conduire Examples, Sentences & Quiz in French

conduire — drive — is one of the verbs you will use every day in French. conduire is the verb for talking about driving: it comes up whenever you talk about describing the journey to work or learning to drive. On this page you will find conduire in real sentences, grouped by meaning and tense, two short texts that show it in context, the mistakes learners actually make with it, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. Start with the examples, say them aloud, and then test yourself.

Example sentences with conduire

In the present tense

  • “Je conduis la voiture.” — “I drive the car.”
  • “Tu conduis prudemment.” — “You drive carefully.”
  • “Il conduit tous les jours.” — “He drives every day.”
  • “Nous conduisons en ville.” — “We drive in town.”
  • “Vous conduisez la voiture.” — “You drive the car.”
  • “Ils conduisent prudemment.” — “They drive carefully.”

In the passé composé

  • “J'ai conduit la voiture cette semaine.” — “I have driven the car this week.”
  • “Tu as conduit prudemment cette semaine.” — “You have driven carefully this week.”
  • “Il a conduit tous les jours cette semaine.” — “He has driven every day this week.”
  • “Nous avons conduit en ville cette semaine.” — “We have driven in town this week.”
  • “Vous avez conduit la voiture cette semaine.” — “You have driven the car this week.”
  • “Ils ont conduit prudemment cette semaine.” — “They have driven carefully this week.”

In other tenses

The same verb in the imperfect, the future, the conditional and the present subjunctive — the four tenses that complete the picture. All forms come from the verified tables.

  • “Je conduisais la voiture avant.” — “I used to drive the car before.”
  • “Je conduirai prudemment demain.” — “I will drive carefully tomorrow.”
  • “Je conduirais tous les jours un jour.” — “I would drive every day one day.”
  • “Bien que il conduise en ville” — “Although he drives in town.”

conduire in context

Je conduis la voiture. Tu conduis prudemment. Il conduit tous les jours. Nous conduisons en ville.

I drive the car. You drive carefully. He drives every day. We drive in town.

J'ai conduit la voiture. Il a conduit prudemment. Nous avons conduit tous les jours.

I have driven the car this week. He has driven carefully this week. We have driven every day this week.

Common mistakes with conduire

Mistake 1

Wrong: Je conduire la voiture.

Right: Je conduis la voiture.

The infinitive never takes a subject: after je you need the conjugated form conduis.

Mistake 2

Wrong: Je conduisons prudemment.

Right: Je conduis prudemment.

conduisons is the nous form. With je, use conduis.

Mistake 3

Wrong: Hier, je conduis tous les jours.

Right: Hier, j'ai conduit tous les jours.

Yesterday needs the passé composé ai conduit, not the present.

Mistake 4

Wrong: Bien que je conduis en ville.

Right: Bien que je conduise en ville.

After bien que French needs the subjunctive conduise.

Mistake 5

Wrong: Je conduisais la voiture hier. (said of one finished moment)

Right: J'ai conduit la voiture hier.

The imperfect describes an ongoing or repeated past. One finished moment yesterday takes the passé composé.

Quiz: test yourself on conduire

Ten questions on conduire. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.

  1. What is the tu form of conduire in the Present indicative?

    • A) conduit
    • B) conduis
    • C) conduisez
    • D) conduisons

  2. What is the nous form of conduire in the Present indicative?

    • A) conduit
    • B) conduisons
    • C) conduis
    • D) conduisent

  3. What is the il/elle form of conduire in the Present perfect?

    • A) avons conduit
    • B) as conduit
    • C) a conduit
    • D) ai conduit

  4. What is the je form of conduire in the Imperfect?

    • A) conduisait
    • B) conduisiez
    • C) conduisais
    • D) conduisions

  5. What is the nous form of conduire in the Future?

    • A) conduirons
    • B) conduirai
    • C) conduiront
    • D) conduirez

  6. What is the tu form of conduire in the Conditional?

    • A) conduiriez
    • B) conduirions
    • C) conduirais
    • D) conduiraient

  7. What is the je form of conduire in the Present subjunctive?

    • A) conduise
    • B) conduisiez
    • C) conduisions
    • D) conduisent

  8. What is the il/elle form of conduire in the Imperfect subjunctive?

    • A) conduisissiez
    • B) conduisisses
    • C) conduisisse
    • D) conduisît

  9. What is the gerund of conduire?

    • A) conduisant
    • B) buvant
    • C) dormant

  10. What is the past participle of conduire?

  • A) bu
  • B) dormi
  • C) conduit

Answer key

  1. B) conduis — The tu form of conduire in the present indicative is conduis.
  2. B) conduisons — The nous form of conduire in the present indicative is conduisons.
  3. C) a conduit — The il/elle form of conduire in the present perfect is a conduit.
  4. C) conduisais — The je form of conduire in the imperfect is conduisais.
  5. A) conduirons — The nous form of conduire in the future is conduirons.
  6. C) conduirais — The tu form of conduire in the conditional is conduirais.
  7. A) conduise — The je form of conduire in the present subjunctive is conduise.
  8. D) conduisît — The il/elle form of conduire in the imperfect subjunctive is conduisît.
  9. A) conduisant — The gerund of conduire is en conduisant; it is used after en for actions in progress.
  10. C) conduit — The past participle of conduire is conduit; perfect tenses use avoir + conduit.

Frequently asked questions

What does conduire mean in English?

conduire means “drive”. You use it for talking about driving, for describing the journey to work, and for learning to drive.

Is conduire regular or irregular?

conduire is irregular, and it is irregular in these tenses: present, passe-simple, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative. The gerund is en conduisant and the past participle is conduit.

How do I say “I drive” in French?

Say “Je conduis la voiture.” — “I drive the car.” The je form of the present is conduis.

Where can I see the full conjugation of conduire?

On the full conjugation page, which has every tense, and on the Conduire in Passé Composé Tense — French Conjugation Tables page.

How to practise conduire this week

Pick one tense a day and say five sentences with conduire out loud, using the examples on this page as your starting point. On the first day, use only the present tense and the complements from the examples above — la voiture, prudemment and tous les jours — and change only the person, so you hear how conduis, conduis and conduit sound next to each other. On the second day, retell yesterday in the passé composé with ai conduit and the other perfect forms from the table. On the third day, write three short plans for tomorrow in the future tense, and on the fourth day, turn them into polite conditional sentences. Keep a small notebook and write each new sentence down: seeing en conduisant and conduit in your own handwriting fixes them in memory far better than reading them once. Finally, take the quiz above again without looking at the answer key — when you can answer all ten questions from memory, move on to the next verb in the hub.

Pronunciation

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for conduire, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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