Decir means to say, to tell. Learn five tenses, then practise each person.
Present: digo, dices, dice, decimos, decís, dicen.
Decir in the present tense
Use the present for current states, habits and actions. The subject can be omitted when the verb makes it clear.
Vosotros is informal plural you in Spain. Ustedes uses the ellos/ellas form and is the usual plural you in Latin America.
Decir in the preterite tense
Use the preterite for a completed event in the past, viewed as a whole.
Decir in the imperfect tense
Use the imperfect for past habits, ongoing situations and background descriptions, without marking their endpoint.
Decir in the future tense
Use the simple future for what will happen. Spanish also uses this tense for a guess about the present.
Decir in the conditional tense
Use the conditional for what would happen, a polite request or a hypothetical situation.
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All six persons. Blue, bold forms differ from regular endings, including spelling changes that preserve pronunciation.
| Person | Present | Preterite | Imperfect | Future | Conditional |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| yo | digo | dije | decía | diré | diría |
| tú | dices | dijiste | decías | dirás | dirías |
| él / ella / usted | dice | dijo | decía | dirá | diría |
| nosotros / nosotras | decimos | dijimos | decíamos | diremos | diríamos |
| vosotros / vosotras | decís | dijisteis | decíais | diréis | diríais |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | dicen | dijeron | decían | dirán | dirían |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | digo | I say |
| tú | dices | you say |
| él / ella / usted | dice | he/she says |
| nosotros / nosotras | decimos | we say |
| vosotros / vosotras | decís | you all (vosotros) say |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | dicen | they say |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | dije | I said |
| tú | dijiste | you said |
| él / ella / usted | dijo | he/she said |
| nosotros / nosotras | dijimos | we said |
| vosotros / vosotras | dijisteis | you all (vosotros) said |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | dijeron | they said |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | decía | I used to say |
| tú | decías | you used to say |
| él / ella / usted | decía | he/she used to say |
| nosotros / nosotras | decíamos | we used to say |
| vosotros / vosotras | decíais | you all (vosotros) used to say |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | decían | they used to say |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | diré | I will say |
| tú | dirás | you will say |
| él / ella / usted | dirá | he/she will say |
| nosotros / nosotras | diremos | we will say |
| vosotros / vosotras | diréis | you all (vosotros) will say |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | dirán | they will say |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | diría | I would say |
| tú | dirías | you would say |
| él / ella / usted | diría | he/she would say |
| nosotros / nosotras | diríamos | we would say |
| vosotros / vosotras | diríais | you all (vosotros) would say |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | dirían | they would say |
Decir differs from the regular endings in the present, preterite, future, conditional. Changed forms include present: digo, dices, dice; preterite: dije, dijiste, dijo; future: diré, dirás, dirá; conditional: diría, dirías, diría. Highlighted forms include spelling changes that preserve pronunciation as well as irregular stems and endings.
The present forms are digo, dices, dice, decimos, decís, dicen, in the order yo, tú, él/ella/usted, nosotros, vosotros and ellos/ellas/ustedes.
dije, dijiste, dijo, dijimos, dijisteis, dijeron. For example, dije means “I said”.
Decir differs from the regular endings in the present, preterite, future, conditional. Changed forms include present: digo, dices, dice; preterite: dije, dijiste, dijo; future: diré, dirás, dirá; conditional: diría, dirías, diría. Highlighted forms include spelling changes that preserve pronunciation as well as irregular stems and endings.
The preterite (dije) presents a completed event; the imperfect (decía) gives a past habit or background situation. The English glosses are “I said” and “I used to say”, but context determines the best translation.
The yo forms are diré (“I will say”) and diría (“I would say”). The full charts above include every person.
Decir means to say, to tell.
Updated · English prompts, Spanish answers.