decir Imperfect Conjugation
decir — to say
Decir is regular in the imperfect: decía, decías, decía, decíamos, decíais, decían.
decir Imperfect Forms
When to Use the Imperfect
Use the imperfect to describe what someone used to say repeatedly or to set the scene by describing what someone was saying when something else happened.
Notes on decir in the Imperfect
While decir is irregular in almost every other tense, it is completely regular in the imperfect. No stem changes or 'j' stems here!
Example Sentences
Mi abuelo siempre decía lo mismo.
My grandfather always used to say the same thing.
él/ella/usted
Nosotros decíamos que era una mala idea.
We were saying that it was a bad idea.
nosotros
Common Mistakes
Mistake: dijía
Correct: decía
Why: Learners often try to use the preterite 'dij' stem in the imperfect, but the imperfect uses the regular infinitive stem.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: digo
Decir is a 'yo-go' and e-to-i stem-changing verb: digo, dices, dice, decimos, decís, dicen.
Preterite
yo: dije
The preterite of decir is highly irregular, using the 'j' stem: dije, dijiste, dijo, dijimos, dijisteis, dijeron.
Future
yo: diré
Decir has an irregular stem (dir-) in the future: diré, dirás, dirá, diremos, diréis, dirán.
Conditional
yo: diría
The conditional of decir uses the irregular stem 'dir-': diría, dirías, diría, diríamos, diríais, dirían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: diga
The present subjunctive of decir builds off the 'yo' form: diga, digas, diga, digamos, digáis, digan.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: dijera
The imperfect subjunctive uses the 'dijer-' stem: dijera, dijeras, dijera, dijéramos, dijerais, dijeran.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: di
The affirmative command for decir is uniquely short for 'tú': di, diga, digamos, decid, digan.
Negative Imperative
yo: no digas
Negative commands for decir use the present subjunctive: no digas, no diga, no digamos, no digáis, no digan.