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Conjugation Chart of “Decir” (to say/tell) in the Preterite (Past) Tense

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Understanding the Preterite (Past) Tense of “Decir”

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.

How to Use 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).

Real Life 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.)

Conjugation Chart with English Translations

Conjugations of Decir (to say/tell) in the Preterite (Past) Tense (Castilian Spanish) with English Translations:

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.