diff --git a/packages/compiler-cli/test/ngc_spec.ts b/packages/compiler-cli/test/ngc_spec.ts
index f5d08dedcc..e1529e0098 100644
--- a/packages/compiler-cli/test/ngc_spec.ts
+++ b/packages/compiler-cli/test/ngc_spec.ts
@@ -2308,5 +2308,32 @@ describe('ngc transformer command-line', () => {
       let exitCode = main(['-p', path.join(basePath, 'tsconfig.json')], errorSpy);
       expect(exitCode).toEqual(0);
     });
+
+    it('should be able to use abstract directive in other compilation units', () => {
+      writeConfig();
+      write('lib1/tsconfig.json', JSON.stringify({
+        extends: '../tsconfig-base.json',
+        compilerOptions: {rootDir: '.', outDir: '../node_modules/lib1_built'},
+      }));
+      write('lib1/index.ts', `
+        import {Directive} from '@angular/core';
+        
+        @Directive()
+        export class BaseClass {}
+      `);
+      write('index.ts', `
+        import {NgModule, Directive} from '@angular/core';
+        import {BaseClass} from 'lib1_built';
+        
+        @Directive({selector: 'my-dir'})
+        export class MyDirective extends BaseClass {}
+        
+        @NgModule({declarations: [MyDirective]})
+        export class AppModule {}
+      `);
+
+      expect(main(['-p', path.join(basePath, 'lib1/tsconfig.json')], errorSpy)).toBe(0);
+      expect(main(['-p', path.join(basePath, 'tsconfig.json')], errorSpy)).toBe(0);
+    });
   });
 });
diff --git a/packages/compiler-cli/test/ngtsc/ngtsc_spec.ts b/packages/compiler-cli/test/ngtsc/ngtsc_spec.ts
index 738b965499..e5fc130ffe 100644
--- a/packages/compiler-cli/test/ngtsc/ngtsc_spec.ts
+++ b/packages/compiler-cli/test/ngtsc/ngtsc_spec.ts
@@ -1051,6 +1051,36 @@ runInEachFileSystem(os => {
         expect(errors.length).toBe(0);
       });
 
+      it('should be able to use abstract directive in other compilation units', () => {
+        env.write('tsconfig.json', JSON.stringify({
+          extends: './tsconfig-base.json',
+          angularCompilerOptions: {enableIvy: true},
+          compilerOptions: {rootDir: '.', outDir: '../node_modules/lib1_built'},
+        }));
+        env.write('index.ts', `
+          import {Directive} from '@angular/core';
+          
+          @Directive()
+          export class BaseClass {}
+        `);
+
+        expect(env.driveDiagnostics().length).toBe(0);
+
+        env.tsconfig();
+        env.write('index.ts', `
+          import {NgModule, Directive} from '@angular/core';
+          import {BaseClass} from 'lib1_built';
+          
+          @Directive({selector: 'my-dir'})
+          export class MyDirective extends BaseClass {}
+          
+          @NgModule({declarations: [MyDirective]})
+          export class AppModule {}
+        `);
+
+        expect(env.driveDiagnostics().length).toBe(0);
+      });
+
       it('should not allow directives with no selector that are in NgModules', () => {
         env.write('main.ts', `
           import {Directive, NgModule} from '@angular/core';
diff --git a/packages/compiler/src/aot/compiler.ts b/packages/compiler/src/aot/compiler.ts
index 255d2c0581..27e08eeb96 100644
--- a/packages/compiler/src/aot/compiler.ts
+++ b/packages/compiler/src/aot/compiler.ts
@@ -881,22 +881,18 @@ export function analyzeFile(
       if (symbolMeta.__symbolic === 'class') {
         if (metadataResolver.isDirective(symbol)) {
           isNgSymbol = true;
-          if (!isDeclarationFile) {
-            // This directive either has a selector or doesn't. Selector-less directives get tracked
-            // in abstractDirectives, not directives. The compiler doesn't deal with selector-less
-            // directives at all, really, other than to persist their metadata. This is done so that
-            // apps will have an easier time migrating to Ivy, which requires the selector-less
-            // annotations to be applied.
-            if (!metadataResolver.isAbstractDirective(symbol)) {
-              // The directive is an ordinary directive.
-              directives.push(symbol);
-            } else {
-              // The directive has no selector and is an "abstract" directive, so track it
-              // accordingly.
-              abstractDirectives.push(symbol);
-            }
-          } else {
+          // This directive either has a selector or doesn't. Selector-less directives get tracked
+          // in abstractDirectives, not directives. The compiler doesn't deal with selector-less
+          // directives at all, really, other than to persist their metadata. This is done so that
+          // apps will have an easier time migrating to Ivy, which requires the selector-less
+          // annotations to be applied.
+          if (!metadataResolver.isAbstractDirective(symbol)) {
+            // The directive is an ordinary directive.
             directives.push(symbol);
+          } else {
+            // The directive has no selector and is an "abstract" directive, so track it
+            // accordingly.
+            abstractDirectives.push(symbol);
           }
         } else if (metadataResolver.isPipe(symbol)) {
           isNgSymbol = true;