dirigir Negative Imperative Conjugation
dirigir — to direct
The negative imperative always uses the 'j' spelling: no dirijas, no dirija, no dirijamos, no dirijáis, no dirijan.
dirigir Negative Imperative Forms
When to Use the Negative Imperative
Use this to tell someone NOT to lead or NOT to head in a certain direction.
Notes on dirigir in the Negative Imperative
Since negative commands use the present subjunctive, the 'g' changes to 'j' in every form to maintain the 'h' sound before the 'a' endings.
Example Sentences
No dirijas ese proyecto si no quieres.
Don't lead that project if you don't want to.
tú
No dirijan sus críticas a los empleados.
Don't direct your criticisms at the employees.
No dirijamos el coche hacia el centro, hay mucho tráfico.
Let's not head the car toward downtown; there's a lot of traffic.
nosotros
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Saying 'no dirigas'.
Correct: no dirijas
Why: In Spanish, 'gas' sounds like 'gasoline'. You need the 'j' to keep the correct 'h' sound from the original verb.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: dirijo
Dirigir is irregular only in the 'yo' form (dirijo), while all other forms are regular.
Preterite
yo: dirigí
The preterite of dirigir is regular: dirigí, dirigiste, dirigió, dirigimos, dirigisteis, dirigieron.
Imperfect
yo: dirigía
The imperfect of dirigir is regular: dirigía, dirigías, dirigía, dirigíamos, dirigíais, dirigían.
Future
yo: dirigiré
The future tense of dirigir is regular: dirigiré, dirigirás, dirigirá, dirigiremos, dirigiréis, dirigirán.
Conditional
yo: dirigiría
The conditional of dirigir is regular: dirigiría, dirigirías, dirigiría, dirigiríamos, dirigiríais, dirigirían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: dirija
The present subjunctive of dirigir uses a 'j' in all forms: dirija, dirijas, dirija, dirijamos, dirijáis, dirijan.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: dirigiera
The imperfect subjunctive of dirigir is regular: dirigiera, dirigieras, dirigiera, dirigiéramos, dirigierais, dirigieran.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: dirige
The imperative uses 'dirige' (tú) and 'dirigid' (vosotros), but switches to 'j' for formal commands (dirija/dirijan).