dije/dijiste/dijo/dijimos/dijeron

Preterite of Decir

Level 2

Decir (to say/tell) has the strong irregular preterite stem dij-. Its endings have no written accent and use -eron for third-person plural; this is not a rule for every verb whose stem contains j.

How It Works

The verb 'decir' (to say/tell) is one of the most common verbs in Spanish, and it has a highly irregular conjugation in the preterite tense.

1. Stem Change: 'dec-' → 'dij-'
The first step is to change the stem of the verb. Learn the whole irregular stem dij-, including both the vowel and consonant change; changing c to j alone would not produce it. This type of change is common for a group of verbs known as 'j-stem' verbs in the preterite.

2. Irregular Endings
Next, you add a specific set of endings to this new stem. These endings are different from the regular -er/-ir endings, most notably in the 'yo' and 'él/ella/usted' forms and the general lack of accent marks.

  • yo: -e → dije
  • tú: -iste → dijiste
  • él/ella/usted: -o → dijo
  • nosotros/as: -imos → dijimos
  • vosotros/as: -isteis → dijisteis
  • ellos/ellas/ustedes: -eron → dijeron

Important Note on 'dijeron': For all j-stem verbs, the third-person plural ending is -eron, not '-ieron'. This is the ending of the strong j-stem paradigm, not a general spelling rule after the letter j. So, it's 'dijeron', not 'dijieron'.

Usage with Indirect Objects:
'Decir' is frequently used with indirect object pronouns (me, te, le, nos, os, les) to specify who was told something. For example: 'Me dijo la verdad' (He/she told me the truth).

Accent and Vos
Dije and dijo have stress on the first syllable and no written accent. Standard vos uses dijiste, like tú; do not add a final s in the standard form.

Reported Speech Does Not Always Shift Tense
El profesor dijo que el examen es mañana keeps a present statement and tomorrow relative to the current speaker’s viewpoint. Dijo does not automatically force era. Dijo presents the saying as a bounded past event; what was said can still be current.

Examples (5)

  1. Yo dije la verdad.

    I told the truth.

    Word by Word: I said the truth.

  2. ¿Qué me dijiste?

    What did you tell me?

    Word by Word: What to me you said?

  3. El profesor dijo que el examen es mañana.

    The professor said that the exam is tomorrow.

    Word by Word: The professor said that the exam is tomorrow.

  4. Nosotros dijimos adiós y nos fuimos.

    We said goodbye and left.

    Word by Word: We said goodbye and we left.

  5. Ellos no dijeron nada sobre el problema.

    They didn't say anything about the problem.

    Word by Word: They not said nothing about the problem.

Common Mistakes

  • Writing 'dijieron' instead of the correct 'dijeron'.

    Los niños me dijieron un chiste.
    Los niños me dijeron un chiste.

    Strong irregular preterite stems ending in j, such as dij- and traj-, take -eron in the third-person plural: dijeron, trajeron. This is not a general spelling rule after j; a regular verb such as tejer has tejieron.

  • Using a regular preterite form like 'deció' instead of 'dijo'.

    Ella deció que no quería ir.
    Ella dijo que no quería ir.

    'Decir' is completely irregular in the preterite. It does not follow the regular -ir verb conjugation pattern. You must use the irregular stem 'dij-' and its corresponding endings.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

dije/dijiste/dijo/dijimos/dijeronLevel 2Preterite of Decir

Learn This First

To learn the irregular preterite of 'decir', learners should first understand regular preterite conjugation for -er/-ir verbs. It is also helpful to be familiar with the verb's irregular present tense and other common irregular preterite verbs that follow similar stem-change patterns.

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.

Words in This Pattern

decir