En el salpicadero siempre dejo las gafas de sol cuando conduzco con mi madre.

Because in Spanish, en + el does not contract.

The only standard contractions with el are:

• a + el = al
• de + el = del

So:

• en el salpicadero = on/in the dashboard
• a el would normally become al
• de el would normally become del

Salpicadero means dashboard in a car.

Yes, it is especially common in Spain. In other Spanish-speaking countries, learners may also hear:

• tablero
• tablero del coche / del carro / del auto

If you are learning Spanish from Spain, salpicadero is a very natural choice.

This is a very common question. Spanish en is broader than English in. It can mean:

• in
• on
• at

So en el salpicadero is the normal way to say on the dashboard.

Spanish often uses en where English would be more specific.

Because adverbs like siempre often go before the verb in Spanish:

• siempre dejo
• nunca dejo
• a veces dejo

This is very natural word order.

You could also move things around for emphasis, but En el salpicadero siempre dejo... sounds perfectly normal.

Dejo comes from dejar, which here means to leave.

So siempre dejo las gafas de sol... means:

• I always leave the sunglasses...

Compare:

• poner = to put
• guardar = to put away / store / keep
• dejar = to leave

So:

• Pongo las gafas en el salpicadero = I put the sunglasses on the dashboard.
• Dejo las gafas en el salpicadero = I leave the sunglasses on the dashboard.

The sentence focuses on where they end up staying, not just the action of placing them there.

Because gafas is normally plural in Spanish, just like glasses in English.

So:

• las gafas = glasses
• las gafas de sol = sunglasses

Even when it refers to one physical object, Spanish usually treats it as plural.

In Spain, gafas de sol is the standard expression.

Literally, de sol means of sun or for sun, but in natural English we say sunglasses.

This structure is very common in Spanish:

• gafas de sol = sunglasses
• crema de manos = hand cream
• zapatos de deporte = sports shoes

So de often links the main noun with its function or type.

It could, but Spanish often leaves out possessives when ownership is obvious from context.

So both are possible:

• dejo las gafas de sol = I leave the sunglasses
• dejo mis gafas de sol = I leave my sunglasses

In this sentence, it is already clear that the speaker means their own sunglasses, so las sounds natural.

Spanish often prefers the article (el, la, los, las) where English would use my, your, his, etc.

Yes. The verb is conducir = to drive, and the yo form is irregular:

• yo conduzco
• tú conduces
• él/ella conduce

This -zco pattern appears in some verbs, for example:

• conocer → conozco
• traducir → traduzco
• producir → produzco

So conduzco simply means I drive.

Because this sentence describes a habitual action:

• I always leave the sunglasses on the dashboard when I drive with my mother.

Spanish often uses the present tense for repeated habits and general routines.

So cuando conduzco means something like:

• when I drive
• whenever I drive

Because this sentence is talking about something habitual or repeated, not a specific future event.

• cuando conduzco = when I drive / whenever I drive
• cuando conduzca = when I drive in the future / when I do drive

Compare:

• Siempre dejo las gafas de sol cuando conduzco con mi madre.
  = a routine

• Dejaré las gafas de sol cuando conduzca con mi madre mañana.
  = a future situation

So here the indicative conduzco is correct.

It means you are driving.

The verb conduzco is first person singular:

• conduzco = I drive

So the sentence means that the speaker leaves the sunglasses on the dashboard when the speaker drives and the mother is with them.

If the mother were the one driving, the sentence would need to say that differently, for example:

• cuando conduce mi madre = when my mother drives
• cuando voy con mi madre en el coche = when I go in the car with my mother

Here it means with my mother, that is, when my mother is with me in the car.

Because the verb is conduzco, the most natural interpretation is:

• I am the driver
• my mother is accompanying me

So it does not mean just any situation involving movement with your mother. It is specifically tied to the act of driving.

Because Spanish often drops subject pronouns when the verb ending already shows who the subject is.

Here:

• dejo = I leave
• conduzco = I drive

So yo is unnecessary.

You could say yo dejo or yo conduzco, but that usually adds emphasis or contrast, for example:

• Yo conduzco, no mi madre.
  = I’m driving, not my mother.

Yes. Spanish word order is flexible, though some versions sound more natural than others.

For example, these are all possible:

• En el salpicadero siempre dejo las gafas de sol cuando conduzco con mi madre.
• Siempre dejo las gafas de sol en el salpicadero cuando conduzco con mi madre.
• Cuando conduzco con mi madre, siempre dejo las gafas de sol en el salpicadero.

The original sentence emphasizes where the sunglasses are left by putting En el salpicadero first.

Yes. In Spain, conducir is the standard and most neutral verb for to drive.

In other regions, learners may hear:

• manejar
• guiar (less common in this everyday sense)

If your target is Spanish from Spain, conducir is exactly the right choice.

Not necessarily. It is already clear from salpicadero and conduzco that this is happening in a car.

So Spanish naturally leaves en el coche out because it would be redundant.

You could say it for extra clarity:

• ...cuando conduzco con mi madre en el coche

But in most contexts, the original sentence is more natural.