Eu disse parabéns.

I

Breakdown of Eu disse parabéns.

• dizer: to say
• parabéns: congratulations

Questions & Answers about Eu disse parabéns.

What verb is disse, and why doesn’t it look like dizer?

Disse is the preterite form of dizer (to say / to tell) for eu and also ele/ela/você.

• dizer = infinitive
• eu disse = I said
• ele disse = he said

It looks different because dizer is irregular in the past. This is very common in Portuguese.

A few useful forms:

• eu digo = I say
• eu disse = I said
• eu diria = I would say

Why is eu there? Can Portuguese drop it?

Yes. Portuguese often allows you to omit the subject pronoun because the verb ending already shows who the subject is.

So both are possible:

• Eu disse parabéns.
• Disse parabéns.

Including eu can make the subject clearer or more emphatic, especially if you are contrasting yourself with someone else:

• Ela não disse nada, mas eu disse parabéns.
  She didn’t say anything, but I said congratulations.

Is Eu disse parabéns natural, or would Brazilians say something else?