Respondi is the regular verb for answering or responding. Unlike English “answer someone,” Esperanto normally marks the person or prompt with al: respondi al iu, respondi al demando. The content of the answer can then appear as a direct object such as nenion, a ke clause, a quotation, or a phrase describing how the answer was given.
Complete regular paradigm
| Form | Function | Typical translation |
|---|---|---|
| respondi | infinitive | to answer, to respond |
| respondas | present indicative | answers, responds |
| respondis | past indicative | answered, responded |
| respondos | future indicative | will answer, will respond |
| respondus | conditional | would answer, would respond |
| respondu | volitive | answer!, respond! |
The verb has no person or number agreement. The complement frame, not the ending, shows who or what receives the response.
Mi respondos al ŝi post la tagmanĝo.
I will answer her after lunch.
Li ne respondis al mia lasta mesaĝo.
He did not respond to my last message.
Bonvolu respondi al ĉiuj tri demandoj.
Please answer all three questions.
The default frame: respondi al
The person addressed, the question answered, and the message reacted to are normally al complements. This makes respondi a useful contrast with demandi:
| Event | Participant frame |
|---|---|
| ask a person | demandi iun |
| answer a person | respondi al iu |
| answer a question | respondi al demando |
La klientservo respondis al mi ene de unu horo.
Customer service responded to me within an hour.
Ĉu vi povus respondi al la demando sen rigardi viajn notojn?
Could you answer the question without looking at your notes?
— Kial vi ne respondis al Ana? — Mi ankoraŭ ne legis ŝian retmesaĝon.
— Why didn't you reply to Ana? — I haven't read her email yet.
English allows both “answer me” and “respond to me.” Esperanto's neutral pattern follows the second model. Pronouns after al do not take accusative: al mi, al vi, al ŝi, never al min.
Giving the content with a clause
A ke clause states the proposition supplied as an answer. The person receiving it remains in an al phrase if expressed.
Mi respondis al la kuracisto, ke la doloro komenciĝis hieraŭ.
I answered the doctor that the pain had started yesterday.
Ŝi respondis, ke ŝi bezonas ankoraŭ unu tagon por decidi.
She replied that she needed one more day to decide.
La organizantoj respondis al ni, ke ĉiuj lokoj jam estas rezervitaj.
The organizers replied to us that all places had already been booked.
The ke clause gives answer content, not a second addressee. Esperanto selects the tense according to the answer's actual time reference rather than automatically applying English-style past-tense backshift.
For a yes–no answer, jes and ne may stand alone or introduce a fuller clause.
Ŝi respondis jese, sed ŝia voĉo ne sonis certa.
She answered yes, but her voice did not sound certain.
Jese and nee are manner adverbs meaning “affirmatively” and “negatively.” Bare jes and ne are the ordinary response words. See Jes and Ne in Answers.
Quoted answers
Direct quotation preserves the speaker's exact words. Respondi can precede, follow, or interrupt the quotation.
“Mi venos post la sesa,” respondis Karim.
“I'll come after six,” Karim replied.
Lina respondis: “Ne zorgu, mi jam mendis la biletojn.”
Lina replied, “Don't worry, I've already ordered the tickets.”
“Eble,” ŝi respondis, “sed ni unue kontrolu la buĝeton.”
“Maybe,” she replied, “but let's check the budget first.”
No ke is inserted before a direct quotation. Use either respondis, ke... for integrated reported content or punctuation plus the speaker's exact words.
A direct object can name the answer content
Although the addressee normally uses al, respondi can take a direct object that represents the answer supplied: respondi ion, nenion, jenon.
Al via demando mi povas respondi nur jenon: ni ankoraŭ ne decidis.
To your question I can answer only this: we have not decided yet.
Li nenion respondis, kiam oni demandis pri la mankanta mono.
He answered nothing when asked about the missing money.
Here al via demando names the prompt and jenon/nenion names the answer content. They are not rival markings for the same participant.
Established usage also allows the question, letter, or similar communication itself as a direct object: respondi demandon, respondi leteron. This transitive pattern treats the item as a task completed by answering it.
Mi devas respondi tri retmesaĝojn antaŭ la kunveno.
I need to answer three emails before the meeting.
Tian demandon oni ne povas respondi per unu vorto.
Such a question cannot be answered in one word.
Both respondi al la demando and respondi la demandon are accepted. The al frame foregrounds the response relation; the direct object more readily presents the question as an item dealt with. For people, keep the clear default respondi al iu.
Manner and medium
Adverbs express tone or manner: respondi ĝentile, mallonge, sincere, eviteme. Per can name the means, medium, or form of the answer.
Ŝi respondis tre trankvile, kvankam la demando ĝenis ŝin.
She answered very calmly although the question bothered her.
Bonvolu respondi per retpoŝto, ne per telefono.
Please reply by email, not by phone.
Li respondis al la kritiko per detala raporto.
He responded to the criticism with a detailed report.
These phrases add manner or instrument without replacing the al relation. Respondi per unu vorto means answer using one word; the word itself is not necessarily the addressee or stimulus.
Respondi al can also mean correspond or conform
Outside conversational answering, respondi al io can mean “correspond to,” “match,” or “meet” a description, requirement, or need. The al complement remains, but no spoken reply is involved.
La propono respondas al ĉiuj teknikaj postuloj.
The proposal meets all the technical requirements.
La realaj kostoj ne respondis al niaj antaŭaj taksoj.
The actual costs did not match our earlier estimates.
This established neutral sense is best learned as another use of the same respondi al frame: the subject stands in the corresponding relation to the standard named after al.
Participles
The transitive uses of respondi license all six participles, though active forms are often more natural when an al complement is central.
| Active | Meaning | Passive | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| respondanta | answering now | respondata | being answered |
| respondinta | having answered | respondita | having been answered |
| respondonta | about to answer | respondota | about to be answered |
La jam responditaj demandoj aperas en la dokumento.
The questions already answered appear in the document.
Respondinte al ĉiuj mesaĝoj, ŝi fermis la komputilon.
Having replied to all the messages, she shut down the computer.
In the second example, active respondinte keeps the prepositional frame al ĉiuj mesaĝoj. Passive respondita corresponds to the accepted transitive use respondi demandon.
Word family and lexicalized extensions
Respondo is an answer or response; respondanto is a respondent, especially in surveys or interviews; respondema means inclined or quick to respond. Respondilo can denote a response device or answering system, though technical contexts often prefer a more specific term.
Nur duono de la respondantoj kompletigis la tutan enketon.
Only half of the respondents completed the entire survey.
Respondeci pri means “be responsible for.” It belongs historically and morphologically to the respond- family, but its modern complement and meaning must be learned as a lexical unit. It does not mean merely “answer about.”
La redaktoro respondecas pri la fina versio de la raporto.
The editor is responsible for the final version of the report.
Korespondi kun means correspond or exchange letters/messages with someone. Despite its visual resemblance, its Fundamental root is korespond-; it is not a freely built ko- + respondi compound. Do not infer its frame from simple respondi al.
Register, norm, and frequency
Respond- is Fundamental and neutral in every register. The al frame is foundational and remains the safest international default for people, questions, and messages. Content clauses, quotations, and direct objects such as nenion are equally standard.
Direct-object respondi demandon/leteron is accepted and well attested, not an error or recent calque. The pedagogical recommendation is to preserve al with personal addressees and to use the transitive construction when an answerable item is being treated as completed work. Respondeci is frequent but semantically lexicalized.
Common Mistakes
Copying English “answer me” directly
❌ Kial vi ne respondas min?
Incorrect in the neutral person frame — the addressee uses al.
✅ Kial vi ne respondas al mi?
Why aren't you answering me?
Adding accusative after al
❌ Mi respondos al ŝin poste.
Incorrect — a pronoun governed by al has no accusative ending.
✅ Mi respondos al ŝi poste.
I will answer her later.
Inserting ke before a direct quotation
❌ Li respondis, ke “Mi ne scias.”
Incorrectly mixes an integrated ke clause with direct quotation.
✅ Li respondis: “Mi ne scias.”
He answered, “I don't know.”
Treating the answer content as the addressee
❌ Mi respondis al nenio.
Incorrect for ‘I answered nothing’ — al nenio would mean there was no stimulus addressed.
✅ Mi respondis nenion.
I answered nothing.
Extending respondi al mechanically to respondeci
❌ Ŝi respondecas al la buĝeto.
Incorrect for responsibility — respondeci selects pri for the area of responsibility.
✅ Ŝi respondecas pri la buĝeto.
She is responsible for the budget.
Key Takeaways
- Use respondi al for the person, question, message, or stimulus receiving a response.
- State content with ke, a quotation, or a direct object such as jenon or nenion.
- Direct-object respondi demandon/leteron is an accepted alternative for an answerable item.
- Manner uses adverbs; means and medium commonly use per.
- Learn related frames separately: respondi al, respondeci pri, korespondi kun.
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Start learning Esperanto →Related Topics
- Demandi: To AskB2 — Use demandi with the person asked as a direct object and express question content through pri, embedded questions, or quotation.
- AlA2 — Use al for movement toward a goal, recipients, orientation, and abstract targets without adding an unnecessary accusative ending.
- Ke-ClausesA2 — How finite clauses introduced by ke function as statements, subjects, objects, complements, and content descriptions.
- Jes and Ne in AnswersA2 — Use jes and ne as complete response words, answer positive and negative questions clearly, and distinguish response jes from emphatic ja.
- Verb-Preposition FramesB1 — Learn which Esperanto verbs take direct objects and which select al, pri, de, kun, or je—and how the frame changes meaning.
- The Six Participles: A System MapB1 — Map Esperanto's six participles by voice and relative time, then use them as adjectives, adverbs, nouns, and compound verb forms.