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FRENCH VERB

dire

to say, to tell

  • #4 most used
  • Irregular -re verb
  • Past participle: dit
  • Present participle: disant

Conjugation

Tap any form to hear it. The part that changes is in colour.

Present

Présent · now, habits and facts

  1. je I say
  2. tu you say
  3. il, elle, on he/she says
  4. nous we say
  5. vous you say
  6. ils, elles they say

Past

Passé composé · finished actions

  1. je I said
  2. tu you said
  3. il, elle, on he/she said
  4. nous we said
  5. vous you said
  6. ils, elles they said

Imperfect

Imparfait · “used to” and “was …ing”

  1. je I used to say
  2. tu you used to say
  3. il, elle, on he/she used to say
  4. nous we used to say
  5. vous you used to say
  6. ils, elles they used to say

Future

Futur simple · plans; in speech, “je vais parler” is just as common

  1. je I will say
  2. tu you will say
  3. il, elle, on he/she will say
  4. nous we will say
  5. vous you will say
  6. ils, elles they will say

Conditional

Conditionnel · “would”, polite requests

  1. je I would say
  2. tu you would say
  3. il, elle, on he/she would say
  4. nous we would say
  5. vous you would say
  6. ils, elles they would say

Present subjunctive

Subjonctif présent · wishes, doubts, “il faut que …”

  1. je (that) I say
  2. tu (that) you say
  3. il, elle, on (that) he/she say
  4. nous (that) we say
  5. vous (that) you say
  6. ils, elles (that) they say

Imperative

Impératif · requests and orders

  1. tu say!
  2. nous say! (let’s)
  3. vous say! (plural, or formal)

How to use dire

One sentence for each tense, the way people say it.

  1. Present

    Qu'est-ce que tu dis ? Je n'entends rien.

    What are you saying? I can't hear anything.

  2. Past

    Il m'a dit que le train était en retard.

    He told me the train was late.

  3. Imperfect

    Ma grand-mère disait toujours ça quand j'étais petite.

    My grandmother always said that when I was little.

  4. Future

    Je lui dirai la vérité ce week-end.

    I'll tell her the truth this weekend.

  5. Conditional

    Je dirais plutôt vers vingt heures, pas avant.

    I'd say around eight o'clock, not before.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Il faut que tu dises oui tout de suite.

    You have to say yes right away.

  7. Imperative

    Dites-moi où est la gare, s'il vous plaît.

    Tell me where the station is, please.

Good to know

  • "Dire à quelqu'un" is to tell someone; "dire que" is to say that.
  • "Ça te dit ?" means "do you feel like it?".

Where you hear dire

The lessons that teach a form of it, and how they say it.

French · Beginner Level 2

  • Qu'est-ce que tu dis ? What are you saying?
  • Ils ont dit d'accord. They said OK.
  • Je vais lui dire merci. I'm going to say thank you to her.

French · Beginner Level 3

  • Dites-lui que tout va bien. Tell her that everything is fine.
  • Je lui ai dit que tout va bien. I told her that everything is fine.
  • Je vais lui dire. I'm going to tell her.
1
Back in Lyon

Beginner Level 2 · ils ont dit

Free 23
A Stolen Phone

Beginner Level 2 · elle m'a dit

Needs a subscription 29
A Call from Chicago

Beginner Level 2 · Dis-moi ! · dites-moi

Needs a subscription 9
A Neighbour in Bed

Beginner Level 3 · Dites-lui · dis-lui · dites-leur

Needs a subscription

Verbs like this one

The same pattern, on other verbs: irregular -re verb.