Spanish Verb Decir Conjugation

The Spanish verb decir is an everyday verb that is usually the equivalent of to say or to tell. The conjugation of decir is highly irregular, not following a readily predictable pattern.

In the first person singular conjugation, decir has the -go ending, similar to the verb seguir (to follow). The verb decir also has a stem change, which means that the e in the stem changes to an i when found in a stressed syllable. For example, ella dice (she says). Other verbs that have a similar stem change are pedir, seguir, and vestir (to ask for, to follow, and to dress). In the preterite tense conjugations, the irregular endings of decir include the letter j, as in dije (I said). Other verbs with a similar pattern are traer and conducir.

The only verbs that are conjugated in the same pattern as decir are those derived from it, which include bendecir (to bless), contradecir (to contradict), desdecir (to retract), maldecir (to curse), and predecir (to predict).

In this article you'll find the conjugations of decir in the indicative mood (present, past, and future), the subjunctive mood (present and past), the imperative mood, and other verb forms such as the gerund and past participle.

Using the Verb Decir

The verb decir can be followed by a noun, to indicate something that a person says something. For example Ella dice mentiras (She tells lies) or Carlos dice la verdad (Carlos tells the truth). However, decir is often followed by a clause introduced by que, indicating a statement that a person says. For example, Ella dice que tiene hambre (She says that she is hungry) or Carlos dice que mañana es feriado (Carlos says that tomorrow is a holiday).

Another way that you will frequently see this verb is when someone tells someone something, in which case you will need to use an indirect object pronoun (me, te, le, os, les). For example, Ella me dice lo que quiere (She tells me what she wants) or Carlos les dice la hora (Carlos tells them the time).

Decir Present Indicative

The first person present tense conjugation of decir is irregular, since it has the ending -go. In this verb tense you must also be careful with the stem change e to i in all of the conjugations except nosotros and vosotros.

Decir Preterite Indicative

Of the two forms of the past tense that exist in Spanish, the preterite describes past events that are completed. Notice that the preterite tense endings contain an irregular form including a j.

Decir Imperfect Indicative

The other past tense that exists in Spanish is the imperfect, which is used to describe ongoing or repeated actions in the past. It can be translated to English as "was saying" or "used to say." The imperfect conjugations of decir follow a regular pattern with the ending -ía.

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How To Use the Spanish ‘Decir’

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Decir Future Indicative

The future tense is normally conjugated starting with the infinitive form. However, decir is irregular because it does not use the infinitive, but instead uses the stem dir-.

Decir Periphrastic Future Indicative 

The periphrastic future is used similarly to the English "going to + verb."

Decir Present Progressive/Gerund Form

The gerund or present participle in Spanish, is the English -ing form, and it can can be used to form the present progressive and other progressive tenses. Notice that the gerund for decir has the stem change e to i.

Decir Past Participle

The perfect tenses are made by using the appropriate form of haber and the past participle, which for decir is the irregular form dicho.

Decir Conditional Indicative

The conditional tense uses the same irregular root as the future tense, dir-. It is the equivalent of the English form "would + verb."

Decir Present Subjunctive

The present subjunctive is formed starting with the first person conjugation (yo) of the present indicative tense. Since that conjugation for decir is irregular (digo), then the present subjunctive conjugations are also irregular.

Decir Imperfect Subjunctive

There are two different ways of conjugating the imperfect subjunctive:

Option 1

Option 2

Decir Imperative

To give someone an order or command, you would use the imperative mood. Below you can see both positive and negative commands. Notice that when including an indirect object pronoun with a positive command, the pronoun gets attached to the end of the verb, while with a negative command, the pronoun goes before the verb.

Positive Commands

Negative Commands