Present of dicir, traer, saír and oír
Dicir (to say), traer (to bring), saír (to go out, to leave) and oír (to hear) are irregular in the present, as in Que dis? (What are you saying?) and Saio ás cinco (I leave at five).
How It Works
Dicir (to say, to tell): digo, dis, di, dicimos, dicides, din. The ti, el and eles forms are short: Que dis? (What are you saying?), Ela di que non (She says no), Que din? (What do they say?). In eastern Galicia many speakers say dices, dice, dicen, but the written standard uses the short forms.
Traer (to bring): traio, traes, trae, traemos, traedes, traen. In eastern Galicia you may hear traigo, a form that came in from Spanish. The standard form is traio.
Saír (to go out, to leave): saio, saes, sae, saímos, saídes, saen. Like other -ir verbs, it uses e in the ti, el and eles forms: saes, sae, saen.
Oír (to hear): oio, oes, oe, oímos, oídes, oen. The standard also accepts ouvir: ouvo, ouves, ouve, ouvimos, ouvides, ouven. Choose one verb and do not mix their forms.
The accent in saímos and oímos: the stressed i does not join the vowel before it, so it carries a written accent. See accents in vowel sequences. The infinitives saír and oír are accented for the same reason.
The eu form feeds the subjunctive: digo → diga, traio → traia, saio → saia, oio → oia. See irregular present subjunctives.
Commands: the ti command of dicir is di: Di a verdade (Tell the truth). See irregular commands.
Examples (6)
- Que dis?
What are you saying?
Word by Word: What say-you?
Dis is the short ti form of dicir.
- Ela di que non pode vir.
She says she cannot come.
Word by Word: She says that not can come.
Di is the el/ela form of dicir.
- Saio ás cinco.
I leave at five.
Word by Word: Leave-I at-the five.
Saio is the irregular eu form of saír.
- Saímos esta noite?
Shall we go out tonight?
Word by Word: Go-out-we this night?
The nós form saímos keeps a written accent on the i.
- Eu traio o viño e ti traes a sobremesa.
I'll bring the wine and you bring dessert.
Word by Word: I bring the wine and you bring the dessert.
Only the eu form, traio, adds an i; traes is regular.
- Non te oio ben.
I can't hear you well.
Word by Word: Not you hear-I well.
Oio is the eu form of oír. After non, the pronoun te goes before the verb.
Common Mistakes
Using traigo for "I bring".
Mañá traigo o viño.Mañá traio o viño.The standard eu form of traer is traio. Traigo came into Galician from Spanish.
Using the Spanish eu form of "leave".
Salgo ás cinco.Saio ás cinco.The eu form of saír is saio, with no g.
Leaving out the accent in the nós form of saír.
Nós saimos ás oito.Nós saímos ás oito.The stressed i in saímos does not form a diphthong with the a, so it needs a written accent.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Dicir, traer, saír and oír have special present forms and vowel-sequence spellings.
Related Patterns
- Present of facer
Facer shortens in the same way: fas, fai, fan, like dis, di, din.
Level 1 - Preterite of facer and dicir
The past forms of dicir use an x stem: dixen, dixo.
Level 2 - Preterite of dar, pór and traer
The past forms of traer: trouxen, trouxo.
Level 2 - Irregular Commands
Di, the ti command of dicir, is one of the common irregular commands.
Level 2 - dicir queReported Statements
Uses dicir to report what someone says.
Level 3
Learn Next
Patterns that build on this one.
Words in This Pattern
Practice Present of dicir, traer, saír and oír in Bubblegum
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