Learn Hardcore Spanish (Spain): Quiero contar algo interesante a mi familia. - I want to tell something interesting to my family.

contar = to tell / narrate / relate something (often a story, anecdote, news)
- contar una historia, contar un chiste, contar algo interesante
decir = to say / state something
- decir la verdad, decir algo, decir que…

In Quiero contar algo interesante a mi familia, the speaker is probably thinking of telling some kind of story or piece of news, so contar is more natural.

You could say Quiero decir algo interesante a mi familia, but that sounds more like “I want to say (utter) something interesting to my family,” not so much like sharing an anecdote or bit of news.

Can I say Yo quiero contar algo interesante a mi familia, or is yo wrong?

You can say Yo quiero contar…; it’s grammatically correct.

In Spanish, the subject pronoun (yo, tú, él, etc.) is usually left out, because the verb ending already shows who the subject is.
- Quiero contar… = I want to tell…
You normally add yo only when you want emphasis or contrast:
- Yo quiero contar algo interesante (not someone else).

So:

Neutral / most common: Quiero contar algo interesante a mi familia.
Emphatic: Yo quiero contar algo interesante a mi familia.

Can I change the word order of a mi familia? For example, is Quiero contar a mi familia algo interesante correct?

Yes, Spanish word order is flexible, and several versions are correct, with slightly different emphasis:

Quiero contar algo interesante a mi familia.
- Neutral, very natural.
Quiero contar a mi familia algo interesante.
- Also correct; sounds fine, just a different ordering.
A mi familia quiero contar algo interesante.
- Also correct, but more emphatic: “To my family I want to tell something interesting (as opposed to someone else).”
- This kind of fronting is often used in spoken Spanish for emphasis.

What you normally don’t do is split the verb and its infinitive with the indirect object, like:

✗ Quiero a mi familia contar algo interesante.
This is possible in very literary or poetic contexts, but it sounds unnatural in everyday speech.

Why do we use a before mi familia? Why not just Quiero contar algo interesante mi familia?

There are two overlapping reasons for a mi familia:

Grammar with this verb pattern
- With contar, the pattern is contar algo a alguien:
  - contar algo a mi familia
  - contar una historia a mis amigos
- That a marks the indirect object (the receiver of the information).
People (or person-like groups) require a
- For people and personified groups, Spanish normally uses a in front of the object:
  - a mi familia, a mis amigos, a tu profesor
- You can’t say contar algo interesante mi familia; a is obligatory here.

So: Quiero contar algo interesante a mi familia is the standard structure.

Do I need an indirect object pronoun, like le or les, in addition to a mi familia?

You can add an indirect object pronoun, and it is very common and natural:

Quiero contarle algo interesante a mi familia.

Here:

le = indirect object pronoun
a mi familia = a clarifying phrase that tells us who “le” is.

Is it required?

In this exact sentence, it’s optional.
Quiero contar algo interesante a mi familia is grammatically correct.

In practice:

If the indirect object (like a mi familia) comes before the verb, the pronoun is almost always used:
- A mi familia le quiero contar algo interesante.
If it comes after the verb, like in your sentence, the pronoun is very common but not strictly obligatory.

About le vs les with mi familia:

mi familia is grammatically singular, so the standard pronoun is le:
- Quiero contarle algo interesante a mi familia.
Many speakers also say les (treating “family” as “them”), and this is widespread, but le is what traditional grammar recommends. In Spain, you will hear both.

Why is it mi familia and not mis familia?

Because familia is grammatically singular in Spanish:

la familia (singular)
las familias (plural)

Even though “family” refers to several people, it’s treated as one unit grammatically. So the possessive must also be singular:

mi familia = my family
mis familias would mean “my families” (several different families), which is unusual unless you really mean multiple families.

Could I say a la familia instead of a mi familia?

Yes, but the meaning changes slightly:

a mi familia = to my family (specifically yours)
a la familia = to the family (more generic, or a particular family known from context)

Examples:

Quiero contar algo interesante a mi familia.
I want to tell something interesting to my family.
Quiero contar algo interesante a la familia.
Could be:
- the same as “my family,” if it’s clear from context that you’re talking about yours
- or “the family” in some other sense (e.g., a mafia-type “the family,” a host family, etc.).

In everyday use, if you literally mean your own relatives, a mi familia is the clearest and most natural.

Why is it algo interesante and not interesante algo?

The normal pattern in Spanish is:

algo + adjective
- algo interesante, algo nuevo, algo raro

You can’t put the adjective before algo in everyday Spanish:

✗ interesante algo – incorrect.

So you say:

Quiero contar algo interesante a mi familia.
Hay algo importante que decir.

You can add intensifiers in between:

algo muy interesante, algo bastante raro.

Does interesante have to agree in gender and number with algo?

Algo is an invariable pronoun (it doesn’t show gender or plural), but adjectives after algo are normally in masculine singular form:

algo bueno, algo importante, algo raro.

In your sentence:

interesante is invariable in gender (same form for masculine and feminine), so you don’t see a change.
If you used a clearly gendered adjective, you’d choose masculine singular:
- algo bonito (not algo bonita).

So yes, there is agreement, but it shows as masculine singular, and with interesante you don’t see any visible gender change.

Can Quiero contar… mean “I’m going to tell…” or only “I want to tell…”?

The verb querer literally expresses want / desire:

Quiero contar algo interesante a mi familia.
= I want to tell something interesting to my family.

To clearly express a future plan in Spanish, you usually use:

Voy a contar algo interesante a mi familia.
= I’m going to tell…
Les voy a contar algo interesante a mi familia. / Voy a contarle algo interesante a mi familia.

That said, in conversation, Quiero + infinitive can sometimes imply an intention that you may soon carry out, similar to “I’d like to…” or “I’m planning to…”, depending on tone and context. But its core meaning is still “I want to…”, not “I’m definitely going to…”.

If I am speaking directly to my family in Spain, could I say Quiero contaros algo interesante?

Yes, that’s very natural in Spain:

Quiero contaros algo interesante.
- os = indirect object pronoun “to you (plural)” (vosotros).

This is what you’d say to a group you’re addressing as vosotros (typical in most of Spain):

Chicos, quiero contaros algo interesante.
“Guys, I want to tell you something interesting.”

In Latin America, where vosotros is not used, people would normally say:

Quiero contarles algo interesante.
(les = “to you all” / “to them”).

How do I pronounce Quiero contar algo interesante a mi familia in Spain Spanish?

Rough guide in English-like sounds (Castilian Spanish):

Quiero → “KYE-ro”
- qu = /k/
- ie = a single sound, like “ye” in “yes” but longer: “kye”
- r = tapped once, like a very quick American “d” in “ladder”.
contar → “kon-TAR”
- Stress on -tar.
- Final r is also a tap, not rolled.
algo → “AL-go”
- Clear l, g like in “go”, stress on AL.
interesante → “in-te-re-SAN-te”
- Stress on san: in-te-re-SAN-te.
- All vowels are clear and short.
a mi familia → “a mee fa-MI-lya”
- mi: like “mee”.
- familia: fa-MI-lya (the li
  - a gives something like “lya”).

In Spain, c and z before e/i are often pronounced like English “th,” but there is none of that in this sentence, so this is basically the same in Spain and Latin America.