Master DECIR Conjugation: Complete Guide for All Tenses

When learning Spanish, probably one of the most challenging things you will encounter is conjugation - and while it’s a matter of understanding the formula with regular verbs, the matter becomes slightly more complex with irregular verbs. Decir is one such verb.

However, fear not - at Speaking Latino, our aim is to make both learning and teaching Spanish as easy as possible. That’s why we prepared this comprehensive conjugation of decir guide. From simple to compound tenses, we’ve got everything covered. Whether you need it for yourself or for your students, feel free to take advantage of it. 

When to Use Decir 

Decir is one of the more important Spanish verbs present in most conversations you will hear when traveling to a Spanish-speaking country. The translation is pretty straightforward, as it’s the English equivalent of “to say” or “to tell.” 

• Ella dijo que es importante - She said it’s important. 
• No te dijiste esto. - I didn’t tell you this.

Decir is present in a few expressions, such as decir por decir (to talk for the sake of talking), es decir mucho (that’s saying a lot), or dar que decir (a la gente), which roughly refers to providing people with gossip or to make people talk. 

There’s one more verb that has a similar meaning, and that is hablar. Hablar means “to speak” and contrary to decir, it conjugates regularly. 

Indicative Tenses of Decir With Examples

The indicative tense is the first group of tenses presented to Spanish students, as it’s the most widely used one. Think of Present Simple or Past Simple in English - teaching English verbs is very difficult without introducing them, and the same thing is true for Spanish. It would be challenging to teach students about Spanish verbs without providing them with at least one tense. 

With that being said, let’s take a look at the decir conjugation in indicative tenses. 

The Conjugation of Decir Indicative in Simple Tenses

Indicative Decir Present Conjugation 

Examples of Indicative Decir Present Tense: 

• Él siempre dice la verdad. No le gusta mentir. - He always tells the truth. He doesn’t like to lie. 
• ¿Y tú, que dices? - And you, what do you say? 
• Yo digo que es más rápido en avión. - I say it’s quicker in an airplane. 

Indicative Decir Preterite Conjugation Chart

Examples of Indicative Decir Conjugation Preterite: 

• Ella dijo a sus padres que iba a llegar a las 9. - She told her parents she was going to arrive by 9. 
• Él me dijo que la pelicula era muy interesante. - He told me that the movie was very interesting. 
• Yo dije que prefería salir el lunes. - I said I preferred to go out on Monday.

Indicative Decir Imperfect Conjugation Chart

Examples of Indicative Decir Imperfect Tense:  

• Yo decía que no me gusta la pasta. - I used to say I don’t like pasta. 
• Nosotras decíamos que es un milagro si nos vemos cada tres meses. - We used to say that it’s a miracle if we see each other every three months. 
• ¿Recuerdas cuando me decías que ibas a ser doctor cuando crecieras? - Do you remember when you used to tell me that you were going to be a doctor when you grew up? 

Indicative Decir Present Continuous Conjugation Chart

Examples of Indicative Decir Present Continuous Tense: 

• Nosotros estamos diciendo qué nos gustó más en el concierto de nuestro artista favorito. - We are saying what we we liked the most at our favorite artist’s concert. 
• Yo estoy diciendo la verdad, lo juro. - I am telling the truth, I swear. 
• Ella está diciendo que está cansada y quiere ir a dormir. - She is saying that she is tired and wants to go to sleep. 

Indicative Decir Future Conjugation Chart

Examples of Indicative Decir Future Tense: 

• Nos dirás si necesitas ayuda, ¿verdad? - You will tell us if you need help, right?
• Te diré cuando llegue el paquete. - I will tell you when the package arrives.  
• Ellos nos dirán lo que se dijo después de la reunión. - They will tell us what was said after the meeting. 

Indicative Decir Conditional Conjugation Chart

Examples of Indicative Decir Conditional Tense: 

• Yo diría que sí si me ofrecieran el trabajo. - I would say yes if they offered me the job. 
• Ella diría que tiene planes si la invitara a salir. - She would say she has plans if I asked her to go out. 
• Nosotros diríamos que no sabemos nada si nos preguntaran. - We would say we know nothing if they asked us. 

The Conjugation of Decir Indicative in Compound Tenses

Examples of Indicative Decir Compound Tenses: 

• Present Perfect: Yo he dicho que lo dije antes. - I have said that before. 
• Past Perfect: Ella había dicho que llegaría a las 10, pero aún no ha llegado y no responde al teléfono. - She had said she would arrive at 10, but she still hasn't arrived and she's not answering the phone.
• Future Perfect: Para el final de la semana, mi profesora me habrá dicho si necesito repetir el examen. - By the end of the week, my teacher will have told me if I need to retake the test. 
• Conditional Perfect: Él habría dicho adiós antes de irse, pero no tuvo tiempo. - He would have said goodbye before he left, but he didn’t have time. 

Subjunctive Tenses of Decir With Examples 

Contrary to the indicative mood which is used to talk about facts and qualities, the subjunctive mood is used to express the hypotheticals - hopes, dreams, wishes, and more. 

Subjunctive Decir in Simple Tenses

Subjunctive Decir Present Conjugation Chart

Examples of Subjunctive Decir Present Tense: 

• Es importante que yo diga la verdad. - It’s important that I tell the truth. 
• Quisiera que me digas qué piensas. - I would like you to tell me what you think. 
• Para decir la verdad, dudo que él lo diga en serio. - To tell the truth, I doubt he says this seriously. 

Subjunctive Decir Imperfect Conjugation

Examples of Subjunctive Decir Imperfect Tense: 

• Me alegraba que ella lo dijera. - I was happy that she said that. 
• Si yo dijera la verdad, nadie me creería. - If I told the truth, nobody would believe me." 
• Me sorprendió que ellas lo dijeran con tanta seguridad. - I was surprised they said it with such certainty. 

Subjunctive Decir Future Conjugation

Examples of Subjunctive Decir Future Tense: 

• Cualesquiera que fueren las palabras que dijeren, su destino ya está decidido. - Whatever the words they might say in the future, their fate is already decided.
• Si se lo dijeres a Anna, por favor dile también que quiero hablar con ella. - If you tell Anna, please also tell her that I want to talk to her. 
• Ella dijere la verdad si alguien la pregunta. - She will tell the truth if someone asks her. 

Subjunctive Decir in Compound Tenses

Examples of Subjunctive Decir Compound Tenses: 

• Present Perfect: Me alegra que ella haya dicho su opinión. - I’m happy she has said her opinion. 
• Past Perfect: Si hubiera dicho la verdad, no estaríamos en este problema. - If I had told the truth, we wouldn't be in this problem.
• Future Perfect: Espero que para entonces hayas dicho todo lo que sabes. - I hope by then you will have said everything you know.

Imperative Tenses of Decir

In cases where you want to give commands to someone in Spanish, whether it is to tell them to do or not do something, you would go for the imperative mood. One important thing to remember is that usually, you will not encounter the first person singular in the imperatives. 

Here is the imperative conjugation for decir: 

Examples of Imperative Forms of Decir: 

• Affirmative: Ustedes, digan sus nombres. - You all, say your names. 
• Negative: Tú, no digas mentiras. - You, don’t tell lies.

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