decirse Preterite Conjugation
decirse — to tell oneself
The preterite of decirse uses the irregular 'j' stem: me dije, te dijiste, se dijo, nos dijimos, os dijisteis, se dijeron.
decirse Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
Use the preterite to describe a specific moment in the past when you had a realization or made a specific internal comment to yourself.
Notes on decirse in the Preterite
This is highly irregular. The stem changes to 'dij-', and the third-person plural ends in '-eron' instead of '-ieron'.
Example Sentences
Me dije que no volvería a llegar tarde.
I told myself I wouldn't be late again.
yo
Él se dijo que todo saldría bien.
He told himself that everything would turn out fine.
él/ella/usted
Se dijeron que era hora de cambiar.
They told themselves it was time to change.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Writing 'se dijieron'.
Correct: se dijeron
Why: After a 'j' stem in the preterite, the 'i' in the '-ieron' ending is dropped.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: me digo
The present of decirse has a stem change (e > i) and an irregular yo form: me digo, te dices, se dice, nos decimos, os decís, se dicen.
Imperfect
yo: me decía
The imperfect of decirse is regular for an -ir verb: me decía, te decías, se decía, nos decíamos, os decíais, se decían.
Future
yo: me diré
The future of decirse uses the short stem 'dir-': me diré, te dirás, se dirá, nos diremos, os diréis, se dirán.
Conditional
yo: me diría
The conditional of decirse uses the short stem 'dir-': me diría, te dirías, se diría, nos diríamos, os diríais, se dirían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: me diga
The present subjunctive of decirse uses the 'dig-' stem: me diga, te digas, se diga, nos digamos, os digáis, se digan.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: me dijera
The imperfect subjunctive uses the 'dij-' stem: me dijera, te dijeras, se dijera, nos dijéramos, os dijerais, se dijeran.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: dite
The affirmative imperative forms are: dite (tú), dígase (usted), digámonos (nosotros), decíos (vosotros), díganse (ustedes).
Negative Imperative
yo: no te digas
The negative imperative uses the present subjunctive: no te digas, no se diga, no nos digamos, no os digáis, no se digan.