Nerves during a driving test are inevitable, but you can’t let nervousness get in the way of getting your driver’s license. The same is true when conjugating some Spanish irregular verbs, like the word conducir.
This very useful verb is normally translated as “to drive,” but can also be used to refer to actions such as “to host” or “to lead,” among others. While it is an irregular verb, it belongs to a series of ir-ending verbs that follow recognizable conjugation patterns. All of which can be mastered with a little practice.
Present
|
Yo |
conduzco |
Nosotros |
conducimos |
|
Tú |
conduces |
Vosotros |
conducís |
|
Él/Ella/Ud. |
conduce |
Ellos/Ellas/Uds. |
conducen |
Example sentence: Yo conduzco mi carro al trabajo todos los días. -- I drive my car to work every day.
Like many other irregular ir-ending verbs, conducir ends in zco in the first-person singular in the present tense.
Imperfect
|
Yo |
conducía |
Nosotros |
conducíamos |
|
Tú |
conducías |
Vosotros |
conducíais |
|
Él/Ella/Ud. |
conducía |
Ellos/Ellas/Uds. |
conducían |
Example sentence: Tu hermano conducía mejor cuando estaba en la universidad. -- Your brother used to be a good driver when he was in college.
Preterite
|
Yo |
conduje |
Nosotros |
condujimos |
|
Tú |
condujiste |
Vosotros |
condujisteis |
|
Él/Ella/Ud. |
condujo |
Ellos/Ellas/Uds. |
condujeron |
Example sentence: ¿No recuerdas? Tú condujiste el carro hasta aquí anoche. -- Don’t you remember? You drove the car here last night.
Notice how there is an important spelling change in all preterite forms. Conducir, like many other irregular verbs, is a verb with j preterite stems where the c becomes a j. Sometimes even native speakers forget this rule.
Future
|
Yo |
conduciré |
Nosotros |
conduciremos |
|
Tú |
conducirás |
Vosotros |
conduciréis |
|
Él/Ella/Ud. |
conducirá |
Ellos/Ellas/Uds. |
conducirán |
Example sentence: Él conducirá el nuevo programa de entrevistas. -- He will host the new talk show.
Conditional
|
Yo |
conduciría |
Nosotros |
conduciríamos |
|
Tú |
conducirías |
Vosotros |
conduciríais |
|
Él/Ella/Ud. |
conduciría |
Ellos/Ellas/Uds. |
conducirían |
Example sentence: Yo nunca conduciría bajo los efectos del alcohol. -- I would never drive under the influence of alcohol.
Conducir Used in Conversation
¿Puedes conducir? -- Can you drive?
Yo conduciré hasta la casa de mi mamá para su cumpleaños. -- I’ll drive to my mom’s house for her birthday.
Él conduciría ese programa si fuera mejor pagado. -- He would host that show if it was better paid.
Ella no sabe cómo conducir su vida cotidiana. -- She doesn’t know how to handle her everyday life.
Spanish Sayings With Conducir
As a Spanish learner, you may also want to take a look at some common phrases and sayings using the words you are currently learning. Here are some examples of Spanish sayings with the verb conducir:
- El egoísmo conduce al fracaso. This saying can be translated as ‘‘selfishness leads to failure.’’
- La vida sin problemas sería como conducir por una carretera sin curvas. This one can be said translated as ‘‘Life without problems is like driving a car on a road without curves.’’
Drive Conducir Home
All in all, conducir is a good word to learn. It can be used in several situations and it can help you when you want to hit the road. Remember there are some conjugation irregularities in some of its tenses, and you are good to go.