dire conjugation
Dire means "to say" or "to tell". The present is je dis, tu dis, il dit, nous disons, vous dites, ils disent: watch vous dites, not disez. The passé composé is j'ai dit, the imparfait je disais, the future je dirai, the conditional je dirais and the subjunctive que je dise.
- Red pencil is what breaks the pattern, graphite is the normal endings.
- Dis, dis and dit all sound the same: dee. In ils disent the -ent is silent: deez.
dire — to say, to tell. Je dis.
Present (présent)
The everyday present: what you do, what's true, what's going on.
| Pronoun | dire | Say |
|---|---|---|
| je | dis | zhuh DEE |
| tu | dis | tew DEE |
| il / elle / on | dit | eel DEE |
| nous | disons | noo dee-ZOHN |
| vous | dites | voo DEET |
| ils / elles | disent | eel DEEZ |
Vous dites is the one to learn. Nearly every French verb ends its vous form in -ez. Dire, être and faire end in -tes instead: vous dites, vous êtes, vous faites. Even dire's relatives mostly don't follow it: vous interdisez. Redire does (vous redites).
Ils disent sounds like deez. The -ent on the end of a verb is never said, so ils disent and il dit differ by one z sound.
Past (passé composé)
The everyday past, for things that happened: "I was", "I had". It's avoir or être plus the past participle.
| Pronoun | dire | Say |
|---|---|---|
| je (j') | ai dit | zhay DEE |
| tu | as dit | tew ah DEE |
| il / elle / on | a dit | eel ah DEE |
| nous | avons dit | noo za-vohn DEE |
| vous | avez dit | voo za-vay DEE |
| ils / elles | ont dit | eel zohn DEE |
Avoir plus dit. The t is silent: j'ai dit sounds just like j'ai dis would, which is why people misspell it.
Imperfect (imparfait)
The past for how things were or used to be: "I was tired", "we used to have a dog".
| Pronoun | dire | Say |
|---|---|---|
| je | disais | zhuh dee-ZEH |
| tu | disais | tew dee-ZEH |
| il / elle / on | disait | eel dee-ZEH |
| nous | disions | noo dee-ZYOHN |
| vous | disiez | voo dee-ZYAY |
| ils / elles | disaient | eel dee-ZEH |
Future, conditional and subjunctive
"Will" and "would", plus the subjunctive: the form French uses after il faut que, je veux que and other wishes and doubts.
| Pronoun | Futur | Conditionnel | Subjonctif |
|---|---|---|---|
| je | dirai | dirais | dise |
| tu | diras | dirais | dises |
| il / elle / on | dira | dirait | dise |
| nous | dirons | dirions | disions |
| vous | direz | diriez | disiez |
| ils / elles | diront | diraient | disent |
On dirait (you'd think, it looks like) is everywhere: on dirait qu'il va pleuvoir, looks like it's going to rain. The subjunctive is regular on dis-: il faut que je te dise quelque chose (I need to tell you something).
Participles
The "-ing" form (étant, being) and the past participle that makes the passé composé (été, been).
| Form | dire | In a sentence |
|---|---|---|
| present participle | disant | Il est parti en disant au revoir (he left saying goodbye) |
| past participle | dit | Je te l'avais dit (I told you so) |
Imperative (impératif)
Commands: telling someone to do something, or not to.
| Person | Affirmative | Negative |
|---|---|---|
| tu | dis | ne dis pas |
| nous | disons | ne disons pas |
| vous | dites | ne dites pas |
Dis-moi (tell me) and dites-moi are the ones you'll use. Dis donc is "hey" or "wow", depending on the tone.
What dire does
| French | Means |
|---|---|
| qu'est-ce que ça veut dire ? | what does that mean? vouloir dire is "to mean" |
| c'est-à-dire | that is, I mean |
| on dit que… | they say that… |
| ça va sans dire | it goes without saying |
| à vrai dire | to tell the truth |
Dire or parler? Dire takes what's said: il a dit oui. Parler is talking in general, or a language: il parle français. Telling someone something is dire quelque chose à quelqu'un: dis-lui la vérité (tell him the truth).
- Looking a word up once doesn't mean you'll remember it. The verb you look up today is gone by tomorrow. The one that keeps showing up in stuff you'd read anyway, right when you're about to forget it, is the one that sticks.
- No streaks, no guilt. Kin tracks one number: how many words you've got in reach today. It drops when you take a break and comes back when you do.
Questions
Is it vous dites or vous disez?
Vous dites. Disez isn't a word. Dire, être and faire are the common verbs whose vous form ends in -tes: vous dites, vous êtes, vous faites.
What is the passé composé of dire?
J'ai dit, tu as dit, il a dit, nous avons dit, vous avez dit, ils ont dit. It takes avoir, and the participle is dit.
What is the future of dire?
Je dirai, tu diras, il dira, nous dirons, vous direz, ils diront. The stem is dir-: the infinitive without its e.
What is the conditional of dire?
Je dirais, tu dirais, il dirait, nous dirions, vous diriez, ils diraient. On dirait means "you'd think" or "it looks like".
What is the subjunctive of dire?
Que je dise, que tu dises, qu'il dise, que nous disions, que vous disiez, qu'ils disent.
How do you pronounce ils disent?
Eel deez. The -ent at the end of a French verb is silent, so you only hear the z sound of the s.
Keep going
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