¡Hola, amigos! The verb decir (to say, to tell) is one of the most common and useful verbs in Spanish. It is also irregular in several important tenses. In this post, we’ll focus on the presente simple, pasado simple, and futuro simple, so you can confidently use decir in the present, past, and future.
What makes this post even more useful is a helpful trick: many verbs are formed by adding prefixes to decir. These verbs usually follow the same irregular patterns. Once you learn how to conjugate decir, you’ll be able to conjugate many related verbs more easily.
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 SIMPLE
Here, the infinitive changes from decir to dir:
| PERSON | DECIR | TRANSLATION |
|---|---|---|
| YO | DIRÉ | I WILL SAY-TELL |
| TÚ | DIRÁS | YOU WILL SAY-TELL |
| USTED | DIRÁ | YOU (FORMAL) WILL SAY-TELL |
| ÉL / ELLA | DIRÁ | HE/SHE WILL SAY-TELL |
| NOSOTROS(AS) | DIREMOS | WILL SAY-TELL |
| USTEDES | DIRÁN | YOU WILL SAY-TELL |
| ELLOS / ELLAS | DIRÁN | THEY WILL SAY-TELL |
| VOS | DIRÁS | YOU WILL SAY-TELL |
| VOSOTROS(AS) | DIRÉIS | YOU WILL 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 by adding a prefix to decir. They follow the same irregular conjugation patterns as decir in the presente simple and pasado simple, but they are regular in the futuro simple. 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)
As you can see, these verbs follow the same irregularities as decir in the presente simple and pasado simple:
| 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 |
But they are regular in the futuro simple:
| PERSONA | FUTURO |
| YO | BENDECIRÉ |
| TÚ | BENDECIRÁS |
| USTED | BENDECIRÁ |
| ÉL / ELLA | BENDECIRÁ |
| NOSOTROS(AS) | BENDECIREMOS |
| USTEDES | BENDECIRÁN |
| ELLOS / ELLAS | BENDECIRÁN |
| VOS | BENDECIRÁS |
| VOSOTROS(AS) | BENDECIRÉIS |
Now, let’s play this game so you learn these verbs in a snap!
