conduciendo

Conduciendo is the gerund form of the Spanish verb conducir, meaning driving, leading, or guiding. It is used to express actions that are happening at the moment or to describe ongoing processes. The verb conducir comes from Latin conducere.

In usage, conduciendo commonly refers to operating a vehicle: por ejemplo, “Está conduciendo un coche.” In many dialects, especially in Latin America, another verb meaning “to drive” is manejar, but conducir remains widely understood and used. The gerund also appears in progressive tenses: “Estoy conduciendo,” “Ella está conduciendo por la autopista.”

Beyond driving, conducir can mean to lead or manage something, such as “conducir una empresa” or “conducir un proyecto.” The word also appears in scientific and technical senses. In physics and engineering, conduction (conducción) describes the transmission of electricity or heat through a material, and a conductor (conductor) can refer to the object that transmits that energy. In these contexts, the gerund conduciendo is rarely used to describe the phenomenon; instead, the noun conducción or conductor is typical.

Grammar notes: the gerund of -cir/-ducir verbs is formed as -ciendo, as in conducir → conduciendo. The verb itself is irregular in other tenses (e.g., yo conduzco in the present, conduje in the preterite), but the gerund remains conduciendo. Conduciendo is used with estar to form progressive tenses: “Estoy conduciendo,” “Están conduciendo.”