Dizer Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Portuguese

dizer — to say — is one of the verbs you will use every day in Portuguese. It is a irregular -er verb, and it comes up in conversation, at work and at home. It is the verb for reporting speech and stating facts, and it is the verb you reach for whenever you quote someone or give an opinion plainly. Its forms are irregular in the present, the pretérito perfeito and the future, so do not guess them from the infinitive: digo, dizes, diz, and disse in the past. On this page you will find dizer in real sentences, grouped by meaning and tense, two short texts that show it in context, the mistakes learners actually make with it, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. Start with the examples, say them aloud, and then test yourself. The full conjugation tables are on the dizer conjugation page, and the deep dive into its most practised tense is on the dizer pretérito perfeito tense page.

Example sentences with dizer

In the present tense

  • “Eu digo a verdade todos os dias.” — “I say the truth”
  • “Tu dizes a verdade todos os dias.” — “You say the truth”
  • “Ele diz a verdade todos os dias.” — “He says the truth”
  • “Nós dizemos a verdade todos os dias.” — “We say the truth”
  • “Vós dizeis a verdade todos os dias.” — “You say the truth”
  • “Eles dizem a verdade todos os dias.” — “They say the truth”

In the pretérito perfeito

  • “Eu disse a verdade ontem.” — “I said the truth”
  • “Tu disseste a verdade ontem.” — “You said the truth”
  • “Ele disse a verdade ontem.” — “He said the truth”
  • “Nós dissemos a verdade ontem.” — “We said the truth”
  • “Vós dissestes a verdade ontem.” — “You said the truth”
  • “Eles disseram a verdade ontem.” — “They said the truth”

In other tenses

The same verb in the pretérito imperfeito, the futuro do presente, the futuro do pretérito, the presente do subjuntivo and the imperative — the tenses that complete the picture. All forms come from the verified tables.

  • “Eu dizia a verdade antigamente.” — “I used to say the truth”
  • “Tu dirás a verdade amanhã.” — “You will say the truth”
  • “Ele diria a verdade um dia.” — “He would say the truth”
  • “É importante que nós digamos a verdade.” — “It is important that we say the truth”
  • “Diz a verdade!” — “Say the truth!”

How dizer is used

The first thing to know about dizer is its core meaning: to say. It is the verb for reporting speech and stating facts, and it is the verb you reach for whenever you quote someone or give an opinion plainly. Its forms are irregular in the present, the pretérito perfeito and the future, so do not guess them from the infinitive: digo, dizes, diz, and disse in the past. In everyday speech it appears most often in the present and the pretérito perfeito, the two tenses on this page, because most of what we say is either what we do every day or what we have just done. Learn those two tenses first and the rest of the conjugation becomes a matter of adding forms one at a time. The second thing to know is the company dizer keeps. The present eu form is digo, and it pairs naturally with the time words todos os dias and sempre for habits, and with agora for what is happening right now. The pretérito perfeito composto eu form is tenho dito, and it pairs with ontem and esta semana for finished actions. When you learn a verb form, learn its time words with it, and choosing the tense becomes automatic. The third thing to know is what dizer does not do. It never appears as a bare infinitive after a subject pronoun — after eu you need digo, never dizer. It never takes the wrong auxiliary in the perfect tenses: the pretérito perfeito composto is tenho dito, built with ter, and the other auxiliary does not belong here. And its participle dito is given in the masculine singular form in the tables, with agreement depending on the sentence, not on the verb table.

Dizer in context

Eu digo a verdade todos os dias. Tu dizes a verdade todos os dias. Ele diz a verdade todos os dias. Nós dizemos a verdade todos os dias. That is a normal part of the routine, and that is why the present of dizer is the first form worth learning. Each sentence uses a different person, so read them aloud and notice how the form changes — digo, dizes, diz, dizemos — while the meaning stays the same: to say. Eu disse a verdade ontem. Tu disseste a verdade ontem. Ele disse a verdade ontem. Nós dissemos a verdade ontem. That was a normal day, but it is exactly on days like this that the pretérito perfeito of dizer appears constantly: a finished action, a precise moment, and the story goes on. Compare these sentences with the present ones above: the verb changes tense, but the basic meaning — to say — does not change. That is the difference between a habit and a finished event.

Common mistakes

1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Eu dizer a verdade.”

✓ Right: “Eu digo a verdade todos os dias.”

The infinitive dizer never takes a subject. After eu you need the conjugated present form digo.

2. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Eu dizes a verdade.”

✓ Right: “Eu digo a verdade todos os dias.”

dizes is the tu form, not the eu form. The eu form is digo — check the person before you write the form.

3. Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Eu digo a verdade ontem.”

✓ Right: “Eu disse a verdade ontem.”

Ontem points to the past, so use the pretérito perfeito disse here, not the present digo.

4. Mixing up the auxiliary

✗ Wrong: “Eu sou dito a verdade.”

✓ Right: “Eu tenho dito a verdade esta semana.”

dizer takes ter in the pretérito perfeito composto. The eu form is tenho dito — the other auxiliary never belongs with this verb.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on dizer across the tenses. Answers with explanations follow each question.

  1. What is the tu form of dizer in the Present indicative (presente)?

    • A) digo
    • B) dizes
    • C) diz
    • D) dizemos

  2. What is the eu form of dizer in the Pretérito perfeito composto?

    • A) tens dito
    • B) tem dito
    • C) tenho dito
    • D) temos dito

  3. What is the ele/ela form of dizer in the Pretérito imperfeito?

    • A) dizias
    • B) dizíamos
    • C) dizíeis
    • D) dizia

  4. What is the nós form of dizer in the Futuro do presente?

    • A) diremos
    • B) direi
    • C) dirás
    • D) dirá

  5. What is the tu form of dizer in the Futuro do pretérito?

    • A) diria
    • B) dirias
    • C) diríamos
    • D) diríeis

  6. What is the eu form of dizer in the Pretérito mais-que-perfeito simples?

    • A) disseras
    • B) disséramos
    • C) dissera
    • D) disséreis

  7. What is the nós form of dizer in the Presente do subjuntivo?

    • A) diga
    • B) digas
    • C) digais
    • D) digamos

  8. What is the gerund of dizer?

    • A) dizendo
    • B) dito
    • C) dizer
    • D) digo

  9. What is the past participle of dizer?

    • A) dizendo
    • B) dito
    • C) dizer
    • D) digo

  10. What does dizer mean in English?

  • A) to be
  • B) to have
  • C) to say
  • D) —

Answer key

  1. B) dizes — the correct form is dizes. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) tenho dito — the correct form is tenho dito. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) dizia — the correct form is dizia. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) diremos — the correct form is diremos. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) dirias — the correct form is dirias. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) dissera — the correct form is dissera. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) digamos — the correct form is digamos. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) dizendo — the correct form is dizendo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. B) dito — the correct form is dito. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  10. C) to say — the correct form is to say. The other options are other forms of the same verb.

Frequently asked questions

What does dizer mean in English?

dizer means “to say”. You use it whenever you talk about to say in Portuguese, in the present, the past and the future.

Is dizer regular or irregular?

dizer is irregular. dizer is irregular in presente, pretérito perfeito, pretérito mais-que-perfeito simples, futuro do presente, futuro do pretérito, presente do subjuntivo, pretérito imperfeito do subjuntivo, futuro do subjuntivo, imperativo afirmativo, imperativo negativo, particípio, pretérito perfeito composto, pretérito mais-que-perfeito composto, futuro do presente composto, futuro do pretérito composto, presente do subjuntivo composto, pretérito imperfeito do subjuntivo composto, futuro do subjuntivo composto — learn those forms as a set.

What are the gerund and past participle of dizer?

The gerund is dizendo and the past participle is dito. The perfect tenses use ter + dito.

Where can I see the full conjugation of dizer?

On the dizer conjugation page — every tense, every person, with tables. The dizer pretérito perfeito tense page goes deeper into its most practised tense.

Pronunciation

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

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