conducir — Spanish conjugation

to drive

Frequency#161Irregular

Indicative

Present (Presente) Irregular

The present tense is the most versatile tense in Spanish. It covers actions happening right now, habitual actions, and even near-future plans. One form does the work of three English constructions.

Ella habla inglés — She speaks / is speaking English

PronounSpanishEnglish
yoconduzcoI drive
conducesyou drive
vosconducísyou drive
él/ella/Ud.conducehe/she/it drives
nosotrosconducimoswe drive
vosotrosconducísyou (pl.) drive
ellos/ellas/Uds.conducenthey drive

Preterite (Pretérito indefinido) Irregular

Used for completed past actions with a defined endpoint — a single event, a series of events, or an action that interrupted another. Common with time expressions like ayer, el lunes, una vez.

Ella habló de ti ayer — She spoke about you yesterday

PronounSpanishEnglish
yocondujeI drove
condujisteyou drove
voscondujisteyou drove
él/ella/Ud.condujohe/she/it drove
nosotroscondujimoswe drove
vosotroscondujisteisyou (pl.) drove
ellos/ellas/Uds.condujeronthey drove

Imperfect (Pretérito imperfecto) Regular

Describes ongoing or habitual past states — what things were like, background context, what used to happen. Contrasts with the preterite which marks completed events.

Cuando era niño vivía en Valencia — When I was a child I lived in Valencia

PronounSpanish
yoconducía
conducías
vosconducías
él/ella/Ud.conducía
nosotrosconducíamos
vosotrosconducíais
ellos/ellas/Uds.conducían

Conditional (Condicional) Regular

Expresses hypothetical actions, polite requests, and what would happen under certain conditions. Also used for reported speech about the future from a past perspective.

¿Podrías ayudarme? — Could you help me?

PronounSpanishEnglish
yoconduciríaI would drive
conduciríasyou would drive
vosconduciríasyou would drive
él/ella/Ud.conduciríahe/she/it would drive
nosotrosconduciríamoswe would drive
vosotrosconduciríaisyou (pl.) would drive
ellos/ellas/Uds.conduciríanthey would drive

Future (Futuro) Regular

Expresses future actions, predictions, and probability about the present. Formed with the full infinitive as stem for most verbs. In spoken Spanish, ir a + infinitive is often preferred for near future.

Ella hablará en conferencia mañana — She will speak at the conference tomorrow

PronounSpanishEnglish
yoconduciréI will drive
conducirásyou will drive
vosconducirásyou will drive
él/ella/Ud.conduciráhe/she/it will drive
nosotrosconduciremoswe will drive
vosotrosconduciréisyou (pl.) will drive
ellos/ellas/Uds.conduciránthey will drive

Present perfect (Pretérito perfecto) Regular

A compound past tense linking a past action to the present moment — something that has happened and still feels recent or relevant. More common in Spain than Latin America where preterite is preferred.

Hoy he hablado con el jefe — Today I have spoken with the boss

PronounSpanishEnglish
yohe conducidoI have driven
has conducidoyou have driven
voshas conducidoyou have driven
él/ella/Ud.ha conducidohe/she/it has driven
nosotroshemos conducidowe have driven
vosotroshabéis conducidoyou (pl.) have driven
ellos/ellas/Uds.han conducidothey have driven

Pluperfect (Pretérito pluscuamperfecto) Regular

The past of the past — describes an action that was already completed before another past event happened. Always implies a reference point in the past.

Ya había hablado cuando llegaste — She had already spoken when you arrived

PronounSpanishEnglish
yohabía conducidoI had driven
habías conducidoyou had driven
voshabías conducidoyou had driven
él/ella/Ud.había conducidohe/she/it had driven
nosotroshabíamos conducidowe had driven
vosotroshabíais conducidoyou (pl.) had driven
ellos/ellas/Uds.habían conducidothey had driven

Conditional perfect (Condicional perfecto) Regular

Expresses what would have happened — actions that were possible but did not occur, or regrets about the past. Formed with conditional of haber + past participle.

Habría hablado, pero no me dejaron — I would have spoken, but they did not let me

PronounSpanish
yohabría conducido
habrías conducido
voshabrías conducido
él/ella/Ud.habría conducido
nosotroshabríamos conducido
vosotroshabríais conducido
ellos/ellas/Uds.habrían conducido

Future perfect (Futuro perfecto) Regular

Describes an action that will have been completed by a certain point in the future, or expresses probability about a recent past action.

Para el lunes habré terminado — By Monday I will have finished

PronounSpanishEnglish
yohabré conducidoI will have driven
habrás conducidoyou will have driven
voshabrás conducidoyou will have driven
él/ella/Ud.habrá conducidohe/she/it will have driven
nosotroshabremos conducidowe will have driven
vosotroshabréis conducidoyou (pl.) will have driven
ellos/ellas/Uds.habrán conducidothey will have driven

Subjunctive

Present subjunctive (Subjuntivo presente) Irregular

Used in subordinate clauses after expressions of desire, doubt, emotion, necessity, or impersonal statements. Triggered by a change of subject between the main and subordinate clause.

Espero que hable — I hope she speaks

PronounSpanish
yoconduzca
conduzcas
vosconduzcas
él/ella/Ud.conduzca
nosotrosconduzcamos
vosotrosconduzcáis
ellos/ellas/Uds.conduzcan

Imperfect subjunctive (-ra) (Subjuntivo imperfecto (-ra)) Irregular

The past subjunctive used after past main verbs, in if-clauses with conditional, and for polite softening. The -ra form is more common in everyday speech than the -se form.

Si pudiera, lo haría — If I could, I would do it

PronounSpanish
yocondujera
condujeras
voscondujeras
él/ella/Ud.condujera
nosotroscondujéramos
vosotroscondujerais
ellos/ellas/Uds.condujeran

Imperfect subjunctive (-se) (Subjuntivo imperfecto (-se)) Regular

The alternative past subjunctive form. Interchangeable with -ra in most contexts but slightly more literary or formal. Both forms are grammatically correct in all regions.

Si pudiese, lo haría — If I could, I would do it

PronounSpanish
yocondujese
condujeses
voscondujeses
él/ella/Ud.condujese
nosotroscondujésemos
vosotroscondujeseis
ellos/ellas/Uds.condujesen

Perfect subjunctive (Pretérito perfecto de subjuntivo) Regular

A compound subjunctive that expresses completed actions in a subjunctive context — used after present or future main verbs expressing doubt, emotion or desire.

Dudo que ya haya llegado — I doubt she has already arrived

PronounSpanish
yohaya conducido
hayas conducido
voshayas conducido
él/ella/Ud.haya conducido
nosotroshayamos conducido
vosotroshayáis conducido
ellos/ellas/Uds.hayan conducido

Pluperfect subjunctive (Pluscuamperfecto de subjuntivo) Regular

Expresses what had happened in hypothetical or unreal past contexts — the subjunctive equivalent of the pluperfect. Common in contrary-to-fact past conditions.

Si hubiera hablado, lo habrían creído — If she had spoken, they would have believed her

PronounSpanish
yohubiera conducido
hubieras conducido
voshubieras conducido
él/ella/Ud.hubiera conducido
nosotroshubiéramos conducido
vosotroshubierais conducido
ellos/ellas/Uds.hubieran conducido

Other forms

Imperative (affirmative) (Imperativo afirmativo) Irregular

Direct commands and instructions. The imperative only exists for tú, usted, nosotros, vosotros and ustedes — yo has no command form. Affirmative and negative forms use different conjugations.

Habla más despacio — Speak more slowly

PronounSpanish
conduce
vosconducí
él/ella/Ud.conduzca
nosotrosconduzcamos
vosotrosconducid
ustedesconduzcan

Imperative (negative) (Imperativo negativo) Regular

Negative commands use the subjunctive forms for all persons. Formed with no + present subjunctive. This applies to all persons including tú where the affirmative uses a different form.

No hables tan rápido — Do not speak so fast

PronounSpanish
no conduzcas
vosno conduzcas
él/ella/Ud.no conduzca
nosotrosno conduzcamos
vosotrosno conduzcáis
ustedesno conduzcan

Present progressive (Presente progresivo) Regular

Emphasises that an action is happening right now at this very moment. Less common than in English since the present tense already covers ongoing actions in Spanish.

Estoy hablando contigo — I am speaking with you

PronounSpanish
yoestoy conduciendo
estás conduciendo
vosestás conduciendo
él/ella/Ud.está conduciendo
nosotrosestamos conduciendo
vosotrosestáis conduciendo
ellos/ellas/Uds.están conduciendo

Preterite progressive (Pretérito indefinido progresivo) Regular

Describes an action that was in progress throughout a completed past period. Uses the preterite of estar + gerund to emphasise the ongoing nature within a defined timeframe.

Estuvo hablando toda la tarde — He was talking all afternoon

PronounSpanish
yoestuve conduciendo
estuviste conduciendo
vosestuviste conduciendo
él/ella/Ud.estuvo conduciendo
nosotrosestuvimos conduciendo
vosotrosestuvisteis conduciendo
ellos/ellas/Uds.estuvieron conduciendo

Imperfect progressive (Pretérito imperfecto progresivo) Regular

Emphasises an ongoing background action using the imperfect of estar + gerund. Layered on top of the imperfect which already conveys continuity — used for extra emphasis on the progressive nature.

Estaba hablando cuando entró — I was speaking when he came in

PronounSpanish
yoestaba conduciendo
estabas conduciendo
vosestabas conduciendo
él/ella/Ud.estaba conduciendo
nosotrosestábamos conduciendo
vosotrosestabais conduciendo
ellos/ellas/Uds.estaban conduciendo

Conditional progressive (Condicional progresivo) Regular

Expresses what would be in progress under hypothetical conditions. Uses the conditional of estar + gerund. Less common but used for emphasis on the ongoing nature of a hypothetical action.

Estaría hablando ahora si pudiera — I would be speaking now if I could

PronounSpanish
yoestaría conduciendo
estarías conduciendo
vosestarías conduciendo
él/ella/Ud.estaría conduciendo
nosotrosestaríamos conduciendo
vosotrosestaríais conduciendo
ellos/ellas/Uds.estarían conduciendo

Future progressive (Futuro progresivo) Regular

Describes an action that will be in progress at a future point, or expresses probability about an ongoing present action. Uses the future of estar + gerund.

Mañana a esta hora estaré viajando — At this time tomorrow I will be travelling

PronounSpanish
yoestaré conduciendo
estarás conduciendo
vosestarás conduciendo
él/ella/Ud.estará conduciendo
nosotrosestaremos conduciendo
vosotrosestaréis conduciendo
ellos/ellas/Uds.estarán conduciendo