¡Hola, amigos! The verb decir (to say, to tell) is very common and important in Spanish. Sadly, it’s also irregular in several key tenses. In this post, we’ll focus on learning and practicing decir in the presente simple and pasado simple—both of which have irregular forms. I’ve also included the futuro informal, where decir follows a regular conjugation pattern, so you can confidently use it in the past, present, and future.
What makes this post even more valuable is a great trick I’ll share: verbs formed by adding prefixes to decir. These verbs share the same irregular patterns, so once you master decir, you’ll easily be able to conjugate all of them.
Ready to get started? Let’s dive in!
1. PRESENTE SIMPLE
Here, decir has a special irregular form in ‘yo’ (yo digo), and in other forms it behaves like another e – i verb. Click here for more info!”
| PERSON | DECIR | TRANSLATION |
|---|---|---|
| YO | DIGO | I SAY-TELL |
| TÚ | DICES | YOU SAY-TELL |
| USTED | DICE | YOU (FORMAL) SAY-TELL |
| ÉL / ELLA | DICE | HE/SHE SAYS-TELLS |
| NOSOTROS(AS) | DECIMOS | WE SAY-TELL |
| USTEDES | DICEN | YOU ALL SAY-TELL |
| ELLOS / ELLAS | DICEN | THEY SAY-TELL |
| VOS | DECÍS | YOU SAY-TELL |
| VOSOTROS(AS) | DECÍS | YOU ALL SAY-TELL |
2. PASADO SIMPLE
Here, decir works like many other special irregular verbs. Click here for more info!
| PERSON | DECIR | TRANSLATION |
|---|---|---|
| YO | DIJE | I SAID-TOLD |
| TÚ | DIJISTE | YOU SAID-TOLD |
| USTED | DIJO | YOU (FORMAL) SAID-TOLD |
| ÉL / ELLA | DIJO | HE/SHE/ SAID-TOLD |
| NOSOTROS(AS) | DIJIMOS | WE SAID-TOLD |
| USTEDES | DIJERON | YOU ALL SAID-TOLD |
| ELLOS / ELLAS | DIJERON | THEY SAID-TOLD |
| VOS | DIJISTE | YOU SAID-TOLD |
| VOSOTROS(AS) | DIJISTEIS | YOU ALL SAID-TOLD |
3. FUTURO INFORMAL
Here, it works like any other verb.
| PERSON | DECIR | TRANSLATION |
|---|---|---|
| YO | VOY A DECIR | I AM GOING TO SAY-TELL |
| TÚ | VAS A DECIR | YOU ARE GOING TO SAY-TELL |
| USTED | VA A DECIR | YOU (FORMAL) ARE GOING TO SAY-TELL |
| ÉL / ELLA | VA A DECIR | HE/SHE/IS GOING TO SAY-TELL |
| NOSOTROS(AS) | VAMOS A DECIR | WE ARE GOING TO SAY-TELL |
| USTEDES | VAN A DECIR | YOU ALL ARE GOING TO SAY-TELL |
| ELLOS / ELLAS | VAN A DECIR | THEY ARE GOING TO SAY-TELL |
| VOS | VAS A DECIR | YOU ARE GOING TO SAY-TELL |
| VOSOTROS(AS) | VAIS A DECIR | YOU ALL ARE GOING TO SAY-TELL |
Now, let’s play this game so you learn these conjugations in a snap!
VERBS FORMED FROM DECIR IN A SNAP!
Four key verbs are formed simply by adding a prefix to decir. These verbs follow the same irregular conjugation patterns as decir, so you won’t need to memorize new irregular endings. What a time-saver! Let’s take a look:
| # | ESPAÑOL | ENGLISH |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | BENDECIR | TO BLESS |
| 2 | CONTRADECIR | TO CONTRADICT |
| 3 | MALDECIR | TO CURSE |
| 4 | PREDECIR | TO PREDICT |
There are other verbs derived from decir, but they are less commonly used.
EXAMPLE: BENDECIR (TO BLESS)
| PERSONA | PRESENTE | PASADO |
| YO | BENDIGO | BENDIJE |
| TÚ | BENDICES | BENDIJISTE |
| USTED | BENDICE | BENDIJO |
| ÉL / ELLA | BENDICE | BENDIJO |
| NOSOTROS(AS) | BENDECIMOS | BENDIJIMOS |
| USTEDES | BENDICEN | BENDIJERON |
| ELLOS / ELLAS | BENDICEN | BENDIJERON |
| VOS | BENDECÍS | BENDIJISTE |
| VOSOTROS(AS) | BENDECÍS | BENDIJISTEIS |
Now, let’s play this game so you learn these verbs in a snap!
