Contradecir Examples, Sentences and Quiz
Contradecir means “to contradict”, and it is one of the verbs you will use every day in Spanish. Contradecir means to contradict, and it is used for contradicting a statement, contradicting yourself and contradicting someone in a debate. It follows the pattern of decir, with the present contradigo, the preterite contradije and the irregular participle contradicho. This page shows contradecir in real sentences, in short dialogues, and in the mistakes learners make most often, and it finishes with a ten-question quiz so you can test yourself. Every sentence below comes with its English translation, and every form is the correct present-tense form unless the sentence is clearly marked as past or future. For a first taste: “Yo contradigo a su jefe en la reunión.” — I contradict his boss in the meeting.
Contradecir in real example sentences
The twelve sentences below are grouped by how contradecir is used. Read each one out loud, then read the translation. If a sentence feels useful, copy it into your own notebook with one small change — a different time, a different person, a different place — and you have a new sentence of your own.
In the present: everyday use
These sentences use contradecir in the present tense, which is how you will meet it most often: routines, facts, and things happening now.
“Contradigo a su jefe en la reunión.” — I contradict his boss in the meeting.
“¿Tú contradices sus palabras de ayer?” — Do you contradict his words from yesterday?
“Contradice al testigo en el juicio.” — He/she contradicts the witness in the trial.
“Contradecimos a su amigo sin querer.” — We contradict his friend without meaning to.
Talking about the past
The present is not the only tense you need. These sentences show contradecir in the past, so you can talk about what already happened.
“Ayer, yo contradije a su jefe en la reunión.” — Yesterday, I contradicted his boss in the meeting. (preterite)
“Él contradecía sus palabras de ayer todos los días.” — He used to contradict his words from yesterday every day. (imperfect)
Plans and things already done
These sentences look forward, or look back at something already finished. Notice how the verb form changes while the meaning of contradecir stays the same.
“Nosotros contradeciremos al testigo en el juicio mañana.” — We will contradict the witness in the trial tomorrow. (future)
“¿Tú has contradicho a su amigo sin querer?” — Have you contradicted his friend without meaning to? (present perfect)
More everyday uses
Four more present-tense sentences, covering the remaining persons, so you can see the whole table in action.
“Contradecís a su jefe en la reunión.” — You contradict his boss in the meeting.
“Contradicen sus palabras de ayer.” — They contradict his words from yesterday.
“Contradigo al testigo en el juicio.” — I contradict the witness in the trial.
“Contradice a su amigo sin querer.” — He/she contradicts his friend without meaning to.
Contradecir in context
Single sentences teach you the forms. Dialogues teach you when to use them. Read the short conversation below, then the paragraph that follows, and notice how contradecir appears naturally, without anyone stopping to think about conjugation.
A short dialogue
Lucía: “¿Tú contradices a su jefe en la reunión?” — Do you contradict his boss in the meeting?
Carlos: “Sí, yo contradigo a su jefe en la reunión.” — Yes, I contradict his boss in the meeting.
Lucía: “Nosotros contradecimos sus palabras de ayer.” — We contradict his words from yesterday.
Carlos: “Y ellos contradicen al testigo en el juicio.” — And they contradict the witness in the trial.
Lucía: “Vosotros contradecís a su amigo sin querer.” — You contradict his friend without meaning to.
Carlos: “Sí, y él contradice sus palabras de ayer.” — Yes, and he contradicts his words from yesterday.
A short paragraph
Lucía contradice a su jefe en la reunión, y Carlos contradice sus palabras de ayer. Nosotros contradecimos al testigo en el juicio, y ellos contradicen a su amigo sin querer. Yo contradigo al testigo en el juicio, y mi padre contradice a su amigo sin querer. Contradecir is part of everyday life, because to contradict is something Spanish speakers do again and again, in every tense and every situation.
Common mistakes with contradecir
These are the errors learners actually make with contradecir. Each one shows the wrong version, the right version, and why the correction matters.
Wrong: “Yo contradice a su jefe en la reunión.” Right: “Yo contradigo a su jefe en la reunión.” Why: The person matters: contradice is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is contradigo. Using the third-person form with yo is one of the most common beginner errors.
Wrong: “Yo contradeco sus palabras de ayer.” Right: “Yo contradigo sus palabras de ayer.” Why: Contradecir is a stem-changing verb (e → i), so the stem changes in the present singular and third-person plural. The nosotros form keeps the original stem.
Wrong: “Treating contradecir and negar as identical in every context.” Right: “Contradecir means to contradict, while negar means to deny.” Why: They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: contradecir fits sentences such as Contradigo a su jefe en la reunión, while negar belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
Wrong: “Yo soy contradicho sus palabras de ayer.” Right: “Yo he contradicho sus palabras de ayer.” Why: Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he contradicho, has contradicho, ha contradicho. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
Wrong: “De niño, yo contradije al testigo en el juicio todos los días.” Right: “De niño, yo contradecía al testigo en el juicio todos los días.” Why: For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (contradecía), not the preterite. The preterite (contradije) is for one finished action.
Quiz: contradecir in use
Ten questions on contradecir in real sentences. Choose the correct answer for each one, then check the answer key. Every answer is explained.
1. Complete the sentence: “Vosotros ______ a su jefe en la reunión.” (His boss in the meeting.)
- (a) contradecís
- (b) contradigo
- (c) contradices
Answer: contradecís — The vosotros/as form of contradecir in the present is contradecís.
2. Complete the sentence: “Ellos ______ sus palabras de ayer.” (His words from yesterday.)
- (a) contradigo
- (b) contradices
- (c) contradicen
Answer: contradicen — The ellos/ellas/Uds. form of contradecir in the present is contradicen.
3. Complete the sentence: “Yo ______ a su jefe en la reunión.” (His boss in the meeting.)
- (a) contradijo
- (b) contradije
- (c) contradijiste
Answer: contradije — The yo form of contradecir in the preterite is contradije.
4. Complete the sentence: “Él ______ sus palabras de ayer.” (His words from yesterday.)
- (a) contradecía
- (b) contradecías
- (c) contradecíamos
Answer: contradecía — The él/ella/Ud. form of contradecir in the imperfect is contradecía.
5. Complete the sentence: “Nosotros ______ al testigo en el juicio.” (The witness in the trial.)
- (a) contradeciré
- (b) contradecirás
- (c) contradeciremos
Answer: contradeciremos — The nosotros/as form of contradecir in the future is contradeciremos.
6. What does contradecir mean in English?
- (a) to curse
- (b) to contradict
- (c) to deny
Answer: to contradict — Contradecir means “to contradict”. The other options are the meanings of different verbs.
7. Which sentence is correct?
- (a) Yo contradigo a su jefe en la reunión.
- (b) Ellos contradice a su jefe en la reunión.
- (c) Yo contradigo sus palabras de ayer ayer.
Answer: Yo contradigo a su jefe en la reunión. — “Yo contradigo a su jefe en la reunión.” is correct. The other two sentences contain the mistakes explained in the section above.
8. How do you say “I contradict his boss in the meeting.” in Spanish?
- (a) Yo contradicen a su jefe en la reunión.
- (b) Yo contradije a su jefe en la reunión.
- (c) Yo contradigo a su jefe en la reunión.
Answer: Yo contradigo a su jefe en la reunión. — “Yo contradigo a su jefe en la reunión.” is the correct translation. The second option uses the wrong person's form, and the third uses the preterite.
9. What is the nosotros form of contradecir in the present tense?
- (a) contradices
- (b) contradecimos
- (c) contradigo
Answer: contradecimos — The nosotros form is contradecimos.
10. Which of these sentences is in the present tense?
- (a) Ayer, yo contradije a su jefe en la reunión.
- (b) Nosotros contradeciremos a su jefe en la reunión mañana.
- (c) Yo contradigo a su jefe en la reunión.
Answer: Yo contradigo a su jefe en la reunión. — “Yo contradigo a su jefe en la reunión.” is in the present tense. The other two are in the preterite and the future.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say 'I contradict' in Spanish?
Say 'Yo contradigo a su jefe en la reunión'. The complement follows directly, as in the examples above. For a routine, add a time expression: 'Yo contradigo a su jefe en la reunión todos los días'.
How do you say 'I contradict' in the past?
For one finished action, say 'Ayer, yo contradije sus palabras de ayer'. For a repeated habit, say 'Yo contradecía sus palabras de ayer todos los días'. For something already done, say 'Yo he contradicho sus palabras de ayer'.
What is the difference between contradecir and negar?
Contradecir means to contradict, while negar means to deny. They are easy to confuse because they appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable: use contradecir when you mean to contradict, as in Contradigo a su jefe en la reunión.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of contradecir — every tense of contradecir in one place.
- Contradecir in the preterite tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Spanish verbs — the hub for every Spanish verb on VerbFlow.
- Verb quiz — test yourself on contradecir and other verbs.
- Conjugation practice — drill the forms of contradecir until they are automatic.