Communication verbs are how you describe speech acts — who said what, who asked what, who told whom. Spanish has a rich set of these verbs, each with a specific shape: some take direct objects, others indirect objects, and many trigger the subjunctive when the message is a command or wish. Getting the patterns right is essential for reported speech and everyday storytelling.
decir: tell a fact
Decir is the most common communication verb. Its basic meaning is "to say" or "to tell (something to someone)." It typically takes both a direct object (what is said) and an indirect object (to whom).
Notice the indirect object pronoun le or me — it's almost always there, even when the person is also named. This doubling is standard in Spanish (le dije... a mi madre).
Decir que + indicativo reports a fact. Decir que + subjuntivo reports a command.
Me dijo que venía mañana. (fact)
He told me he was coming tomorrow.
Me dijo que viniera mañana. (command)
He told me to come tomorrow.
The difference is huge: the first is reporting information; the second is reporting an order. See Subjunctive after verbs of influence for the pattern.
hablar: speak, talk
Hablar is usually intransitive — it doesn't take a direct object. You hablar a someone (address them) or hablar de something (talk about it).
Mi hermana habla tres idiomas.
My sister speaks three languages.
Hablamos de política toda la noche.
We talked about politics all night.
Le hablé a tu papá en la oficina.
I spoke with your dad at the office.
Hablar con someone is also common and means "to talk with" (suggesting a conversation rather than a one-way address).
¿Con quién hablabas?
Who were you talking to?
contar: tell (a story)
Contar means "to tell" in the sense of narrating — a story, a joke, an experience. It also means "to count" numerically, but the communication use is what concerns us here.
Mi abuelo nos contaba historias de la guerra.
My grandfather used to tell us war stories.
Cuéntame qué pasó anoche.
Tell me what happened last night.
Like decir, contar takes an indirect object (the person hearing the story) and a direct object (the story itself).
Le conté el secreto a mi mejor amiga.
I told my best friend the secret.
The difference between decir and contar: decir is reporting a fact or statement; contar is relating a narrative. Dime qué hora es (tell me what time it is) vs cuéntame qué pasó (tell me what happened).
preguntar vs pedir: ask a question vs ask for
Both preguntar and pedir translate as "ask," but they mean very different things.
Preguntar = to ask a question (requesting information).
Le pregunté dónde estaba la biblioteca.
I asked him where the library was.
Me preguntó si quería café.
He asked me if I wanted coffee.
Pedir = to ask for something (requesting an object or action).
Le pedí un favor a mi jefe.
I asked my boss for a favor.
Pidieron pizza para la cena.
They ordered pizza for dinner.
Confusing these is a classic learner mistake. Preguntar algo = ask a question about something. Pedir algo = request that something.
Correcto: Le pedí ayuda.
Correct: I asked him for help.
Error: Le pregunté ayuda. ❌
Wrong: Le pregunté ayuda.
responder vs contestar: answer
Both mean "to answer" and are interchangeable in most contexts. Contestar is slightly more common in everyday Latin American speech; responder is more common in formal writing.
No contestaron el teléfono.
They didn't answer the phone.
Respondí a la pregunta con honestidad.
I answered the question honestly.
Note that responder a takes a preposition, while contestar does not:
Respondió a mi carta de inmediato.
She replied to my letter right away.
Contestó mi carta de inmediato.
She answered my letter right away.
Both are grammatical; neither sounds more natural than the other in Latin American Spanish.
explicar: explain
Explicar takes an indirect object (the person being explained to) and a direct object (the thing being explained).
El profesor nos explicó la tarea.
The teacher explained the homework to us.
Le expliqué la situación y lo entendió.
I explained the situation to him and he understood.
A frequent mistake is omitting the indirect object pronoun. Spanish tends to double it even when the person is explicitly named: le expliqué... a Juan, not just expliqué... a Juan.
gritar, susurrar, murmurar: manner verbs
Spanish has a rich set of verbs that describe how something is said.
¡No grites, te oigo perfectamente!
Don't shout, I can hear you perfectly!
Me susurró algo al oído.
She whispered something in my ear.
Murmuró una disculpa y se fue.
He mumbled an apology and left.
These verbs can all be followed by que + clause just like decir:
Me gritó que me callara.
He shouted at me to shut up.
Notice: que me callara is subjunctive because the shouting is a command, not a fact.
decir que + indicativo / subjuntivo
Let's come back to this key pattern, because it's where most learner errors happen. Decir que + indicativo reports a factual statement. Decir que + subjuntivo reports a command or wish.
Dice que estudia todos los días. (fact)
He says he studies every day.
Dice que estudies todos los días. (command)
He's telling you to study every day.
The same verb (decir), the same structure (que + clause), but indicative vs subjunctive produces opposite meanings: one is reporting and the other is commanding.
Reporting verb patterns table
| Verb | Basic meaning | Typical pattern |
|---|---|---|
| decir | say, tell | decirle a alguien que + ind/subj |
| contar | tell (a story) | contarle a alguien algo |
| hablar | speak, talk | hablar con/a alguien de algo |
| preguntar | ask (a question) | preguntarle a alguien algo / si |
| pedir | ask for, request | pedirle a alguien algo / que + subj |
| responder / contestar | answer | responderle a alguien |
| explicar | explain | explicarle algo a alguien |
| avisar | let know, warn | avisarle a alguien |
Reported speech
When you report what someone said, tenses typically shift back (just like in English).
Directo: 'Voy al cine.' — Indirecto: Dijo que iba al cine.
Direct: 'I'm going to the movies.' — Indirect: He said he was going to the movies.
Directo: 'Voy a ir mañana.' — Indirecto: Dijo que iba a ir al día siguiente.
Direct: 'I'll go tomorrow.' — Indirect: He said he would go the next day.
Notice that mañana becomes al día siguiente — time markers also shift in reported speech to match the new reference point.
Common error: infinitive instead of subjunctive
A very common mistake is using an infinitive where Spanish requires a subjunctive.
Correcto: Él me dijo que viniera temprano.
Correct: He told me to come early.
Error: Él me dijo venir temprano. ❌
Wrong: Él me dijo venir temprano.
English uses told me to come. Spanish needs me dijo que + subjunctive. The only communication verbs that take a bare infinitive directly are causative ones like mandar and hacer — see Causative Constructions.
Another common error: forgetting a before indirect objects
Correcto: Le dije a mi profesora que no podía ir.
Correct: I told my teacher I couldn't go.
Error: Le dije mi profesora que no podía ir. ❌
Wrong: Le dije mi profesora que no podía ir.
Indirect objects in Spanish always need a before the noun phrase, even when you've already used the pronoun le.
Communication verbs are the machinery of reported speech and narrative. Master their patterns — which take direct objects, which take indirect, which take que + subjunctive, which take infinitives — and you unlock a large chunk of storytelling in Spanish.
Related Topics
- Verbs of Thought (Creer, Pensar, Saber, Conocer, Entender)B1 — Spanish verbs of thinking and knowing, and the fine lines between them
- Subjunctive Triggers OverviewB1 — An overview of the WEIRDO categories that introduce the subjunctive in Spanish dependent clauses.
- Causative Constructions (Hacer, Dejar, Mandar + Infinitivo)B2 — How to say 'make someone do something' or 'let someone do something' in Spanish