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SPANISH VERB

decidir

to decide

  • #87 most used
  • Regular -ir verb
  • Gerund: decidiendo
  • Past participle: decidido

Conjugation

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

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

  1. yo I decide
  2. tú you decide
  3. usted, él, ella he/she decides
  4. nosotros we decide
  5. vosotros Spain you all decide
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they decide

Past

Pretérito indefinido · finished actions

  1. yo I decided
  2. tú you decided
  3. usted, él, ella he/she decided
  4. nosotros we decided
  5. vosotros Spain you all decided
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they decided

Imperfect

Pretérito imperfecto · “used to” and “was …ing”

  1. yo I used to decide
  2. tú you used to decide
  3. usted, él, ella he/she used to decide
  4. nosotros we used to decide
  5. vosotros Spain you all used to decide
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they used to decide

Future

Futuro · plans and promises; in speech, “voy a hablar” is just as common

  1. yo I will decide
  2. tú you will decide
  3. usted, él, ella he/she will decide
  4. nosotros we will decide
  5. vosotros Spain you all will decide
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they will decide

Conditional

Condicional · “would”

  1. yo I would decide
  2. tú you would decide
  3. usted, él, ella he/she would decide
  4. nosotros we would decide
  5. vosotros Spain you all would decide
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they would decide

Present subjunctive

Presente de subjuntivo · wishes, doubts, “que …”

  1. yo (that) I decide
  2. tú (that) you decide
  3. usted, él, ella (that) he/she decide
  4. nosotros (that) we decide
  5. vosotros Spain (that) you all decide
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas (that) they decide

Past subjunctive

Imperfecto de subjuntivo · “if I were”, “si …”

  1. yo (if) I decided
  2. tú (if) you decided
  3. usted, él, ella (if) he/she decided
  4. nosotros (if) we decided
  5. vosotros Spain (if) you all decided
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas (if) they decided

Imperative

Imperativo · requests and orders; a negative one uses the subjunctive (no hables)

  1. tú decide!
  2. usted decide! (formal)
  3. nosotros decide! (let’s)
  4. vosotros Spain decide! (all of you)
  5. ustedes decide! (all of you)

How to use decidir

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

  1. Present

    Nunca decido rápido en los restaurantes.

    I never decide quickly in restaurants.

  2. Past

    Decidimos quedarnos una noche más en Tulum.

    We decided to stay one more night in Tulum.

  3. Imperfect

    En mi casa, mi mamá decidía todo.

    In my house, my mom decided everything.

  4. Future

    Mañana decidiremos a dónde ir de vacaciones.

    Tomorrow we'll decide where to go on vacation.

  5. Conditional

    Yo decidiría con el corazón, no con la cabeza.

    I'd decide with my heart, not my head.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Cuando decidas, mándame un mensaje.

    When you decide, send me a message.

  7. Past subjunctive

    Si decidieras venir, te recogería en el aeropuerto.

    If you decided to come, I'd pick you up at the airport.

  8. Imperative

    ¡Decide ya, la película empieza en diez minutos!

    Decide now, the movie starts in ten minutes!

Where you hear decidir

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

Spanish · Beginner Level 2

  • Es difícil decidir. It's hard to decide.
  • Decidí ir a Yucatán. I decided to go to the Yucatan.
  • Esta noche voy a decidir. Tonight I'm going to decide.

Spanish · Beginner Level 3

  • Yo decido a dónde vamos. I decide where we go.
  • Un día, decidí cambiar mi vida. One day, I decided to change my life.
  • Voy a decidir en enero. I'm going to decide in January.
28
On the One Hand

Beginner Level 2 · decidir · decidido

Needs a subscription 29
I've Decided

Beginner Level 2 · he decidido · decidí · decidió

Needs a subscription 18
Camila's Story

Beginner Level 3 · decidí

Needs a subscription 23
Plans for Christmas

Beginner Level 3 · ¿Ya decidiste?

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Whatever You Decide

Intermediate Level 1 · Decidas lo que decidas · Decida lo que decida

Needs a subscription 28
A Call to Boston

Intermediate Level 1 · ¿Ya decidiste?

Needs a subscription 29
Whatever Happens

Intermediate Level 1 · Ya lo decidí. · he decidido

Needs a subscription 9
We Laugh at Everything

Advanced Level 2 · desde que decidió jubilarse

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As If We'd Won the Lottery

Advanced Level 2 · hemos decidido casarnos

Needs a subscription 4
Putting Down Roots

Fluency Level 1 · ya lo habíamos decidido

Needs a subscription 24
A Year Already

Fluency Level 2 · Decidir quedarnos.

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Verbs like this one

The same pattern, on other verbs: regular -ir verb.