dire
to say, to tellIrregularਇਹ ਕਿਰਿਆ ਨਿਯਮ ਨਹੀਂ ਮੰਨਦੀ — ਹਰ ਰੂਪ ਵੱਖਰਾ ਯਾਦ ਕਰਨਾ ਪੈਂਦਾ ਹੈ।
| Person | Presentnow, habits | Passé composécompleted past | Imparfaitongoing past | Futur procheabout to | Futur simplewill |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| je | dissounds the same as another form in this tense | ai dit | disaissounds the same as another form in this tense | vais dire | diraisounds the same as another form in this tense |
| tu | dissounds the same as another form in this tense | as ditsounds the same as another form in this tense | disaissounds the same as another form in this tense | vas diresounds the same as another form in this tense | dirassounds the same as another form in this tense |
| il/elle | ditsounds the same as another form in this tense | a ditsounds the same as another form in this tense | disaitsounds the same as another form in this tense | va diresounds the same as another form in this tense | dirasounds the same as another form in this tense |
| nous | disons | avons dit | disions | allons dire | dironssounds the same as another form in this tense |
| vous | dites | avez dit | disiez | allez dire | direzsounds the same as another form in this tense |
| ils/elles | disent | ont dit | disaientsounds the same as another form in this tense | vont dire | dirontsounds the same as another form in this tense |
Now, and habits. dis covers both "I say, to tell" and "I am say, to telling" — French has no separate continuous form.
A completed past action. avoir conjugates and dit does not — ai dit.
An ongoing or habitual past. Built on the nous-present stem, so disons gives you disais.
About to happen. aller conjugates; dire never moves — the easier future to produce under pressure.
Will happen. Built on dir-, which is just the infinitive, so only the endings are new.
Three more forms worth knowing
Not among the five TEF/TCF-scored tenses above, but common past A1–A2.
Passé récentjust happened
| je | viens de dire |
|---|---|
| tu | viens de dire |
| il/elle | vient de dire |
| nous | venons de dire |
| vous | venez de dire |
| ils/elles | viennent de dire |
Impératifcommands — no je/il/ils form
| tu | dis |
|---|---|
| nous | disons |
| vous | dites |
Gérondifwhile doing — one invariant form
en disant
What this table tells you about dire
The past participle is dit, and it takes avoir in the passé composé — so it never changes shape, whoever the subject is. No agreement to remember here.
The futur simple is built on dir-, which is just the infinitive — the endings are the whole story, nothing new to learn for this tense.
In the present, je, tu and il/elle are one sound: dis, dit — indistinguishable spoken. Only nous, vous and ils/elles carry an audible ending.
The imparfait is built on the nous-present stem, so once you know disons you already know disais, disait and disaient. Futur proche keeps dire untouched.
Worth knowing about dire
Dire covers both saying something (make a statement) and telling something (communicate to someone)—French uses one verb where English distinguishes these as say versus tell.
The vous form is dites, not disez as the normal -ire verb pattern would predict. This irregular ending is characteristic of dire and its compounds like redire.
Vous dites toujours la vérité.
You always tell the truth.
ਤੁਸੀਂ ਹਮੇਸ਼ਾ ਸੱਚ ਕਹਿੰਦੇ ਹੋ।