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fluentbyear

SPANISH VERB

dirigir

to direct, to run

  • #119 most used
  • Regular -ir verb
  • Gerund: dirigiendo
  • Past participle: dirigido

Conjugation

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

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Pretérito indefinido · finished actions

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

Imperfect

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

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

Future

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

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

Conditional

Condicional · “would”

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

Present subjunctive

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

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

Past subjunctive

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

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

Imperative

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

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

How to use dirigir

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

  1. Present

    Mi hermana dirige una escuela de idiomas.

    My sister runs a language school.

  2. Past

    Ese director dirigió mi película favorita.

    That director directed my favorite movie.

  3. Imperfect

    Mi abuelo dirigía el coro de la iglesia.

    My grandfather used to direct the church choir.

  4. Future

    ¿Quién dirigirá el equipo cuando te vayas?

    Who will lead the team when you leave?

  5. Conditional

    Yo no dirigiría una empresa tan grande.

    I wouldn't run such a big company.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Buscan a alguien que dirija el nuevo proyecto.

    They're looking for someone to lead the new project.

  7. Past subjunctive

    Me pidieron que dirigiera la reunión de padres.

    They asked me to lead the parents' meeting.

  8. Imperative

    ¡Dirige tú, que conoces mejor el camino!

    You lead, you know the way better!

Good to know

  • "Dirigirse a alguien" is to address someone; "dirigirse a un lugar" is to head somewhere: "se dirigió a la salida".

Verbs like this one

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