The preterite of decir is used to express when someone said something at a specific moment in the past. For example, when you want to say “She told me the truth yesterday” – “Ella me dijo la verdad ayer.”
This is an irregular verb in the preterite tense. The stem changes to ‘dij-‘ throughout all conjugations, making it one of the most frequently used irregular verbs in Spanish.
Conjugations
Conjugations of Decir (to say/tell) in the Preterite (Past) Tense tense (Castilian Spanish):
| Pronoun | Conjugation |
|---|---|
| Yo | dije |
| Tú | dijiste |
| Él / Ella / Usted | dijo |
| Nosotros / Nosotras | dijimos |
| Vosotros / Vosotras | dijisteis |
| Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes | dijeron |
Boost Your Memorization with Audio!
We’ve included audio recordings of the the conjugations of Decir (to say/tell) in the Preterite (Past) Tense to help you learn faster.
Pro Tip: Play the audio on a loop as you study the chart. This repetition will solidify the correct conjugations in your memory.
Usage of Decir in the Preterite (Past) Tense
The Preterite of decir expresses completed instances of saying or telling.
To say/tell: Describes specific instances of speaking or communicating, for example Dije la verdad (I told the truth), or Me dijeron la noticia ayer (They told me the news yesterday).
Examples
Examples of Decir in the Preterite (Past) Tense
Dije la verdad. (I told the truth.)
¿Qué le dijiste a tu jefe? (What did you say to your boss?)
Ella dijo que vendría hoy. (She said she would come today.)
Dijimos todo lo que sabíamos. (We said everything we knew.)
Los testigos dijeron lo mismo. (The witnesses said the same thing.)
¿Por qué no me lo dijiste antes? (Why didn’t you tell me before?)
El doctor dijo que descansara. (The doctor said to rest.)
Dijimos la verdad desde el principio. (We told the truth from the beginning.)
¿Quién dijo eso? (Who said that?)
Me dijeron que llegarías tarde. (They told me you would arrive late.)
Le dije que no se preocupara. (I told him/her not to worry.)
¿Qué dijeron tus padres? (What did your parents say?)
Nadie dijo nada. (Nobody said anything.)
Dijimos adiós y nos fuimos. (We said goodbye and left.)
Me dijiste que estarías aquí. (You told me you would be here.)
Conjugations with English Translations
Conjugations of Decir (to say/tell) in the Preterite (Past) Tense tense (Castilian Spanish) with English Translations:
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Yo dije | I said |
| Tú dijiste | You said |
| Él / Ella / Usted dijo | He / She / You (formal) said |
| Nosotros / Nosotras dijimos | We said |
| Vosotros / Vosotras dijisteis | You all said |
| Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes dijeron | They / You all (formal) said |
This post covers Castilian Spanish. For Latin American Spanish, click here
Synonyms
The Preterite tense is also known as the Simple Past, Past Simple, Definite Past, Absolute Past, or Past Tense Indicative in English, and as Pretérito Perfecto Simple, Pretérito Indefinido, Pretérito Simple, Pasado Simple, or Pretérito de Indicativo in Spanish.