Conduire Conjugation in French
conduire means “drive” in English, and it is a verb French learners meet early — it sits in VerbFlow’s frequency list for French. You use it for talking about driving, for describing the journey to work, and for learning to drive. Because it comes up in everyday conversation so often, learning its forms properly pays off from the very first week. This page gives you the complete conjugation of conduire — every tense, every person, the gerund and the past participle — with notes, examples, common mistakes and a quiz. Here is the verb in a natural sentence: “Je conduis la voiture.” — “I drive the car.”
Quick facts
- Infinitive: conduire
- English: drive
- Verb type: Irregular
- Irregular in: present, passe-simple, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative
- Gerund: en conduisant
- Past participle: conduit
- Auxiliary: avoir (all perfect tenses are formed with avoir + the past participle)
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.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for conduire. Learn the present tense first, then the passé composé and the imperfect, and add the remaining tenses one at a time.
Present indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | conduis |
| tu | conduis |
| il/elle | conduit |
| nous | conduisons |
| vous | conduisez |
| ils/elles | conduisent |
Passé simple
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | conduisis |
| tu | conduisis |
| il/elle | conduisit |
| nous | conduisîmes |
| vous | conduisîtes |
| ils/elles | conduisirent |
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | conduisais |
| tu | conduisais |
| il/elle | conduisait |
| nous | conduisions |
| vous | conduisiez |
| ils/elles | conduisaient |
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | conduirai |
| tu | conduiras |
| il/elle | conduira |
| nous | conduirons |
| vous | conduirez |
| ils/elles | conduiront |
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | conduirais |
| tu | conduirais |
| il/elle | conduirait |
| nous | conduirions |
| vous | conduiriez |
| ils/elles | conduiraient |
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | conduise |
| tu | conduises |
| il/elle | conduise |
| nous | conduisions |
| vous | conduisiez |
| ils/elles | conduisent |
Imperfect subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | conduisisse |
| tu | conduisisses |
| il/elle | conduisît |
| nous | conduisissions |
| vous | conduisissiez |
| ils/elles | conduisissent |
Present perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | ai conduit |
| tu | as conduit |
| il/elle | a conduit |
| nous | avons conduit |
| vous | avez conduit |
| ils/elles | ont conduit |
Pluperfect (past perfect)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | avais conduit |
| tu | avais conduit |
| il/elle | avait conduit |
| nous | avions conduit |
| vous | aviez conduit |
| ils/elles | avaient conduit |
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurai conduit |
| tu | auras conduit |
| il/elle | aura conduit |
| nous | aurons conduit |
| vous | aurez conduit |
| ils/elles | auront conduit |
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurais conduit |
| tu | aurais conduit |
| il/elle | aurait conduit |
| nous | aurions conduit |
| vous | auriez conduit |
| ils/elles | auraient conduit |
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | conduis |
| nous | conduisons |
| vous | conduisez |
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | conduis |
| nous | conduisons |
| vous | conduisez |
Gerund and past participle
| Form | French |
|---|---|
| Gerund | en conduisant |
| Past participle | conduit |
When to use each tense
Present indicative
The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. With conduire this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Je conduis prudemment.” — “I drive carefully.”
Passé simple
The passé simple is used for completed actions in the past, mainly in written and literary French. With conduire this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Je conduisis prudemment hier.” — “I drove carefully yesterday.”
Imperfect
The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and background description. For example: “Je conduisais prudemment avant.” — “I used to drive carefully before.”
Future
The future is used for what will happen, predictions and plans. For example: “Je conduirai prudemment demain.” — “I will drive carefully tomorrow.”
Conditional
The conditional is used for what would happen, polite requests and hypothetical situations. For example: “Je conduirais prudemment un jour.” — “I would drive carefully one day.”
Present subjunctive
The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after que. With conduire this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Bien que je conduise prudemment” — “Although I drive carefully.”
Imperfect subjunctive
The imperfect subjunctive is used for the past subjunctive: wishes and hypotheticals about the past, in formal and literary French. For example: “Bien que je conduisisse prudemment” — “Although I drive carefully.”
Present perfect
The present perfect is used for recent past actions and life experience; this is the everyday spoken past tense, the passé composé. For example: “J'ai conduit prudemment cette semaine.” — “I have driven carefully this week.”
Pluperfect (past perfect)
The pluperfect (past perfect) is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “J'avais conduit prudemment avant la fête.” — “I had driven carefully before the party.”
Future perfect
The future perfect is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “J'aurai conduit prudemment pour demain.” — “I will have driven carefully by tomorrow.”
Conditional perfect
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “J'aurais conduit prudemment hier.” — “I would have driven carefully yesterday.”
Imperative (affirmative)
The imperative (affirmative) is used for direct commands and instructions. With conduire this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “conduis prudemment !” — “Drive carefully!”
Imperative (negative)
The imperative (negative) is used for prohibitions and negative commands. With conduire this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Ne conduis pas prudemment !” — “Don't drive carefully!”
Gerund and past participle
The gerund en conduisant is used after en for an action in progress, and the past participle conduit builds the perfect tenses with avoir. For example: “J'ai conduit tous les jours cette semaine.” — “I have driven every day this week.”
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with conduire, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the French and try to produce it from the English.
- “Je conduis la voiture.” — “I drive the car.”
- “Tu conduisis prudemment hier.” — “You drove carefully yesterday.”
- “Il conduisait tous les jours avant.” — “He used to drive every day before.”
- “Je conduirai en ville demain.” — “I will drive in town tomorrow.”
- “Tu conduirais la voiture un jour.” — “You would drive the car one day.”
- “Il a conduit prudemment cette semaine.” — “He has driven carefully this week.”
- “J'avais conduit tous les jours avant la fête.” — “I had driven every day before the party.”
- “Tu auras conduit en ville pour demain.” — “You will have driven in town by tomorrow.”
- “Bien que il conduise la voiture” — “Although he drives the car.”
- “conduis prudemment !” — “Drive carefully!”
Common mistakes
1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Je conduire la voiture.”
✓ Right: “Je conduis la voiture.”
The infinitive conduire never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated present form conduis.
2. Using the wrong person
✗ Wrong: “Je conduisons prudemment.”
✓ Right: “Je conduis prudemment.”
conduisons is the nous form. With je the present form is conduis — check the person in the table before you speak.
3. Using the present for a finished past action
✗ Wrong: “Hier, je conduis la voiture.”
✓ Right: “Hier, j'ai conduit la voiture.”
The present conduis describes now. For something finished yesterday, use the passé composé ai conduit.
4. Using the passé simple in everyday speech
✗ Wrong: “Hier, je conduisis tous les jours.” (in casual conversation)
✓ Right: “Hier, j'ai conduit tous les jours.”
The passé simple conduisis belongs in novels and formal writing. In everyday speech, say the passé composé ai conduit.
5. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
✗ Wrong: “Bien que je conduis la voiture.”
✓ Right: “Bien que je conduise la voiture.”
After bien que French needs the subjunctive, so use conduise here, not the indicative conduis.
6. Using the imperfect for a single finished action
✗ Wrong: “Je conduisais en ville avant.” (said of one finished moment)
✓ Right: “J'ai conduit en ville avant.”
The imperfect conduisais describes something ongoing or repeated in the past. For one finished action, use the passé composé ai conduit.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on conduire. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
What is the je form of conduire in the Present indicative?
- A) conduisons
- B) conduisent
- C) conduis
- D) conduisez
What is the il/elle form of conduire in the Passé simple?
- A) conduisis
- B) conduisîmes
- C) conduisit
- D) conduisîtes
What is the nous form of conduire in the Imperfect?
- A) conduisions
- B) conduisiez
- C) conduisait
- D) conduisais
What is the tu form of conduire in the Future?
- A) conduirai
- B) conduirez
- C) conduiras
- D) conduira
What is the je form of conduire in the Conditional?
- A) conduirait
- B) conduirais
- C) conduirions
- D) conduiriez
What is the il/elle form of conduire in the Present subjunctive?
- A) conduisions
- B) conduisent
- C) conduisiez
- D) conduise
What is the je form of conduire in the Imperfect subjunctive?
- A) conduisisse
- B) conduisissent
- C) conduisît
- D) conduisisses
What is the gerund of conduire?
- A) conduisant
- B) dormant
- C) buvant
What is the past participle of conduire?
- A) dormi
- B) bu
- C) conduit
What does conduire mean in English?
- A) open
- B) sleep
- C) drive
- D) drink
Answer key
- C) conduis — The je form of conduire in the present indicative is conduis.
- C) conduisit — The il/elle form of conduire in the passé simple is conduisit.
- A) conduisions — The nous form of conduire in the imperfect is conduisions.
- C) conduiras — The tu form of conduire in the future is conduiras.
- B) conduirais — The je form of conduire in the conditional is conduirais.
- D) conduise — The il/elle form of conduire in the present subjunctive is conduise.
- A) conduisisse — The je form of conduire in the imperfect subjunctive is conduisisse.
- A) conduisant — The gerund of conduire is en conduisant; it is used after en for actions in progress.
- C) conduit — The past participle of conduire is conduit; perfect tenses use avoir + conduit.
- C) drive — conduire means “drive” in English.
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. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
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.
What are the gerund and past participle of conduire?
The gerund is en conduisant — use it after en for actions in progress. The past participle is conduit — use it with avoir for the perfect tenses, as in ai 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, and it is the form you will use most often.
What is the difference between conduire and voyager?
conduire means “drive” while voyager means “travel” — they describe different actions, so they are not interchangeable. Compare the full table for voyager and check the meaning in context before you choose.
Related pages
- Conduire in Passé Composé Tense — French Conjugation Tables
- Conduire Examples, Sentences & Quiz in French
- Voyager conjugation
- Aller conjugation
- Partir conjugation
- French verbs — the full hub of French conjugation pages.
- Spanish verbs — the full hub of Spanish conjugation pages.
- VerbFlow home — all languages and tools.
- Verb Conjugator — practise conduire with the interactive tool.
- Irregular Verb Finder — practise conduire with the interactive tool.
- Verb Quiz — practise conduire with the interactive tool.