros/as | conducimos |
| vosotros/as | conducís |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | conducen |
The present tense describes habits, facts and what is happening now. For conducir, the yo form is conduzco, as in «Yo conduzco» in the examples below. This is one of the tenses where conducir does not follow the regular -ir pattern, so learn the forms in the table above rather than guessing them from the infinitive. Use the present for routines («todos los días») and for general truths.
Preterite
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | conduje |
| tú | condujiste |
| él/ella/Ud. | condujo |
| nosotros/as | condujimos |
| vosotros/as | condujisteis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | condujeron |
The preterite describes completed actions in the past — things that started and finished. «Ayer yo conduje» is the classic use. Do not confuse it with the imperfect: the preterite moves the story forward, one finished event at a time. This is one of the tenses where conducir does not follow the regular -ir pattern, so learn the forms in the table above rather than guessing them from the infinitive.
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | conducía |
| tú | conducías |
| él/ella/Ud. | conducía |
| nosotros/as | conducíamos |
| vosotros/as | conducíais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | conducían |
The imperfect describes the past as background: habits, descriptions and actions in progress. «De pequeño, yo conducía» shows the habitual use. It sets the scene while the preterite reports what happened inside it.
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | conduciré |
| tú | conducirás |
| él/ella/Ud. | conducirá |
| nosotros/as | conduciremos |
| vosotros/as | conduciréis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | conducirán |
The future tense states what will happen. For conducir the future is built on the infinitive: «Mañana yo conduciré». It is also used for predictions and promises, and in spoken Spanish it often alternates with ir a + infinitive.
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | conduciría |
| tú | conducirías |
| él/ella/Ud. | conduciría |
| nosotros/as | conduciríamos |
| vosotros/as | conduciríais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | conducirían |
The conditional expresses what would happen: wishes, polite requests and hypothetical results. «Si tuviera más tiempo, yo conduciría» is the typical pattern. It shares its stem with the future and changes only the endings.
Present Perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | he conducido |
| tú | has conducido |
| él/ella/Ud. | ha conducido |
| nosotros/as | hemos conducido |
| vosotros/as | habéis conducido |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | han conducido |
The present perfect connects the past with the present: something that has happened, often today or recently. It is haber in the present plus the past participle: «Hoy yo he conducido». In Spain it is used for anything that happened today; in Latin America the preterite is often preferred.
Pluperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | había conducido |
| tú | habías conducido |
| él/ella/Ud. | había conducido |
| nosotros/as | habíamos conducido |
| vosotros/as | habíais conducido |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habían conducido |
The pluperfect describes an event that happened before another past event: «Cuando llegué, ya había conducido». It is haber in the imperfect plus the past participle, and it is the tense for explaining what had already happened when something else took place.
Future Perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habré conducido |
| tú | habrás conducido |
| él/ella/Ud. | habrá conducido |
| nosotros/as | habremos conducido |
| vosotros/as | habréis conducido |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrán conducido |
The future perfect looks back from a future point: by then, something will already have happened. «Para mañana, yo habré conducido» is the pattern — haber in the future plus the past participle. It is less common in speech but regular in formal writing.
Conditional Perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habría conducido |
| tú | habrías conducido |
| él/ella/Ud. | habría conducido |
| nosotros/as | habríamos conducido |
| vosotros/as | habríais conducido |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrían conducido |
The conditional perfect expresses what would have happened: «Yo habría conducido si hubiera podido». It is haber in the conditional plus the past participle, and it is the tense for regrets and missed chances.
Present Subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | conduzca |
| tú | conduzcas |
| él/ella/Ud. | conduzca |
| nosotros/as | conduzcamos |
| vosotros/as | conducáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | conduzcan |
The present subjunctive appears after wishes, doubts, emotions and impersonal expressions: «Espero que él conduzca». The trigger is in the main clause; the subjunctive is the mood of uncertainty, desire and influence. Learn the yo form first — most of the table follows from it. This is one of the tenses where conducir does not follow the regular -ir pattern, so learn the forms in the table above rather than guessing them from the infinitive.
Imperfect Subjunctive (-ra forms)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | condujera |
| tú | condujeras |
| él/ella/Ud. | condujera |
| nosotros/as | condujéramos |
| vosotros/as | condujerais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | condujeran |
The imperfect subjunctive is the past partner of the present subjunctive, used after past-tense triggers and in si-clauses: «Si él condujera, todo sería distinto». The table above shows the -ra forms, the ones you will hear most often. There is also a less common -se set built on the same stem. This is one of the tenses where conducir does not follow the regular -ir pattern, so learn the forms in the table above rather than guessing them from the infinitive.
Imperative — Affirmative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | conduce |
| él/ella/Ud. | conduzca |
| nosotros/as | conduzcamos |
| vosotros/as | conducid |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | conduzcan |
There is no yo form in the imperative — you cannot command yourself.
The affirmative imperative gives direct commands and instructions: «¡Conduce!». There is no yo form — you cannot command yourself. The tú form is the one you will use with friends and family, and the usted form with people you address formally. This is one of the tenses where conducir does not follow the regular -ir pattern, so learn the forms in the table above rather than guessing them from the infinitive.
Imperative — Negative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | conduzcas |
| él/ella/Ud. | conduzca |
| nosotros/as | conduzcamos |
| vosotros/as | conducáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | conduzcan |
There is no yo form in the imperative — you cannot command yourself.
The negative imperative tells someone not to do something: «¡No conduzcas!». Unlike the affirmative imperative, the negative forms come from the present subjunctive, which is why they look different. Never use the affirmative form after no. This is one of the tenses where conducir does not follow the regular -ir pattern, so learn the forms in the table above rather than guessing them from the infinitive.
Example sentences
- Yo conduzco a Madrid todos los días. — I drive to Madrid every day.
- Mi hermana conduce a Madrid mucho. — My sister drives to Madrid a lot.
- Ayer yo conduje a Madrid por la tarde. — Yesterday I drove to Madrid in the afternoon.
- De pequeño, yo conducía a Madrid muchas veces. — As a child, I used to drive to Madrid often.
- Mañana yo conduciré a Madrid sin falta. — Tomorrow I will drive to Madrid without fail.
- Si tuviera más tiempo, yo conduciría a Madrid ahora mismo. — If I had more time, I would drive to Madrid right now.
- Hoy yo he conducido con cuidado dos veces. — Today I have driven carefully twice.
- Espero que él conduzca a Madrid pronto. — I hope he drives to Madrid soon.
- ¡Conduce con cuidado por la ciudad! — Drive carefully through the city!
- Ahora mismo estoy conduciendo a Madrid. — Right now I am driving to Madrid.
Common mistakes
1. Using the regular stem in the preterite
Wrong: conducí
Right: conduje
Conducir does not keep its infinitive stem here. The correct form is conduje; the regular-looking conducí is a form learners invent by applying the standard endings to the wrong stem.
2. Using the imperfect for a finished event
Wrong: Ayer yo conducía a Madrid.
Right: Ayer yo conduje a Madrid.
Yesterday's finished action needs the preterite, conduje. The imperfect conducía describes what used to happen or what was going on, not a single completed event.
3. Confusing it with a similar verb
Wrong: *Conduzco a Madrid en avión.
Right: Voy a Madrid en avión.
Conducir means to drive. If you fly, use ir: voy a Madrid en avión.
4. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
Wrong: Espero que tú conduces a Madrid.
Right: Espero que tú conduzcas a Madrid.
After espero que, Spanish requires the subjunctive: conduzcas, not the indicative conduces. Wishes, hopes and doubts all trigger this change.
5. Using the affirmative imperative after no
Wrong: No conduce a Madrid.
Right: No conduzcas a Madrid.
Negative commands use the subjunctive-based forms: no conduzcas. The affirmative conduce can never follow no.
Quiz
Test yourself on the forms above. Choose the correct answer, then check the key below.
1. What is the yo form of conducir in the present tense?
- (a) conduce
- (b) conduces
- (c) conducimos
- (d) conduzco
2. What is the él/ella form of conducir in the preterite?
- (a) conduje
- (b) condujimos
- (c) condujiste
- (d) condujo
3. What is the nosotros form of conducir in the imperfect?
- (a) conducía
- (b) conducíamos
- (c) conducías
4. What is the tú form of conducir in the future tense?
- (a) conduciremos
- (b) conducirá
- (c) conducirás
- (d) conduciré
5. What is the ellos form of conducir in the conditional?
- (a) conduciría
- (b) conducirían
- (c) conducirías
6. What is the yo form of conducir in the present perfect?
- (a) ha conducido
- (b) has conducido
- (c) he conducido
- (d) hemos conducido
7. After «Espero que…», what is the tú form of conducir?
- (a) conduzca
- (b) conduzcamos
- (c) conduzcas
8. What is the nosotros form of conducir in the imperfect subjunctive (-ra)?
- (a) condujera
- (b) condujéramos
- (c) condujeras
9. What is the gerund of conducir?
- (a) conducido
- (b) conduciendo
- (c) conducir
- (d) conduzco
10. What is the past participle of conducir?
- (a) conducido
- (b) conduciendo
- (c) conducir
- (d) conduje
Answer key
1. (d) conduzco — In the present, the yo form of conducir is conduzco. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
2. (d) condujo — In the preterite, the el form of conducir is condujo. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
3. (b) conducíamos — In the imperfect, the nosotros form of conducir is conducíamos. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
4. (c) conducirás — In the future, the tu form of conducir is conducirás. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
5. (b) conducirían — In the conditional, the ellos form of conducir is conducirían. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
6. (c) he conducido — In the present perfect, the yo form of conducir is he conducido. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
7. (c) conduzcas — In the present subjunctive, the tu form of conducir is conduzcas. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
8. (b) condujéramos — In the imperfect subjunctive, the nosotros form of conducir is condujéramos. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
9. (b) conduciendo — The gerund of conducir is conduciendo. It is used with estar for the progressive: «Estoy conduciendo».
10. (a) conducido — The past participle of conducir is conducido. It follows haber in all the perfect tenses: «he conducido».
Frequently asked questions
Is conducir regular or irregular?
No — conducir is irregular. The tenses that break the regular pattern are: present, preterite, present-subjunctive, imperfect-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative. Learn those forms as a set, and use the regular pattern for the rest.
What are the gerund and past participle of conducir?
The gerund is conduciendo and the past participle is conducido. Use the gerund with estar for actions in progress («Estoy conduciendo») and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses («he conducido»).
What is the difference between conducir and manejar?
Conducir and manejar are often confused. Manejar is the Latin American verb for driving; conducir is the standard verb in Spain.
How do I say «I drive» in Spanish?
Say «Yo conduzco». That is the yo form of the present tense, the form you need for talking about yourself right now.
Which tense do learners find hardest with conducir?
Most learners struggle with choosing between the preterite and the imperfect, not with the forms themselves. Use the preterite (conduje) for a single finished event and the imperfect (conducía) for habits and background. After that, the subjunctive is the next step.
Related links
- Practise this verb in one tense: conducir-preterite-tense
- More examples and a quiz: conducir-examples-and-quiz
- Browse all Spanish verbs: /spanish/
- Full list of irregular verbs: spanish-irregular-verbs
- Related verb: viajar
- Related verb: caminar
- Related verb: correr
- Conjugate any verb: verb-conjugator
- Test yourself: verb-quiz