Decir (to say) · Preterite
By TutorLily Editorial Team · Last updated
Decir in the Spanish preterite (pretérito indefinido) is: yo dije, tú dijiste, él/ella/usted dijo, nosotros/as dijimos, vosotros/as dijisteis, ellos/ellas/ustedes dijeron. The preterite of decir uses the j-stem 'dij-' across all persons. Notably, the 3rd-person plural drops the 'i': 'dijeron', not 'dijieron'. This j-stem dropped-i pattern is shared with traer (trajeron) and traducir (tradujeron).
| To Say | Decir |
|---|---|
| I said | yo dije |
| you said | tú dijiste |
| he/she said | él/ella/usted dijo |
| we said | nosotros/as dijimos |
| you said | vosotros/as dijisteis |
| they said | ellos/ellas/ustedes dijeron |
Decir (to say) in context
Sentences that use decir in the preterite. Tap each to hear it.
I told him the truth yesterday.
Did you tell him what happened?
My teacher said the exam was easy.
We said yes immediately.
Why did you say that?
My friends said they would come.
Working with the preterite
The preterite describes a finished past action with a clear boundary — "ayer comí pizza" (yesterday I ate pizza). The key contrast is with the imperfect, which describes ongoing or repeated past actions without a defined endpoint. If you can substitute "used to" or "was doing" in English, you usually want the imperfect; if the action is one-and-done, you want the preterite. The irregular preterites (fui, hice, dije, tuve, vine, supe) are the highest-frequency in Spanish — front-load them.
Frequently asked questions
How do you conjugate decir in the preterite?
Why is the 3rd-person plural 'dijeron' and not 'dijieron'?
Should I use 'dije' (preterite) or 'decía' (imperfect)?
Practice Decir (To Say) in real conversations
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