A conduce is the prefixed compound of a duce (con- + duce), and it inherits that verb's entire conjugation pattern down to the irregular short participle. Its meanings fan out in three directions that English keeps separate: to drive a vehicle (conduc mașina), to lead or run an organization (conduce o firmă), and to escort or see someone home (te conduc până la ușă). All three are everyday senses, so this is a B1 verb you will use constantly the moment you start talking about work, cars, or saying goodbye to a guest.
The two forms that trip learners up are the participle condus (with -s, never condus**ut) and the irregular short singular imperative condu! Get those two right and the rest follows the a duce template exactly, including the third-person subjunctive să conducă and the gerund conducând.
Prezent indicativ
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | conduc |
| tu | conduci |
| el / ea | conduce |
| noi | conducem |
| voi | conduceți |
| ei / ele | conduc |
Conduc de zece ani și încă mă enervează parcările cu plată.
I've been driving for ten years and paid parking still annoys me.
Cine conduce ședința astăzi?
Who's running the meeting today?
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | conduceam |
| tu | conduceai |
| el / ea | conducea |
| noi | conduceam |
| voi | conduceați |
| ei / ele | conduceau |
Pe vremea aceea conducea o echipă de douăzeci de oameni.
Back then she led a team of twenty people.
Perfect compus
Auxiliary a avea plus the short -s participle condus.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | am condus |
| tu | ai condus |
| el / ea | a condus |
| noi | am condus |
| voi | ați condus |
| ei / ele | au condus |
Am condus toată noaptea ca să ajung la timp.
I drove all night to arrive on time.
Mai-mult-ca-perfectul
Built on the participle stem conduse-.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | condusesem |
| tu | conduseseși |
| el / ea | condusese |
| noi | conduseserăm |
| voi | conduseserăți |
| ei / ele | conduseseră |
Viitor
The formal voi + infinitive future alongside the colloquial o să + conjunctiv.
| Person | voi-future (formal) | o să-future (informal) |
|---|---|---|
| eu | voi conduce | o să conduc |
| tu | vei conduce | o să conduci |
| el / ea | va conduce | o să conducă |
| noi | vom conduce | o să conducem |
| voi | veți conduce | o să conduceți |
| ei / ele | vor conduce | o să conducă |
O să conduc eu la întoarcere, tu ești obosit.
I'll drive on the way back, you're tired.
Conjunctiv prezent
The third person is irregular: să conducă (not să conduce).
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | să conduc |
| tu | să conduci |
| el / ea | să conducă |
| noi | să conducem |
| voi | să conduceți |
| ei / ele | să conducă |
E mai bine să conducă cineva care nu a băut.
It's better for someone who hasn't been drinking to drive.
Condițional prezent
The conditional auxiliary (aș, ai, ar, am, ați, ar) plus the short infinitive conduce.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | aș conduce |
| tu | ai conduce |
| el / ea | ar conduce |
| noi | am conduce |
| voi | ați conduce |
| ei / ele | ar conduce |
Aș conduce mai des dacă benzina n-ar fi atât de scumpă.
I'd drive more often if petrol weren't so expensive.
Imperativ
The singular imperative is the irregular short condu! (parallel to du! from a duce), and the plural is the regular conduceți!
| Affirmative | Negative | |
|---|---|---|
| tu (sg.) | condu! | nu conduce! |
| voi (pl.) | conduceți! | nu conduceți! |
Condu cu grijă, drumurile sunt înghețate.
Drive carefully, the roads are icy.
Forme nepersonale
| Form | Romanian |
|---|---|
| Infinitiv (scurt / lung) | (a) conduce / conducere |
| Gerunziu | conducând |
| Participiu | condus |
| Supin | de condus |
Usage
The "drive a vehicle" sense — note that the thing driven is a direct object (conduc mașina), unlike English "I drive" used absolutely:
Nu știu să conduc, încă învăț pentru permis.
I can't drive yet, I'm still studying for my licence.
The crucial collocation permis de conducere ("driver's licence" — literally "permit of driving"), which uses the long infinitive conducere as a noun:
Mi-am luat permisul de conducere abia la treizeci de ani.
I only got my driver's licence at thirty.
The "lead / be in charge of" sense, used for companies, teams, and countries:
De cinci ani conduce cea mai mare firmă de transport din țară.
For five years he's led the largest transport company in the country.
The "escort / see someone home" sense — note the construction a conduce pe cineva (somewhere):
Te conduc până la stația de metrou, e deja întuneric.
I'll walk you to the metro station, it's already dark.
A polite parting offer that any Romanian host might make:
Stai să te conduc, nu pleca singură pe ploaia asta.
Wait, let me see you out, don't leave on your own in this rain.
The gerund conducând, used to set a simultaneous background action:
Conducând spre serviciu, am observat că strada era închisă.
Driving to work, I noticed the street was closed.
Common Mistakes
❌ Am conducut toată ziua.
Incorrect — the participle is the short condus, not *conducut.
✅ Am condus toată ziua.
I drove all day.
❌ Conduce mai încet, te rog!
Incorrect for a command to one person — the singular imperative is the short condu, not conduce (that's the 3rd-person present).
✅ Condu mai încet, te rog!
Drive more slowly, please!
❌ Vreau să conduce el mașina mea.
Incorrect — the 3rd-person subjunctive is conducă, not conduce.
✅ Vreau să conducă el mașina mea.
I want him to drive my car.
❌ Am luat permisul de conducător.
Incorrect — the document is permis de conducere (uses the verbal noun), not *conducător (which means 'driver/leader' as a person).
✅ Am luat permisul de conducere.
I got my driver's licence.
❌ Te duc până la ușă.
Not wrong, but if you mean 'I'll escort/walk you', the idiomatic verb is a conduce; a duce here sounds like physically carrying.
✅ Te conduc până la ușă.
I'll see you to the door.
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