📖LearnModule 4 · Lesson 3 of 30Basic User · CEFR A2, completedUnit 1 · El pretérito, part II — the irregulars
Dije, vi, di — the short ones
Module 4 of the free Spanish course (CEFR A2, completed), lesson 3 of 30: Decir (to say) gives dije, dijiste, dijo, dijimos, dijeron — note dijeron, not dijieron. On this page: 8 words with their genders and respellings, the rule, a watch-out line, the conjugation table and the audio — the study notes behind the workbook's QR.
The words
Spanish
English
Say it
decir
to say
deh-SEER
yo dije
I said
yoh DEE-heh
ella dijo que sí
she said yes
EH-yah DEE-hoh keh SEE
yo vi una película
I saw a movie
yoh bee OO-nah peh-LEE-koo-lah
nosotros vimos
we saw
noh-SOH-trohs BEE-mohs
dar
to give
dar
yo di un regalo
I gave a present
yoh dee oon rreh-GAH-loh
ellos dieron
they gave
EH-yohs DYEH-rohn
Respellings follow the course’s say-it key; the stressed syllable is in capitals. Print this lesson’s flashcards (PDF) — the words on the front, the English and respelling on the back.
La regla · The rule
Decir (to say) gives dije, dijiste, dijo, dijimos, dijeron — note dijeron, not dijieron. Ver (to see) and dar (to give) are the shortest pasts in the language: vi, viste, vio, vimos, vieron; di, diste, dio, dimos, dieron.
Y también · And also
Ella dijo que sí — she said yes. Vi una película. Di un regalo a mi madre. Vio and dio carry no accent: they are one syllable each.
Ojo · Watch out
vio and dio take NO accent mark — they are single syllables. And decir gives dijeron in the ellos form, never dijieron.
decir, pretérito — the table
yo dije · tú dijiste · él/ella/usted dijo · nosotros dijimos · ustedes dijeron · ellos/ellas dijeron
ver, pretérito — the table
yo vi · tú viste · él/ella/usted vio · nosotros vimos · ustedes vieron · ellos/ellas vieron
dar, pretérito — the table
yo di · tú diste · él/ella/usted dio · nosotros dimos · ustedes dieron · ellos/ellas dieron
Do it now — on paper
Say all 8 words aloud twice from the respelling, then once from the Spanish spelling alone — begin with decir.
Copy every word with its accents on paper; then cover the English column and write each meaning back from the Spanish.
Write out decir, pretérito and ver, pretérito and dar, pretérito in full from memory, every person, and check each form against the table above.
This free course is the reading half. The writing half — write-in lessons, daily practice pages with built-in review, self-checks and a full answer key — is the companion workbook series, The Spanish Ladder: one workbook per module, fifteen in all, released band by band with the Basic band (Modules 1–5) first.
Keep these words
Turn this lesson’s words into flashcards, then space your reviews — the two habits the research behind our study guides backs hardest.