decir conjugation
Decir means "to say" or "to tell". It's irregular almost everywhere: the present (digo, dices, dice), the preterite (dije, dijiste, dijo), the future and conditional (diré, diría), the tú command (di) and the past participle (dicho). Only the imperfect (decía) is regular.
- Red pencil is what breaks the pattern. The outline is the boot. Textbooks call these boot verbs because the forms that change make that shape.
- The g in digo is the same one as in tengo and hago.
decir — to say, to tell. Digo.
Present indicative
The everyday present: what you do, what's true, what's going on.
| Pronoun | decir | Say |
|---|---|---|
| yo | digo | DEE-goh |
| tú | dices | DEE-sehs |
| él / ella / usted | dice | DEE-seh |
| nosotros | decimos | deh-SEE-mohs |
| vosotros | decís | deh-SEES |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | dicen | DEE-sehn |
Two things at once. When the stress lands on the stem, the e turns into i: dices, dice, dicen. And yo gets a g too, digo, like tengo and hago. Nosotros and vosotros keep dec-. With vos it's vos decís.
Preterite
The past for things that happened and finished: "I went", "she said".
| Pronoun | decir | Say |
|---|---|---|
| yo | dije | DEE-heh |
| tú | dijiste | dee-HEES-teh |
| él / ella / usted | dijo | DEE-hoh |
| nosotros | dijimos | dee-HEE-mohs |
| vosotros | dijisteis | dee-hees-TAY-ees |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | dijeron | dee-HEH-rohn |
New stem, dij-, and no accents. Watch the last one: it's dijeron, not dijieron. After a j, the i drops out. Same with trajeron (traer) and condujeron (conducir).
Imperfect
The past for how things were or used to be: "I was going", "we used to live".
| Pronoun | decir | Say |
|---|---|---|
| yo | decía | deh-SEE-ah |
| tú | decías | deh-SEE-ahs |
| él / ella / usted | decía | deh-SEE-ah |
| nosotros | decíamos | deh-SEE-ah-mohs |
| vosotros | decíais | deh-SEE-ah-ees |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | decían | deh-SEE-ahn |
The one regular tense. Mi abuela siempre decía… (my grandma always used to say…).
Future, conditional and subjunctive
"Will" and "would", plus the subjunctive: the form Spanish uses after wishes, doubts and "if" (espero que…, si fuera…).
| Pronoun | Future | Conditional | Pres. subj. | Imp. subj. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| yo | diré | diría | diga | dijera |
| tú | dirás | dirías | digas | dijeras |
| él / ella / usted | dirá | diría | diga | dijera |
| nosotros | diremos | diríamos | digamos | dijéramos |
| vosotros | diréis | diríais | digáis | dijerais |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | dirán | dirían | digan | dijeran |
The future and conditional shrink to dir-: te lo diré (I'll tell you). The present subjunctive comes from digo, so it's diga. That's why people answer the phone in Spain with ¿diga?
Gerund and past participle
The "-ing" form (estoy hablando, I'm talking) and the one that goes with haber (he hablado, I've talked).
| Form | decir | In a sentence |
|---|---|---|
| gerund (-ing) | diciendo | ¿Qué estás diciendo? (what are you saying?) |
| past participle | dicho | Ya te lo he dicho (I've already told you) |
Dicho is also a noun, a saying: como dice el dicho (as the saying goes). And dicho y hecho is "no sooner said than done".
Imperative
Commands: telling someone to do something, or not to.
| Pronoun | Affirmative | Negative |
|---|---|---|
| tú | di | no digas |
| usted | diga | no diga |
| nosotros | digamos | no digamos |
| vosotros | decid | no digáis |
| ustedes | digan | no digan |
Di is tiny, so you'll mostly see it with a pronoun stuck on: dime (tell me), dile (tell him), dilo (say it). ¡No me digas! is "no way!", literally "don't tell me". With vos it's decime.
What decir does
| Spanish | Means |
|---|---|
| dice que sí | he says yes: decir que + what was said |
| dime la verdad | tell me the truth: decir + a person, for "tell" |
| dile que venga | tell him to come: decir que + subjunctive is an order |
| ¿cómo se dice…? | how do you say…? |
Querer decir means "to mean": ¿qué quiere decir esto? (what does this mean?). And es decir is "that is", "in other words".
- 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
What is the preterite of decir?
Dije, dijiste, dijo, dijimos, dijisteis, dijeron. The stem is dij-, with no accents, and the ellos form is dijeron, never dijieron.
What is the tú command of decir?
Di. It's usually joined to a pronoun: dime (tell me), dilo (say it). The negative is no digas, and with vos it's decí, or decime.
What is the yo form of decir?
Digo, with a g. In the past it's dije, and in the future diré.
What is the subjunctive of decir?
Present: diga, digas, diga, digamos, digáis, digan. Imperfect: dijera, dijeras, dijera, dijéramos, dijerais, dijeran. You'll hear it in dile que venga (tell him to come) and ¿diga? on the phone in Spain.
What is the past participle of decir?
Dicho: he dicho (I've said), lo dicho (what was said). It's also a noun, a saying.
Keep going
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