Comunicar Conjugation in Spanish
The Spanish verb comunicar means to communicate, and it is a verb you will use again and again once you know it. Comunicar means to communicate, and it is used for communicating news to the family, a change of plans by email, ideas in a meeting and a result to students. It is a spelling-change verb: the c becomes qu before e. Like every Spanish verb, comunicar changes its ending for each person and tense, and this page gives you the complete picture: every tense, every person, the gerund and the past participle, all from the verified conjugation tables. For example, in the present tense you say comunico la noticia a la familia, and in the preterite you say comuniqué sus ideas en la reunión. Work through the tables below, read the notes for each tense, and then test yourself with the examples, the common mistakes and the quiz at the end of the page.
Quick facts
- Infinitive: comunicar
- English: to communicate
- Verb type: irregular verb
- Ending: -ar
- Gerund: comunicando
- Past participle: comunicado
- Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + comunicado)
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for comunicar, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one. Spelling change: c becomes qu before e, so the preterite is comuniqué and the subjunctive is comunique.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from the verified conjugation tables for comunicar. The imperfect subjunctive is shown in its -ra forms; the -se forms use the same stem. For reflexive verbs, the pronoun column shows the reflexive pronoun that goes before each form.
Present indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | comunico |
| tú | comunicas |
| él/ella/Ud. | comunica |
| nosotros/as | comunicamos |
| vosotros/as | comunicáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | comunican |
Preterite
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | comuniqué |
| tú | comunicaste |
| él/ella/Ud. | comunicó |
| nosotros/as | comunicamos |
| vosotros/as | comunicasteis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | comunicaron |
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | comunicaba |
| tú | comunicabas |
| él/ella/Ud. | comunicaba |
| nosotros/as | comunicábamos |
| vosotros/as | comunicabais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | comunicaban |
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | comunicaré |
| tú | comunicarás |
| él/ella/Ud. | comunicará |
| nosotros/as | comunicaremos |
| vosotros/as | comunicaréis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | comunicarán |
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | comunicaría |
| tú | comunicarías |
| él/ella/Ud. | comunicaría |
| nosotros/as | comunicaríamos |
| vosotros/as | comunicaríais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | comunicarían |
Present perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | he comunicado |
| tú | has comunicado |
| él/ella/Ud. | ha comunicado |
| nosotros/as | hemos comunicado |
| vosotros/as | habéis comunicado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | han comunicado |
Pluperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | había comunicado |
| tú | habías comunicado |
| él/ella/Ud. | había comunicado |
| nosotros/as | habíamos comunicado |
| vosotros/as | habíais comunicado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habían comunicado |
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habré comunicado |
| tú | habrás comunicado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habrá comunicado |
| nosotros/as | habremos comunicado |
| vosotros/as | habréis comunicado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrán comunicado |
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habría comunicado |
| tú | habrías comunicado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habría comunicado |
| nosotros/as | habríamos comunicado |
| vosotros/as | habríais comunicado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrían comunicado |
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | comunique |
| tú | comuniques |
| él/ella/Ud. | comunique |
| nosotros/as | comuniquemos |
| vosotros/as | comuniquéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | comuniquen |
Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | comunicara |
| tú | comunicaras |
| él/ella/Ud. | comunicara |
| nosotros/as | comunicáramos |
| vosotros/as | comunicarais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | comunicaran |
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | comunica |
| él/ella/Ud. | comunique |
| nosotros/as | comuniquemos |
| vosotros/as | comunicad |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | comuniquen |
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | comuniques |
| él/ella/Ud. | comunique |
| nosotros/as | comuniquemos |
| vosotros/as | comuniquéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | comuniquen |
Gerund and past participle
| Form | Spanish | Use |
|---|---|---|
| Gerund | comunicando | with estar for the progressive: estoy comunicando |
| Past participle | comunicado | with haber for the perfect tenses: he comunicado |
How to use each tense
Present indicative
Use the present for routines, general facts and what is happening right now. Note the spelling change here: c becomes qu before e, so the forms keep the same sound as the infinitive. For comunicar, the present looks like this in a real sentence: Comunico la noticia a la familia. Learn the present forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Preterite
Use the preterite for finished actions with a clear end, often with ayer, el año pasado or anoche. Note the spelling change in the first person: c becomes qu before e, so the preterite first person is comuniqué. For comunicar, the preterite looks like this in a real sentence: Ayer, comuniqué el cambio de planes por correo. Learn the preterite forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Imperfect
Use the imperfect for background, habits and actions in progress in the past, often with de niño, antes or mientras. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For comunicar, the imperfect looks like this in a real sentence: De niño, comunicaba sus ideas en la reunión. Learn the imperfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Future
Use the future for plans, predictions and promises, often with mañana, el año que viene or pronto. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For comunicar, the future looks like this in a real sentence: Mañana, comunicaré el resultado a los alumnos. Learn the future forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Conditional
Use the conditional for polite requests, hypotheticals and what would happen, often with si clauses. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For comunicar, the conditional looks like this in a real sentence: Comunicaría la noticia a la familia si pudiera. Learn the conditional forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Present perfect
Use the present perfect for recent actions and experiences, often with hoy, esta semana or ya. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For comunicar, the present perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Hoy, he comunicado el cambio de planes por correo. Learn the present perfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Pluperfect
Use the pluperfect when one past action happened before another past action. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For comunicar, the pluperfect looks like this in a real sentence: Había comunicado sus ideas en la reunión antes de salir. Learn the pluperfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Future perfect
Use the future perfect for something that will already be finished by a future time. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For comunicar, the future perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Para mañana, habré comunicado el resultado a los alumnos. Learn the future perfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Conditional perfect
Use the conditional perfect for what would have happened under different conditions. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For comunicar, the conditional perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Habría comunicado la noticia a la familia con más tiempo. Learn the conditional perfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Present subjunctive
Use the present subjunctive after expressions of wish, doubt, emotion and hope, such as espero que or quiero que. Note the spelling change here: c becomes qu before e, so the forms keep the same sound as the infinitive. For comunicar, the present subjunctive looks like this in a real sentence: Espero que él comunique el cambio de planes por correo. Learn the present subjunctive forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)
Use the imperfect subjunctive after past wishes and in si clauses about the past, and note the -ra forms shown here; the -se forms use the same stem. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For comunicar, the imperfect subjunctive looks like this in a real sentence: Si él comunicara sus ideas en la reunión, todo cambiaría. Learn the imperfect subjunctive forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Imperative (affirmative)
Use the affirmative imperative for direct commands, instructions and invitations. Note the spelling change here: c becomes qu before e, so the forms keep the same sound as the infinitive. For comunicar, the affirmative imperative looks like this in a real sentence: ¡Comunica el resultado a los alumnos! Learn the affirmative imperative forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Imperative (negative)
Use the negative imperative, always with no, to tell someone not to do something. Note the spelling change here: c becomes qu before e, so the forms keep the same sound as the infinitive. For comunicar, the negative imperative looks like this in a real sentence: No comuniques la noticia a la familia. Learn the negative imperative forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with comunicar, covering different tenses and persons. Each one uses a form from the tables above.
- Comunico la noticia a la familia. — I communicate the news to the family.
- Comunica el cambio de planes por correo. — He/she communicates the change of plans by email.
- Ayer, comuniqué sus ideas en la reunión. — Yesterday, I communicated his ideas at the meeting.
- Antes, nosotros comunicábamos el resultado a los alumnos. — Before, we used to communicate the result to the students.
- Mañana, tú comunicarás la noticia a la familia. — Tomorrow, you will communicate the news to the family.
- Yo comunicaría el cambio de planes por correo si tuviera más tiempo. — I would communicate the change of plans by email if I had more time.
- Él ha comunicado sus ideas en la reunión. — He has communicated his ideas at the meeting.
- Espero que él comunique el resultado a los alumnos. — I hope he communicates the result to the students.
- Yo ya había comunicado la noticia a la familia antes de salir. — I had already communicated the news to the family before leaving.
- Ellos comunicaban el cambio de planes por correo cuando eran jóvenes. — They used to communicate the change of plans by email when they were young.
Common mistakes
- Wrong: Yo comunica la noticia a la familia. — Right: Yo comunico la noticia a la familia. — The person matters: comunica is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is comunico. Using the third-person form with yo is one of the most common beginner errors.
- Wrong: Yo comunicé el cambio de planes por correo. — Right: Yo comuniqué el cambio de planes por correo. — In the preterite, the correct first-person form is comuniqué, not comunicé. comunicar is a spelling-change verb: c becomes qu before e, so the written form changes to keep the same sound. The regular-looking form is wrong.
- Wrong: Treating comunicar and informar as identical in every context. — Right: Comunicar means to communicate, while informar means to inform, the formal partner. — They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: comunicar fits sentences such as Comunico la noticia a la familia, while informar belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
- Wrong: Yo soy comunicado el cambio de planes por correo. — Right: Yo he comunicado el cambio de planes por correo. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he comunicado, has comunicado, ha comunicado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
- Wrong: De niño, yo comuniqué sus ideas en la reunión todos los días. — Right: De niño, yo comunicaba sus ideas en la reunión todos los días. — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (comunicaba), not the preterite. The preterite (comuniqué) is for one finished action.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on comunicar. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
Complete the sentence: Yo ___ la noticia a la familia. (present tense) A. comunico B. comunicas C. comunica D. comunicamos
Complete the sentence: Ayer, él ___ el cambio de planes por correo. (preterite) A. comuniqué B. comunicaste C. comunicaron D. comunicó
Complete the sentence: Antes, nosotros ___ sus ideas en la reunión. (imperfect) A. comunicabas B. comunicaban C. comunicábamos D. comunicaba
Complete the sentence: Mañana, tú ___ el resultado a los alumnos. (future) A. comunicaremos B. comunicarás C. comunicaré D. comunicará
Complete the sentence: Yo ___ la noticia a la familia si pudiera. (conditional) A. comunicaría B. comunicarías C. comunicarían D. comunico
Complete the sentence: Espero que él ___ el cambio de planes por correo. (present subjunctive) A. comuniques B. comuniquemos C. comunico D. comunique
Complete the sentence: Si yo ___ sus ideas en la reunión, todo cambiaría. (imperfect subjunctive, -ra form) A. comunicáramos B. comunico C. comunicara D. comunicaras
Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ el resultado a los alumnos. (present perfect) A. han comunicado B. hemos comunicado C. he comunicado D. has comunicado
Complete the command: ¡___ la noticia a la familia! (affirmative imperative, tú) A. comunica B. comunique C. comuniquemos D. comunicad
Which is the gerund of comunicar, used with estar for the progressive? A. comunicado B. comunico C. comuniqué D. comunicando
Answer key
- comunico — The first-person present of comunicar is comunico. The other options are the tú, él/ella and nosotros forms.
- comunicó — The third-person preterite of comunicar is comunicó, the form for a single finished action in the past.
- comunicábamos — The nosotros imperfect of comunicar is comunicábamos, used here for a repeated past habit.
- comunicarás — The second-person future of comunicar is comunicarás.
- comunicaría — The first-person conditional of comunicar is comunicaría, the form for what would happen.
- comunique — After espero que, the subjunctive is required: the third-person present subjunctive of comunicar is comunique.
- comunicara — The first-person imperfect subjunctive (-ra) of comunicar is comunicara.
- hemos comunicado — The nosotros present perfect of comunicar is hemos comunicado: hemos + comunicado.
- comunica — The affirmative tú imperative of comunicar is comunica.
- comunicando — The gerund of comunicar is comunicando: estoy comunicando. The participle comunicado is used with haber instead.
Frequently asked questions
What does comunicar mean in English?
Comunicar means to communicate. It is used in everyday situations such as Comunico la noticia a la familia. The exact English wording depends on the context, but the core meaning stays the same across the tenses.
Is comunicar regular or irregular?
Comunicar is a fully regular -ar verb, so every tense follows the standard endings for its class. Once you know the regular pattern, you can produce every form on this page, including comunico in the present and comuniqué in the preterite.
What is the difference between comunicar and informar?
Comunicar means to communicate, while informar means to inform, the formal partner. They are easy to confuse because they appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable: use comunicar when you mean to communicate, as in Comunico la noticia a la familia, and use informar for to inform, the formal partner. When in doubt, check the object of the sentence — it usually shows which verb fits.
How do I say “I communicate” in the past?
It depends on the kind of past. For one finished action, use the preterite: yo comuniqué el cambio de planes por correo. For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: yo comunicaba sus ideas en la reunión. For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: yo he comunicado el cambio de planes por correo.
How do I practise comunicar?
Start with the present tense table, then drill the preterite and the imperfect, since those two past tenses cause the most mistakes. Try the comunicar examples and quiz page for more sentences, and use the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure.
Related links
- Comunicar in the present tense — the full present-tense table for comunicar.
- Comunicar examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice for comunicar.
- Spanish verbs — the Spanish hub, with every verb and tense guide.
- Criticar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with comunicar.
- Marcar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with comunicar.
- Atacar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with comunicar.
- Spanish Verb Conjugator — conjugate any Spanish verb in every tense.
- Spanish Verb Quiz — test yourself on real conjugated forms.