The Present Tense of conducir is used when you want to express an action that is happening right now or that occurs regularly. For example, Ella conduce el coche a la oficina todos los días. (She drives the car to the office every day.)

Conducir is a verb that follows the -cir to -zca spelling-changing conjugation pattern in the present tense. This means that the ‘c’ changes to ‘zc’ before the vowels ‘a’ and ‘o’ in certain conjugations.

Conjugations

Conjugations of Conducir (to drive) in the Present Tense tense (Castilian Spanish):

Conducir generally means to drive or operate a vehicle, but has several different meanings in the Present Tense, some of which might surprise you.

To drive or operate a vehicle: for example, Yo conduzco un coche. (I drive a car.)

To lead or guide: for example, El guía conduce al grupo por la ciudad. (The guide leads the group through the city.)

To transmit or channel (figurative): for example, Este cable conduce la electricidad. (This cable conducts electricity.)

To behave or act (colloquial): for example, ¡Condúcete bien! (Behave yourself!)

To lead or take somewhere (colloquial): for example, Esta calle conduce al parque. (This street leads to the park.)

Examples

Examples of Conducir in the Present Tense

Yo conduzco al trabajo todos los días. (I drive to work every day.)

¿Tú conduces o prefieres tomar el autobús? (Do you drive or do you prefer to take the bus?)

Ella conduce con mucho cuidado en las calles concurridas. (She drives very carefully on busy streets.)

Nosotros conducimos al parque los fines de semana para disfrutar del aire libre. (We drive to the park on weekends to enjoy the outdoors.)

¿Conducís con precaución cuando hay niños cerca? (Do you drive cautiously when there are children around?)

Ellos conducen a una velocidad moderada para ahorrar combustible. (They drive at a moderate speed to save fuel.)

En este momento, conduzco hacia el centro comercial para hacer algunas compras. (Right now, I’m driving to the mall to do some shopping.)

¿Qué tan seguido conduces en la ciudad? (How often do you drive in the city?)

Mi hermana conduce un auto eléctrico para reducir su huella de carbono. (My sister drives an electric car to reduce her carbon footprint.)

Conducimos con cuidado en las carreteras sinuosas de las montañas. (We drive carefully on the winding mountain roads.)

¿Conducís de manera defensiva para evitar accidentes? (Do you drive defensively to avoid accidents?)

Los turistas conducen con precaución en un país extranjero, siguiendo todas las señales de tránsito. (Tourists drive cautiously in a foreign country, following all traffic signs.)

Actualmente, conduzco un vehículo híbrido para ahorrar en costos de combustible. (Currently, I’m driving a hybrid vehicle to save on fuel costs.)

¿Qué tan a menudo conduces en la autopista? (How often do you drive on the highway?)

Los repartidores conducen con cuidado para entregar los paquetes a tiempo y en buenas condiciones. (Delivery drivers drive carefully to deliver packages on time and in good condition.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Conducir (to drive) in the Present Tense tense (Castilian Spanish) with English Translations:

This post covers Castilian Spanish. For Latin American Spanish, click here

Synonyms

The Present tense is also known as the Simple Present, Present Simple, Present Tense, or Present Indicative in English, and as Presente de Indicativo, Presente Simple, Tiempo Presente, or Indicativo Presente in Spanish.