Lamer Examples, Sentences and Quiz
Lamer means “to lick”, and it is one of the verbs you will use every day in Spanish. Lamer means to lick, and it is used for a dog licking your hand, licking an ice cream and licking your lips. It is fully regular, though the gerund lamiendo shows the usual -er spelling with i. This page shows lamer in real sentences, in short dialogues, and in the mistakes learners make most often, and it finishes with a ten-question quiz so you can test yourself. Every sentence below comes with its English translation, and every form is the correct present-tense form unless the sentence is clearly marked as past or future. For a first taste: “Yo lamo el helado en verano.” — I lick the ice cream in summer.
Lamer in real example sentences
The twelve sentences below are grouped by how lamer is used. Read each one out loud, then read the translation. If a sentence feels useful, copy it into your own notebook with one small change — a different time, a different person, a different place — and you have a new sentence of your own.
In the present: everyday use
These sentences use lamer in the present tense, which is how you will meet it most often: routines, facts, and things happening now.
“Lamo el helado en verano.” — I lick the ice cream in summer.
“¿Tú lames los labios después de comer?” — Do you lick my lips after eating?
“Lame la cuchara del postre.” — He/she licks the dessert spoon.
“Lamemos la mano de su dueño.” — We lick his owner's hand.
Talking about the past
The present is not the only tense you need. These sentences show lamer in the past, so you can talk about what already happened.
“Ayer, yo lamí el helado en verano.” — Yesterday, I licked the ice cream in summer. (preterite)
“Él lamía los labios después de comer todos los días.” — He used to lick my lips after eating every day. (imperfect)
Plans and things already done
These sentences look forward, or look back at something already finished. Notice how the verb form changes while the meaning of lamer stays the same.
“Nosotros lameremos la cuchara del postre mañana.” — We will lick the dessert spoon tomorrow. (future)
“¿Tú has lamido la mano de su dueño?” — Have you licked his owner's hand? (present perfect)
More everyday uses
Four more present-tense sentences, covering the remaining persons, so you can see the whole table in action.
“Laméis el helado en verano.” — You lick the ice cream in summer.
“Lamen los labios después de comer.” — They lick my lips after eating.
“Lamo la cuchara del postre.” — I lick the dessert spoon.
“Lame la mano de su dueño.” — He/she licks his owner's hand.
Lamer in context
Single sentences teach you the forms. Dialogues teach you when to use them. Read the short conversation below, then the paragraph that follows, and notice how lamer appears naturally, without anyone stopping to think about conjugation.
A short dialogue
Lucía: “¿Tú lames el helado en verano?” — Do you lick the ice cream in summer?
Carlos: “Sí, yo lamo el helado en verano.” — Yes, I lick the ice cream in summer.
Lucía: “Nosotros lamemos los labios después de comer.” — We lick my lips after eating.
Carlos: “Y ellos lamen la cuchara del postre.” — And they lick the dessert spoon.
Lucía: “Vosotros laméis la mano de su dueño.” — You lick his owner's hand.
Carlos: “Sí, y él lame los labios después de comer.” — Yes, and he licks my lips after eating.
A short paragraph
Lucía lame el helado en verano, y Carlos lame los labios después de comer. Nosotros lamemos la cuchara del postre, y ellos lamen la mano de su dueño. Yo lamo la cuchara del postre, y mi padre lame la mano de su dueño. Lamer is part of everyday life, because to lick is something Spanish speakers do again and again, in every tense and every situation.
Common mistakes with lamer
These are the errors learners actually make with lamer. Each one shows the wrong version, the right version, and why the correction matters.
Wrong: “Yo lame el helado en verano.” Right: “Yo lamo el helado en verano.” Why: The person matters: lame is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is lamo. Using the third-person form with yo is one of the most common beginner errors.
Wrong: “Ayer yo lamo los labios después de comer.” Right: “Ayer yo lamí los labios después de comer.” Why: The present and the preterite are different tenses: lamo is happening now, while lamí is a finished action in the past. Use the preterite with ayer.
Wrong: “Treating lamer and chupar as identical in every context.” Right: “Lamer means to lick, while chupar means to suck.” Why: They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: lamer fits sentences such as Lamo el helado en verano, while chupar belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
Wrong: “Yo soy lamido los labios después de comer.” Right: “Yo he lamido los labios después de comer.” Why: Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he lamido, has lamido, ha lamido. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
Wrong: “De niño, yo lamí la cuchara del postre todos los días.” Right: “De niño, yo lamía la cuchara del postre todos los días.” Why: For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (lamía), not the preterite. The preterite (lamí) is for one finished action.
Quiz: lamer in use
Ten questions on lamer in real sentences. Choose the correct answer for each one, then check the answer key. Every answer is explained.
1. Complete the sentence: “Vosotros ______ el helado en verano.” (The ice cream in summer.)
- (a) laméis
- (b) lamo
- (c) lames
Answer: laméis — The vosotros/as form of lamer in the present is laméis.
2. Complete the sentence: “Ellos ______ los labios después de comer.” (My lips after eating.)
- (a) lamo
- (b) lames
- (c) lamen
Answer: lamen — The ellos/ellas/Uds. form of lamer in the present is lamen.
3. Complete the sentence: “Yo ______ el helado en verano.” (The ice cream in summer.)
- (a) lamió
- (b) lamí
- (c) lamiste
Answer: lamí — The yo form of lamer in the preterite is lamí.
4. Complete the sentence: “Él ______ los labios después de comer.” (My lips after eating.)
- (a) lamía
- (b) lamías
- (c) lamíamos
Answer: lamía — The él/ella/Ud. form of lamer in the imperfect is lamía.
5. Complete the sentence: “Nosotros ______ la cuchara del postre.” (The dessert spoon.)
- (a) lameré
- (b) lamerás
- (c) lameremos
Answer: lameremos — The nosotros/as form of lamer in the future is lameremos.
6. What does lamer mean in English?
- (a) to contain
- (b) to lick
- (c) to suck
Answer: to lick — Lamer means “to lick”. The other options are the meanings of different verbs.
7. Which sentence is correct?
- (a) Yo lamo el helado en verano.
- (b) Ellos lame el helado en verano.
- (c) Yo lamo los labios después de comer ayer.
Answer: Yo lamo el helado en verano. — “Yo lamo el helado en verano.” is correct. The other two sentences contain the mistakes explained in the section above.
8. How do you say “I lick the ice cream in summer.” in Spanish?
- (a) Yo lamen el helado en verano.
- (b) Yo lamí el helado en verano.
- (c) Yo lamo el helado en verano.
Answer: Yo lamo el helado en verano. — “Yo lamo el helado en verano.” is the correct translation. The second option uses the wrong person's form, and the third uses the preterite.
9. What is the nosotros form of lamer in the present tense?
- (a) lames
- (b) lamemos
- (c) lamo
Answer: lamemos — The nosotros form is lamemos.
10. Which of these sentences is in the present tense?
- (a) Ayer, yo lamí el helado en verano.
- (b) Nosotros lameremos el helado en verano mañana.
- (c) Yo lamo el helado en verano.
Answer: Yo lamo el helado en verano. — “Yo lamo el helado en verano.” is in the present tense. The other two are in the preterite and the future.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say 'I lick' in Spanish?
Say 'Yo lamo el helado en verano'. The complement follows directly, as in the examples above. For a routine, add a time expression: 'Yo lamo el helado en verano todos los días'.
How do you say 'I lick' in the past?
For one finished action, say 'Ayer, yo lamí los labios después de comer'. For a repeated habit, say 'Yo lamía los labios después de comer todos los días'. For something already done, say 'Yo he lamido los labios después de comer'.
What is the difference between lamer and chupar?
Lamer means to lick, while chupar means to suck. They are easy to confuse because they appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable: use lamer when you mean to lick, as in Lamo el helado en verano.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of lamer — every tense of lamer in one place.
- Lamer in the present tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Spanish verbs — the hub for every Spanish verb on VerbFlow.
- Verb quiz — test yourself on lamer and other verbs.
- Conjugation practice — drill the forms of lamer until they are automatic.