Spanish verbs fall into different groups, and each group is conjugated a little differently. If you’re going to master Spanish verbs like llamarse, you need to be able to identify which group a verb belongs to: regular (follows regular conjugation rules for -ar, -er, and -ir verbs), stem-changing (morphs depending on how you use it in a sentence), spelling-changing (has consonant-spelling changes in some forms to follow pronunciation rules), or reflexive (reflects the action back on the subject of the sentence).
Llamarse (yah-mahr-seh) (to call oneself) is a regular reflexive -ar verb; remember that reflexive verbs require reflexive pronouns. Here’s the present tense conjugation:
| Conjugation | Translation |
|---|---|
| yo me llamo | I call myself |
| tú te llamas | You (informal) call yourself |
| él/ella/ello/uno se llama | He/she/one calls him-/her-/oneself |
| usted se llama | You (formal) call yourself |
| nosotros nos llamamos | We call ourselves |
| vosotros os llamáis | You all (informal) call yourselves |
| ellos/ellas se llaman | They call themselves |
| ustedes se llaman | You all (formal) call yourselves |
Though llamar can also mean “to phone,” its reflexive form means “to call oneself” in the sense of stating one’s name. The following examples show you llamarse in action:
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Me llamo Fred. (I call myself Fred. [My name is Fred.])
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Se llama Antonio. (His name is Antonio.)
Need to know how to conjugate llamarse in another tense? The following tables show you the preterit, imperfect, and future forms.
| Conjugation | Translation |
|---|---|
| yo me llamé | I called myself |
| tú te llamaste | You (informal) called yourself |
| él/ella/ello/uno se llamó | He/she/one called him-/her-/oneself |
| usted se llamó | You (formal) called yourself |
| nosotros nos llamamos | We called ourselves |
| vosotros os llamasteis | You all (informal) called yourselves |
| ellos/ellas se llamaron | They called themselves |
| ustedes se llamaron | You all (formal) called yourselves |
You use the preterite tense like this:
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¿Te llamaron de la oficina? (Did they call you from the office?)
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Sí. Me llamaron para darme los boletos. (Yes. They call me to give the tickets.)
| Conjugation | Translation |
|---|---|
| yo me llamaba | I used to call myself |
| tú te llamabas | You (informal) used to call yourself |
| él/ella/ello/uno se llamaba | He/she/one used to call him-/her-/oneself |
| usted se llamaba | You (formal) used to call yourself |
| nosotros nos llamábamos | We used to call ourselves |
| vosotros os llamabais | You all (informal) used to call yourselves |
| ellos/ellas se llamaban | They used to call themselves |
| ustedes se llamaban | You all (formal) used to call yourselves |
Here are some examples of the imperfect tense:
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¿Se llamaban ustedes por teléfono? (Did you used to call each other by phone?)
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Si. Nos llamábamos por teléfono. (Yes. We used to call each other by phone.)
| Conjugation | Translation |
|---|---|
| yo me llamaré | I will call myself |
| tú te llamarás | You (informal) will call yourself |
| él/ella/ello/uno se llamará | He/she/one will call him-/her-/oneself |
| usted se llamará | You (formal) will call yourself |
| nosotros nos llamaremos | We will call ourselves |
| vosotros os llamaréis | You all (informal) will call yourselves |
| ellos/ellas se llamarán | They will call themselves |
| ustedes se llamarán | You all (formal) will call yourselves |
The following samples put the future tense to work:
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¿Me llamarás esta noche? (Will you call me tonight?)
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No. Rosa te llamará mañana. (No. Rosa will call you tomorrow.)