Introduction

Condurre means “to lead”, and this page covers exactly one thing: condurre in the passato prossimo. The passato prossimo is the tense Italian speakers reach for when they talk about one finished action in the past, especially in conversation. On this page you will find the full passato prossimo table for condurre, 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 condurre in the passato prossimo. It is one of the -rre verbs, and it is totally irregular: the present, the remoto and the participle use different stems, so the io form is conduco, the participle is condotto and the future is condurrò. It means to lead a team and, in a formal sense, to drive; the everyday verb for driving a car is guidare. For example: “Lui ha condotto la squadra questa settimana.” — “He has led the team.” Everything on this page uses the forms of condurre exactly as they are conjugated in the passato prossimo, so you can trust every form you see here.

Condurre in the Passato prossimo — full table

Person Form
io ho condotto
tu hai condotto
lui/lei ha condotto
noi abbiamo condotto
voi avete condotto
loro hanno condotto
Gerund: conducendo · Past participle: condotto
The gerund is conducendo, which you use with stare to say what is happening at the same time as the main action: “Conducendo la squadra, imparo molto.” — “While leading the team, I learn a lot.” The past participle is condotto, which you use with avere in the perfect tenses: ho condotto is the passato prossimo, used for a completed action. Keep both forms in mind as you read the examples below, because the passato prossimo is only one part of how condurre is used.
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for condurre, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

How the passato prossimo of condurre is formed

The passato prossimo of condurre is formed with the auxiliary avere in the present plus the past participle condotto: io ho condotto, tu hai condotto, lui ha condotto, noi abbiamo condotto, voi avete condotto, loro hanno condotto. The participle is given here in the masculine singular form, exactly as it appears in the verified dump; agreement with the subject is a separate step that depends on the sentence, not on the verb table. The -rre verbs use different stems in different tenses, but the passato prossimo is simple once the participle is fixed: io ho condotto, tu hai condotto, lui ha condotto. The participle condotto never changes in the tables, so learn it with the infinitive.

Two things about the passato prossimo of condurre are worth noticing. First, the auxiliary is the whole decision: once you know that condurre takes avere, the rest is the present of avere plus one participle, and the same participle serves all four perfect tenses. Second, the passato prossimo is the tense of finished events with a clear result, so it pairs naturally with time words such as ieri, questa settimana and l'anno scorso — those time words are your best clue when you are choosing a tense.

Because the participle condotto never changes in the tables, the passato prossimo of condurre is cheap to learn once the auxiliary is fixed. Learn the six auxiliary forms, add the participle, and the whole tense is yours.

When to use the passato prossimo of condurre

The passato prossimo is not a single-purpose tense. Below are the five situations where you will use condurre in the passato prossimo most often. Each one comes with a real example, so read the rule, then say the example out loud.

1. One finished action

The passato prossimo describes a single action that is finished, especially in spoken Italian. When the action has a clear end, the passato prossimo is the natural choice. Example: “Io ho condotto la squadra questa settimana.” — “I have led the team.”

2. Recent events

Use the passato prossimo for things that happened recently — today, this week, this morning — where the result is still visible in the present. Example: “Lui ha condotto la squadra questa settimana.” — “He has led the team.”

3. A sequence of events

When you tell what happened first, second and third, each step takes the passato prossimo. The tense moves the story forward one finished action at a time. Example: “Noi abbiamo condotto la squadra questa settimana.” — “We have led the team.”

4. An experience in your life

Use the passato prossimo for things you have done in your life, with or without a time expression. It is the tense of experience as much as of yesterday. Example: “Tu hai condotto la squadra questa settimana.” — “You have led the team.”

5. News and results

When you report news or a result, the passato prossimo carries it: something happened, and now the situation is different. The result matters more than the process. Example: “Loro hanno condotto la squadra questa settimana.” — “They have led the team.”

Passato Prossimo vs Imperfect: how to choose

The closest tense to the passato prossimo is the imperfect, and learners mix them up constantly. The rule is simple: the passato prossimo describes one finished action, while the imperfect describes an ongoing or habitual action in the past, or the background of a scene. 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 passato prossimo sentences use words such as ieri or questa settimana, while the imperfect sentences use una volta or ogni giorno.

  • Passato Prossimo: “Lui ha condotto la squadra questa settimana.” — “He has led the team”
  • Imperfect: “Lui conduceva la squadra una volta.” — “He used to lead the team”
  • The passato prossimo sentence is one finished event; the imperfect sentence is an ongoing or habitual past action. Ieri points to the passato prossimo, una volta points to the imperfect.
  • Passato Prossimo: “Io ho condotto la squadra questa settimana.” — “I have led the team”
  • Imperfect: “Io conducevo la squadra una volta.” — “I used to lead the team”
  • The passato prossimo sentence is one finished event; the imperfect sentence is an ongoing or habitual past action. Ieri points to the passato prossimo, una volta points to the imperfect.
  • Passato Prossimo: “Tu hai condotto la squadra questa settimana.” — “You have led the team”
  • Imperfect: “Tu conducevi la squadra una volta.” — “You used to lead the team”
  • The passato prossimo sentence is one finished event; the imperfect sentence is an ongoing or habitual past action. Ieri points to the passato prossimo, una volta points to the imperfect.

Example sentences: condurre in the passato prossimo

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.

  1. “Io ho condotto la squadra questa settimana.” — “I have led the team”
  2. “Tu hai condotto la squadra questa settimana.” — “You have led the team”
  3. “Lui ha condotto la squadra questa settimana.” — “He has led the team”
  4. “Noi abbiamo condotto la squadra questa settimana.” — “We have led the team”
  5. “Voi avete condotto la squadra questa settimana.” — “You have led the team”
  6. “Loro hanno condotto la squadra questa settimana.” — “They have led the team”
  7. “Io ho condotto la squadra questa settimana.” — “I have led the team”
  8. “Lui ha condotto la squadra questa settimana.” — “He has led the team”

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 sono condotto la squadra.” Right: “Io ho condotto la squadra questa settimana.” Why: condurre takes avere in the passato prossimo, not the other auxiliary. The io form is ho condotto — check the auxiliary before you build the tense.
  • Wrong: “Io conduco la squadra ieri.” Right: “Io ho condotto la squadra questa settimana.” Why: Ieri points to the past, so the present is wrong here. Use the passato prossimo ho condotto for a finished action yesterday.
  • Wrong: “Io ho conducendo la squadra.” Right: “Io ho condotto la squadra questa settimana.” Why: The passato prossimo needs the past participle condotto, not the gerund conducendo. The gerund belongs in progressive constructions, never after an auxiliary.
  • Wrong: “Io condurre la squadra.” Right: “Io ho condotto la squadra questa settimana.” Why: The infinitive condurre never takes a subject and never forms a past tense on its own. After io you need the conjugated passato prossimo form ho condotto.

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.

  1. What is the io form of condurre in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?

    • A) hai condotto
    • B) ho condotto
    • C) ha condotto
    • D) abbiamo condotto

  2. What is the tu form of condurre in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?

    • A) ho condotto
    • B) ha condotto
    • C) hai condotto
    • D) abbiamo condotto

  3. What is the lui/lei form of condurre in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?

    • A) ho condotto
    • B) hai condotto
    • C) abbiamo condotto
    • D) ha condotto

  4. What is the noi form of condurre in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?

    • A) abbiamo condotto
    • B) ho condotto
    • C) hai condotto
    • D) ha condotto

  5. What is the voi form of condurre in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?

    • A) ho condotto
    • B) avete condotto
    • C) hai condotto
    • D) ha condotto

  6. What is the loro form of condurre in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?

    • A) ho condotto
    • B) hai condotto
    • C) hanno condotto
    • D) ha condotto

  7. What is the io form of condurre in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?

    • A) hai condotto
    • B) ha condotto
    • C) abbiamo condotto
    • D) ho condotto

  8. What is the tu form of condurre in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?

    • A) hai condotto
    • B) ho condotto
    • C) ha condotto
    • D) abbiamo condotto

Answer key

  1. B) ho condotto — the correct form is ho condotto. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) hai condotto — the correct form is hai condotto. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) ha condotto — the correct form is ha condotto. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) abbiamo condotto — the correct form is abbiamo condotto. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) avete condotto — the correct form is avete condotto. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) hanno condotto — the correct form is hanno condotto. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) ho condotto — the correct form is ho condotto. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) hai condotto — the correct form is hai condotto. The other options are other forms of the same verb.

Frequently asked questions

What does condurre mean in English?

condurre means “to lead”. It is a non-reflexive, irregular -ere verb.

How is the passato prossimo of condurre formed?

With the auxiliary avere in the present plus the past participle condotto: io ho condotto, tu hai condotto, lui ha condotto, noi abbiamo condotto, voi avete condotto, loro hanno condotto.

When do I use the passato prossimo instead of the imperfect?

Use the passato prossimo for one finished action in the past. Use the imperfect for an ongoing or habitual past action, or for background description. The time words are your best clue: ieri points to the passato prossimo, una volta points to the imperfect.

What are the gerund and past participle of condurre?

The gerund is conducendo and the past participle is condotto. The perfect tenses use avere + condotto.

Related pages