Dire Conjugation in French
dire means “to say” in English, and it is one of the first verbs French learners meet — it sits at number 4 in VerbFlow’s frequency list for French verbs. You use it whenever you talk about saying the truth to Marie, and because it comes up in everyday conversation so often, learning its forms properly pays off from the very first week. This page gives you the complete conjugation of dire — every tense, every person, the gerund and the past participle — with notes, examples, common mistakes and a quiz. Here is the verb in a natural sentence: “Je dis la vérité à Marie tous les jours.” — “I say the truth to Marie every day.”
Quick facts
- Infinitive: dire
- English: to say
- Verb type: Irregular
- Irregular in: present, passe-simple, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative, past-participle
- Gerund: disant
- Past participle: dit
- Auxiliary: avoir (all perfect tenses are formed with avoir + the past participle)
- Ending: -re verbs; pattern re in the verified tables
Pronunciation
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for dire, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one. Learn the spelling of the forms first, and listen to a native speaker for the sounds rather than trusting an invented transcription. The forms below are the ones that matter: once you can read dire in every tense, you can recognise it in speech even before you can pronounce every form perfectly.
Three things to remember about dire
- It is irregular in 6 tense(s): present, passe-simple, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative, past-participle. Learn those forms as a set rather than guessing them from the infinitive, because the regular pattern will not produce them.
- The perfect tenses use avoir: the present perfect is formed with avoir in the present plus the past participle dit. The tables on this page give the participle in the masculine singular form, exactly as it appears in the verified dump; agreement with the subject is a separate step that depends on the sentence, not on the verb table.
- The gerund is disant and the participle is dit: keep both in mind as you read the tables, because the gerund appears in progressive constructions and the participle appears in every perfect tense. If you know those two forms and the present tense, you already know the skeleton of the whole conjugation.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for dire. Learn the present tense first, then the passé composé and the imperfect, and add the remaining tenses one at a time.
Present indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | dis |
| tu | dis |
| il/elle | dit |
| nous | disons |
| vous | dites |
| ils/elles | disent |
The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. With dire this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Je dis bonjour à mes voisins tous les jours.” — “I say hello to my neighbours every day.”
Passé simple
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | dis |
| tu | dis |
| il/elle | dit |
| nous | dîmes |
| vous | dîtes |
| ils/elles | dirent |
The passé simple is used for completed actions in the past, mostly in written and literary French. With dire this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Tu dis bonjour à mes voisins hier.” — “You said hello to my neighbours yesterday.”
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | disais |
| tu | disais |
| il/elle | disait |
| nous | disions |
| vous | disiez |
| ils/elles | disaient |
The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and for background description. For example: “Il disait bonjour à mes voisins autrefois.” — “He used to say hello to my neighbours in the past.”
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | dirai |
| tu | diras |
| il/elle | dira |
| nous | dirons |
| vous | direz |
| ils/elles | diront |
The future is used for what will happen, for predictions and for probability. For example: “Je dirai bonjour à mes voisins demain.” — “I will say hello to my neighbours tomorrow.”
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | dirais |
| tu | dirais |
| il/elle | dirait |
| nous | dirions |
| vous | diriez |
| ils/elles | diraient |
The conditional is used for what would happen, for polite requests and for hypothetical situations. For example: “Tu dirais bonjour à mes voisins un jour.” — “You would say hello to my neighbours one day.”
Present perfect (passé composé)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | ai dit |
| tu | as dit |
| il/elle | a dit |
| nous | avons dit |
| vous | avez dit |
| ils/elles | ont dit |
The present perfect (passé composé) is used for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken French. For example: “Il a dit bonjour à mes voisins cette semaine.” — “He has said hello to my neighbours this week.”
Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | avais dit |
| tu | avais dit |
| il/elle | avait dit |
| nous | avions dit |
| vous | aviez dit |
| ils/elles | avaient dit |
The pluperfect (plus-que-parfait) is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “J'avais dit bonjour à mes voisins avant la fête.” — “I had said hello to my neighbours before the party.”
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurai dit |
| tu | auras dit |
| il/elle | aura dit |
| nous | aurons dit |
| vous | aurez dit |
| ils/elles | auront dit |
The future perfect is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Tu auras dit bonjour à mes voisins pour demain.” — “You will have said hello to my neighbours by tomorrow.”
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurais dit |
| tu | aurais dit |
| il/elle | aurait dit |
| nous | aurions dit |
| vous | auriez dit |
| ils/elles | auraient dit |
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Il aurait dit bonjour à mes voisins hier.” — “He would have said hello to my neighbours yesterday.”
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | dise |
| tu | dises |
| il/elle | dise |
| nous | disions |
| vous | disiez |
| ils/elles | disent |
The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after que. With dire this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Il est important que je dise bonjour à mes voisins.” — “It is important that I say hello to my neighbours.”
Imperfect subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | disse |
| tu | disses |
| il/elle | dît |
| nous | dissions |
| vous | dissiez |
| ils/elles | dissent |
The imperfect subjunctive is used in formal written French for past wishes and hypotheticals after que. For example: “Il est important que tu disses bonjour à mes voisins.” — “It is important that you say hello to my neighbours.”
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | dis |
| nous | disons |
| vous | dites |
The imperative (affirmative) is used for direct commands and instructions. With dire this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Dis bonjour à mes voisins !” — “Say hello to my neighbours!”
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | dis |
| nous | disons |
| vous | dites |
The imperative (negative) is used for prohibitions and negative commands. With dire this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Ne dis pas bonjour à mes voisins.” — “Do not say hello to my neighbours.”
Gerund
| Form | French |
|---|---|
| Gerund | en disant |
The gerund is used for an action happening at the same time as another action, usually after en. For example: “En disant la vérité à Marie, je passe un bon moment.” — “While saying the truth to Marie, I have a good time.”
Past participle
| Form | French |
|---|---|
| Past participle | dit |
The past participle is used with an auxiliary to form the perfect tenses, and as an adjective. For example: “J'ai dit la vérité à Marie cette semaine.” — “I have said the truth to Marie this week.”
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with dire, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the French and try to produce it from the English.
- “Je dis la vérité à Marie tous les jours.” — “I say the truth to Marie every day.”
- “Tu dis bonjour à mes voisins hier.” — “You said hello to my neighbours yesterday.”
- “Il disait un mot à mon frère autrefois.” — “He used to say a word to my brother in the past.”
- “Je dirai la vérité à Marie demain.” — “I will say the truth to Marie tomorrow.”
- “Tu dirais bonjour à mes voisins un jour.” — “You would say hello to my neighbours one day.”
- “Il a dit un mot à mon frère cette semaine.” — “He has said a word to my brother this week.”
- “J'avais dit la vérité à Marie avant la fête.” — “I had said the truth to Marie before the party.”
- “Tu auras dit bonjour à mes voisins pour demain.” — “You will have said hello to my neighbours by tomorrow.”
- “Il est important que il dise un mot à mon frère.” — “It is important that he say a word to my brother.”
- “Dis la vérité à Marie !” — “Say the truth to Marie!”
Common mistakes
1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Je dire la vérité à Marie.”
✓ Right: “Je dis la vérité à Marie.”
The infinitive dire never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated present form dis.
2. Using the wrong person’s form
✗ Wrong: “Je disent la vérité à Marie.”
✓ Right: “Je dis la vérité à Marie.”
disent is the ils/elles form, not the je form. Match the verb to the subject every time: je goes with dis.
3. Using the passé simple for a present habit
✗ Wrong: “Je dis la vérité à Marie tous les jours.”
✓ Right: “Je dis la vérité à Marie tous les jours.”
The passé simple dis describes one finished past action. For something that happens every day, use the present dis.
4. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
✗ Wrong: “Il est important que je dis la vérité à Marie.”
✓ Right: “Il est important que je dise la vérité à Marie.”
After il est important que French needs the subjunctive, so use dise here, not the indicative dis.
5. Using the wrong auxiliary in the passé composé
✗ Wrong: “Je suis dit la vérité à Marie.”
✓ Right: “Je ai dit la vérité à Marie.”
The passé composé of dire is formed with avoir plus the past participle dit: the je form is ai dit. Check the auxiliary in the table above before you build a perfect tense.
6. Dropping a written accent
✗ Wrong: “dis” written without its accent
✓ Right: “dis”
Accents are part of the spelling in French. Write the form exactly as it appears in the table, accent included, or it looks like a different word.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on dire. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
What is the je form of dire in the Present indicative?
- A) dis
- B) dit
- C) disons
- D) dites
What is the il/elle form of dire in the Passé simple?
- A) dis
- B) dîmes
- C) dîtes
- D) dit
What is the nous form of dire in the Imperfect?
- A) disais
- B) disait
- C) disiez
- D) disions
What is the tu form of dire in the Future?
- A) dirons
- B) diras
- C) dirai
- D) dira
What is the je form of dire in the Conditional?
- A) dirais
- B) dirait
- C) dirions
- D) diriez
What is the il/elle form of dire in the Present perfect (passé composé)?
- A) as dit
- B) avons dit
- C) a dit
- D) ai dit
What is the il/elle form of dire in the Present subjunctive?
- A) dises
- B) disions
- C) disiez
- D) dise
What is the je form of dire in the Imperfect subjunctive?
- A) disse
- B) disses
- C) dît
- D) dissions
What is the gerund of dire?
- A) en voulant
- B) en sachant
- C) en disant
- D) en pouvant
What does dire mean in English?
- A) to say
- B) to be able to, can
- C) to want
- D) to know
Answer key
- A) dis — the je form of dire in the Present indicative is dis. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) dit — the il/elle form of dire in the Passé simple is dit. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) disions — the nous form of dire in the Imperfect is disions. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) diras — the tu form of dire in the Future is diras. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) dirais — the je form of dire in the Conditional is dirais. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) a dit — the il/elle form of dire in the Present perfect (passé composé) is a dit. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) dise — the il/elle form of dire in the Present subjunctive is dise. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) disse — the je form of dire in the Imperfect subjunctive is disse. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) en disant — the gerund of dire is en disant; it is used after en for actions happening at the same time as another action. The other options are the gerunds of neighbouring verbs.
- A) to say — dire means “to say” in English. The other options are the meanings of neighbouring verbs.
Frequently asked questions
What does dire mean in English?
dire means “to say”. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is dire regular or irregular?
dire is irregular, and it is irregular in these tenses: present, passe-simple, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative, past-participle. The gerund is disant and the past participle is dit.
What are the gerund and past participle of dire?
The gerund is disant — use it after en for an action happening at the same time as another action. The past participle is dit — use it with avoir for the perfect tenses, as in ai dit.
Which auxiliary does dire take in the passé composé?
dire takes avoir in the passé composé: the je form is ai dit. All four perfect tenses on this page are built with avoir plus the past participle dit.
How do I say “I say” in French?
Say “Je dis la vérité à Marie tous les jours.” — “I say the truth to Marie every day.” The je form of the present is dis, and it is the form you will use most often.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of dire — every tense of dire in one place.
- Dire in the passé composé tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Dire examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- Pouvoir conjugation — another everyday French verb.
- Vouloir conjugation — another everyday French verb.
- Savoir conjugation — another everyday French verb.
- French irregular verbs — every common irregular French verb, grouped by pattern.
- French verbs — the full hub of French conjugation pages.
- Spanish verbs — the full hub of Spanish conjugation pages.
- VerbFlow home — all languages, tools and verb lists.
- Spanish Verb Conjugator — practise dire with the interactive tool.
- Conjugation Chart Printer — practise dire with the interactive tool.
- Tense Finder — practise dire with the interactive tool.