Dirigirse Conjugation in Spanish

dirigirse is the Spanish verb for «to head to, to address». As a spelling-changing -ir verb, reflexive verb it follows the -ir endings, and the tables on this page list every form so you never have to guess. You will find the present, the past tenses, the future, the conditional, the perfect tenses, the subjunctive and the imperative, each with a short note on when to use it. Start with the present tense: «Me dirijo todos los días» — I head to every day. Then work down the page tense by tense, and finish with the quiz.

Quick facts

  • Infinitive: dirigirse
  • English: to head to, to address
  • Verb type: spelling-changing -ir verb, reflexive
  • Ending: -ir
  • Gerund: dirigiendo
  • Past participle: dirigido
  • Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + dirigido)
  • Reflexive pronouns: me, te, se, nos, os, se — one before every conjugated form, matching the person.
  • Spelling change: in the present indicative the yo form is dirijo, not dirigo, so the stem-final letter changes before e and i.
  • Spelling change: in the present subjunctive the yo form is dirija, not diriga, so the stem-final letter changes before e and i.

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for dirigirse, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

dirigirse is reflexive: Me dirijo todos los días; te diriges todos los días. Without the pronoun, the verb means doing the action to someone else rather than to yourself, so keep the pronoun with the form.

Full conjugation tables

Every form below comes from the verified conjugation tables for dirigirse. The imperfect subjunctive is shown in its -ra forms; the -se forms use the same stem. For reflexive verbs, the pronoun column shows the reflexive pronoun that goes before each form.

Gerund: dirigiendo · Past participle: dirigido

Present Indicative

Person Pronoun Form
yo me dirijo
tú te diriges
él/ella/Ud. se dirige
nosotros/as nos dirigimos
vosotros/as os dirigís
ellos/ellas/Uds. se dirigen

The present tense describes habits, facts and what is happening now. For dirigirse, the yo form is dirijo, as in the examples below. Use the present for routines («todos los días») and for general truths, and remember that Spanish often uses the present where English would use a progressive or a near future.

Preterite

Person Pronoun Form
yo me dirigí
tú te dirigiste
él/ella/Ud. se dirigió
nosotros/as nos dirigimos
vosotros/as os dirigisteis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se dirigieron

The preterite describes completed actions in the past — things that started and finished. «Ayer yo dirigí» is the classic use. Do not confuse it with the imperfect: the preterite moves the story forward, one finished event at a time.

Imperfect

Person Pronoun Form
yo me dirigía
tú te dirigías
él/ella/Ud. se dirigía
nosotros/as nos dirigíamos
vosotros/as os dirigíais
ellos/ellas/Uds. se dirigían

The imperfect describes the past as background: habits, descriptions and actions in progress. «De pequeño, yo dirigía» shows the habitual use. It sets the scene while the preterite reports what happened inside it.

Future

Person Pronoun Form
yo me dirigiré
tú te dirigirás
él/ella/Ud. se dirigirá
nosotros/as nos dirigiremos
vosotros/as os dirigiréis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se dirigirán

The future tense states what will happen. For dirigirse the future is built on the infinitive: «Mañana yo dirigiré». It is also used for predictions and promises, and in spoken Spanish it often alternates with ir a + infinitive.

Conditional

Person Pronoun Form
yo me dirigiría
tú te dirigirías
él/ella/Ud. se dirigiría
nosotros/as nos dirigiríamos
vosotros/as os dirigiríais
ellos/ellas/Uds. se dirigirían

The conditional expresses what would happen: wishes, polite requests and hypothetical results. «Si tuviera más tiempo, yo dirigiría» is the typical pattern. It shares its stem with the future and changes only the endings.

Present Perfect

Person Pronoun Form
yo me he dirigido
tú te has dirigido
él/ella/Ud. se ha dirigido
nosotros/as nos hemos dirigido
vosotros/as os habéis dirigido
ellos/ellas/Uds. se han dirigido

The present perfect connects the past with the present: something that has happened, often today or recently. It is haber in the present plus the past participle: «Hoy yo he dirigido». In Spain it is used for anything that happened today; in Latin America the preterite is often preferred.

Pluperfect

Person Pronoun Form
yo me había dirigido
tú te habías dirigido
él/ella/Ud. se había dirigido
nosotros/as nos habíamos dirigido
vosotros/as os habíais dirigido
ellos/ellas/Uds. se habían dirigido

The pluperfect describes an event that happened before another past event: «Cuando llegué, ya había dirigido». It is haber in the imperfect plus the past participle, and it is the tense for explaining what had already happened when something else took place.

Future Perfect

Person Pronoun Form
yo me habré dirigido
tú te habrás dirigido
él/ella/Ud. se habrá dirigido
nosotros/as nos habremos dirigido
vosotros/as os habréis dirigido
ellos/ellas/Uds. se habrán dirigido

The future perfect looks back from a future point: by then, something will already have happened. «Para mañana, yo habré dirigido» is the pattern — haber in the future plus the past participle. It is less common in speech but regular in formal writing.

Conditional Perfect

Person Pronoun Form
yo me habría dirigido
tú te habrías dirigido
él/ella/Ud. se habría dirigido
nosotros/as nos habríamos dirigido
vosotros/as os habríais dirigido
ellos/ellas/Uds. se habrían dirigido

The conditional perfect expresses what would have happened: «Yo habría dirigido si hubiera podido». It is haber in the conditional plus the past participle, and it is the tense for regrets and missed chances.

Present Subjunctive

Person Pronoun Form
yo me dirija
tú te dirijas
él/ella/Ud. se dirija
nosotros/as nos dirijamos
vosotros/as os dirigáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se dirijan

The present subjunctive appears after wishes, doubts, emotions and impersonal expressions: «Espero que él dirija». The trigger is in the main clause; the subjunctive is the mood of uncertainty, desire and influence. Learn the yo form first — most of the table follows from it.

Imperfect Subjunctive (-ra forms)

Person Pronoun Form
yo me dirigiera
tú te dirigieras
él/ella/Ud. se dirigiera
nosotros/as nos dirigiéramos
vosotros/as os dirigierais
ellos/ellas/Uds. se dirigieran

The imperfect subjunctive is the past partner of the present subjunctive, used after past-tense triggers and in si-clauses: «Si él dirigiera, todo sería distinto». The table above shows the -ra forms, the ones you will hear most often. There is also a less common -se set built on the same stem.

Imperative — Affirmative

Person Pronoun Form
tú te dirige
él/ella/Ud. se dirija
nosotros/as nos dirijamos
vosotros/as os dirigid
ellos/ellas/Uds. se dirijan

There is no yo form in the imperative — you cannot command yourself.

In real speech the reflexive pronoun attaches to the end of an affirmative command; the table shows the pronoun and the form separately so you can see both parts.

The affirmative imperative gives direct commands and instructions: «¡dirige!». There is no yo form — you cannot command yourself. The tú form is the one you will use with friends and family, and the usted form with people you address formally.

Imperative — Negative

Person Pronoun Form
tú te dirijas
él/ella/Ud. se dirija
nosotros/as nos dirijamos
vosotros/as os dirigáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se dirijan

There is no yo form in the imperative — you cannot command yourself.

In real speech the reflexive pronoun attaches to the end of an affirmative command; the table shows the pronoun and the form separately so you can see both parts.

The negative imperative tells someone not to do something: «¡No dirijas!». Unlike the affirmative imperative, the negative forms come from the present subjunctive, which is why they look different. Never use the affirmative form after no.

Example sentences

  1. Me dirijo todos los días. — I head to every day.
  2. Ayer me dirigí por la tarde. — Yesterday I headed to in the afternoon.
  3. Antes, me dirigía todos los días. — In the past, I used to head to every day.
  4. Mañana me dirigiré sin falta. — Tomorrow I will head to without fail.
  5. Si tuviera más tiempo, me dirigiría ahora mismo. — If I had more time, I would head to right now.
  6. Hoy me he dirigido dos veces. — Today I have headed to twice.
  7. Espero que te dirijas pronto. — I hope You head to soon.
  8. Si me dirigiera, todo sería distinto. — If I headed to, everything would be different.
  9. Ahora mismo me estoy dirigiendo. — Right now I am heading to.
  10. ¡No te dirijas! — Don't head to!

Common mistakes

1. Forgetting the reflexive pronoun

Wrong: yo dirijo todos los días.

Right: me dirijo todos los días.

dirigirse is reflexive: the pronoun me belongs before every conjugated form. Without it, you are using the non-reflexive verb, which means something different — doing the action to someone else instead of to yourself.

2. Missing the spelling change in the present indicative

Wrong: Yo dirigo.

Right: Yo dirijo.

The spelling changes so the pronunciation stays the same: the yo form in the present indicative is dirijo, not dirigo. The endings are regular — only the spelling of the stem-final letter adjusts before e and i.

3. Using the imperfect for a finished event

Wrong: Ayer me dirigía.

Right: Ayer me dirigí.

Yesterday's finished action needs the preterite, dirigí. The imperfect dirigía describes what used to happen or what was going on, not a single completed event.

4. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger

Wrong: Espero que te diriges.

Right: Espero que te dirijas.

After espero que, Spanish requires the subjunctive: dirijas, not the indicative diriges. Wishes, hopes and doubts all trigger this change.

5. Using the affirmative imperative after no

Wrong: No te dirige.

Right: No te dirijas.

Negative commands use the subjunctive-based forms: no dirijas. The affirmative dirige can never follow no.

6. Confusing the gerund with the past participle

Wrong: He dirigiendo.

Right: He dirigido.

The perfect tenses use haber plus the past participle: he dirigido. The gerund dirigiendo goes with estar for actions in progress («Estoy dirigiendo»), never with haber.

Quiz

Test yourself on the forms above. Choose the correct answer, then check the key below.

1. What is the nosotros/as form of dirigirse in the present indicative?

- (a) dirijo
- (b) dirigimos
- (c) dirige
- (d) diriges

2. What is the vosotros/as form of dirigirse in the preterite?

- (a) dirigí
- (b) dirigisteis
- (c) dirigió
- (d) dirigiste

3. What is the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of dirigirse in the imperfect?

- (a) dirigían
- (b) dirigías
- (c) dirigía
- (d) dirigía

4. What is the yo form of dirigirse in the future?

- (a) dirigiré
- (b) dirigiremos
- (c) dirigirá
- (d) dirigirás

5. What is the tú form of dirigirse in the conditional?

- (a) dirigiría
- (b) dirigirías
- (c) dirigiría
- (d) dirigiríamos

6. What is the él/ella/Ud. form of dirigirse in the present perfect?

- (a) he dirigido
- (b) hemos dirigido
- (c) ha dirigido
- (d) has dirigido

7. What is the nosotros/as form of dirigirse in the present subjunctive?

- (a) dirijas
- (b) dirija
- (c) dirija
- (d) dirijamos

8. What is the vosotros/as form of dirigirse in the imperfect subjunctive (-ra forms)?

- (a) dirigiera
- (b) dirigiera
- (c) dirigierais
- (d) dirigieras

9. What is the gerund of dirigirse?

- (a) dirijo
- (b) dirigirse
- (c) dirigiendo
- (d) dirigido

10. What is the past participle of dirigirse?

- (a) dirigirse
- (b) dirigido
- (c) dirigiendo
- (d) dirigí

Answer key

1. (b) — In the present indicative, the nosotros/as form of dirigirse is dirigimos. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 2. (b) — In the preterite, the vosotros/as form of dirigirse is dirigisteis. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 3. (a) — In the imperfect, the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of dirigirse is dirigían. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 4. (a) — In the future, the yo form of dirigirse is dirigiré. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 5. (b) — In the conditional, the tú form of dirigirse is dirigirías. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 6. (c) — In the present perfect, the él/ella/Ud. form of dirigirse is ha dirigido. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 7. (d) — In the present subjunctive, the nosotros/as form of dirigirse is dirijamos. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 8. (c) — In the imperfect subjunctive (-ra forms), the vosotros/as form of dirigirse is dirigierais. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 9. (c) — The gerund of dirigirse is dirigiendo. It is used with estar for the progressive: «Estoy dirigiendo». 10. (b) — The past participle of dirigirse is dirigido. It follows haber in all the perfect tenses: «he dirigido».

Frequently asked questions

Is dirigirse regular or irregular?

Mostly yes — dirigirse takes the regular -ir endings, but the spelling of the stem changes in some forms (for example the yo preterite dirigí). The endings never change; only the stem-final letter adjusts so the pronunciation stays the same.

What are the gerund and past participle of dirigirse?

The gerund is dirigiendo and the past participle is dirigido. Use the gerund with estar for actions in progress («Estoy dirigiendo») and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses («he dirigido»).

How do I say «I head to» in Spanish?

Say «Me dirijo todos los días». That is the yo form of the present tense, the form you need for talking about yourself right now.

What is the difference between the preterite and the imperfect of dirigirse?

Use the preterite (dirigí) for a single finished event and the imperfect (dirigía) for habits and background. «Ayer yo dirigí» reports something that happened and ended; «Antes, yo dirigía» describes what used to happen.

When do I use the subjunctive with dirigirse?

Use the subjunctive after wishes, doubts, emotions and impersonal expressions — for example «Espero que tú dirijas». The trigger sits in the main clause; once it is there, the subjunctive form is required, not a stylistic choice.

What does the -se in dirigirse mean?

The -se marks dirigirse as reflexive: the action comes back to the subject. You always pair the form with its pronoun — me, te, se, nos, os, se — placed before the conjugated verb. Dropping the pronoun changes the meaning, so treat the pronoun as part of the verb.

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