Dire (to say) · Passé Composé
By TutorLily Editorial Team · Last updated
Dire in the French passé composé is: j'ai dit, tu as dit, il/elle/on a dit, nous avons dit, vous avez dit, ils/elles ont dit. The passé composé of dire uses AVOIR + the irregular participle 'dit'. 'Je lui ai dit la vérité' = 'I told him the truth'. The participle 'dit' is invariable unless there's a preceding direct object.
| To Say | Dire |
|---|---|
| I said | j'ai dit |
| you said | tu as dit |
| he/she said | il/elle/on a dit |
| we said | nous avons dit |
| you said | vous avez dit |
| they said | ils/elles ont dit |
Dire (to say) in context
Sentences that use dire in the passé composé. Tap each to hear it.
I told him/her the truth.
What did you tell your father?
She said no without hesitating.
We said goodbye yesterday.
You said something important.
They said they would come.
Working with the passé composé
The passé composé is French's dominant past tense — used in almost every spoken past reference ("j'ai mangé" = "I ate" or "I have eaten"). It's a COMPOUND tense formed with an auxiliary (avoir for most verbs, être for ~17 motion/state verbs and all reflexives) plus a past participle. Two things to memorise: which verbs take être (aller, venir, partir, sortir, arriver, monter, descendre, naître, mourir, rester, tomber, devenir, retourner, entrer, rentrer, passer, revenir — the so-called "house of être"), and agreement rules (être verbs agree with the subject; avoir verbs only agree with a preceding direct object).
Frequently asked questions
How do you form the passé composé of dire?
How do I report past speech with dire?
Should I use 'j'ai dit' (passé composé) or 'je disais' (imparfait)?
Practice Dire (To Say) in real conversations
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