Llamarse Examples, Sentences & Quiz

Introduction

llamarse means to be called, and it is one of those verbs that shows up everywhere once you start listening for it. It is a regular -ar verb, reflexive verb, and this page puts it to work: real example sentences in several tenses, grouped by use, two short passages that show the verb in context, the mistakes learners make with it, a ten-question quiz and answers to common questions. If you only learn one sentence, make it «Me llamo todos los días» — I be called every day. The rest of this page builds out from there, tense by tense, so you can use llamarse the way native speakers do — in the present for habits, in the past for finished events, and in the subjunctive after wishes and doubts.

Llamarse in real example sentences

In the present: everyday use

The present is where llamarse lives most of the time — routines, facts and what is happening now:

  1. Me llamo todos los días. — I be called every day.
  2. Te llamas en el trabajo. — You be called at work.
  3. Se llama con mi familia. — He bes called with my family.
  4. Nos llamamos por la mañana. — We be called in the morning.

Talking about the past

In the past, choose the preterite for a finished event and the imperfect for a habit or background:

  1. Ayer me llamé por la tarde. — Yesterday I bed called in the afternoon.
  2. Antes, me llamaba todos los días. — In the past, I used to be called every day.
  3. La semana pasada se llamó dos veces. — Last week He bed called twice.

Plans and things already done

The future, the conditional and the present perfect round out the picture — plans, hypotheticals and recent events:

  1. Mañana me llamaré sin falta. — Tomorrow I will be called without fail.
  2. Si tuviera más tiempo, me llamaría ahora mismo. — If I had more time, I would be called right now.
  3. Hoy me he llamado dos veces. — Today I have bed called twice.

More everyday uses

The subjunctive, the imperative and the progressive cover wishes, commands and actions in progress:

  1. Espero que te llames pronto. — I hope You be called soon.
  2. ¡No te llames! — Don't be called!
  3. Ahora mismo me estoy llamando. — Right now I am bing called.

Llamarse in context

A short dialogue

Ana: «Me llamo en el trabajo.» — I be called at work. Luis: «¡Qué bien! Me llamo con mi familia.» — I be called with my family. Ana: «Mañana me llamaré sin falta.» — Tomorrow I will be called without fail. Luis: «Si tuviera más tiempo, me llamaría ahora mismo.» — If I had more time, I would be called right now. Ana: «Hoy me he llamado dos veces.» — Today I have bed called twice.

A short paragraph

Ayer me llamé por la tarde. Antes, me llamaba todos los días. Hoy me he llamado dos veces. Mañana me llamaré sin falta.

Yesterday I bed called in the afternoon. In the past, I used to be called every day. Today I have bed called twice. Tomorrow I will be called without fail.

Common mistakes with llamarse

1. Forgetting the reflexive pronoun

Wrong: yo llamo todos los días.

Right: me llamo todos los días.

llamarse is reflexive: the pronoun me belongs before every conjugated form. Without it, you are using the non-reflexive verb, which means something different — doing the action to someone else instead of to yourself.

2. Using the imperfect for a finished event

Wrong: Ayer me llamaba.

Right: Ayer me llamé.

Yesterday's finished action needs the preterite, llamé. The imperfect llamaba describes what used to happen or what was going on, not a single completed event.

3. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger

Wrong: Espero que te llamas.

Right: Espero que te llames.

After espero que, Spanish requires the subjunctive: llames, not the indicative llamas. Wishes, hopes and doubts all trigger this change.

4. Using the affirmative imperative after no

Wrong: No te llama.

Right: No te llames.

Negative commands use the subjunctive-based forms: no llames. The affirmative llama can never follow no.

5. Confusing the gerund with the past participle

Wrong: He llamando.

Right: He llamado.

The perfect tenses use haber plus the past participle: he llamado. The gerund llamando goes with estar for actions in progress («Estoy llamando»), never with haber.

Quiz: llamarse in use

Test yourself on llamarse in use. Choose the correct answer, then check the key below.

1. What is the nosotros/as form of llamarse in the present indicative?

- (a) llama
- (b) llamamos
- (c) llamo
- (d) llamas

2. What is the vosotros/as form of llamarse in the preterite?

- (a) llamé
- (b) llamasteis
- (c) llamaste
- (d) llamó

3. What is the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of llamarse in the future?

- (a) llamarás
- (b) llamarán
- (c) llamará
- (d) llamaré

4. What is the yo form of llamarse in the present perfect?

- (a) hemos llamado
- (b) he llamado
- (c) ha llamado
- (d) has llamado

5. What is the nosotros/as form of llamarse in the imperfect?

- (a) llamaba
- (b) llamaba
- (c) llamábamos
- (d) llamabas

6. What is the gerund of llamarse?

- (a) llamando
- (b) llamo
- (c) llamarse
- (d) llamado

7. What is the past participle of llamarse?

- (a) llamé
- (b) llamarse
- (c) llamando
- (d) llamado

8. Which sentence uses llamarse correctly?

- (a) *Me llamo todos los días.* — I be called every day.
- (b) *Yo llama todos los días.*
- (c) *Yo llamas todos los días.*
- (d) *Yo llamarse todos los días.*

9. Which sentence uses llamarse correctly?

- (a) *Ayer yo llamaba por la tarde.*
- (b) *Ayer me llamé por la tarde.* — Yesterday I bed called in the afternoon.
- (c) *Ayer yo llamarse por la tarde.*
- (d) *Ayer yo llamo por la tarde.*

10. What does llamarse mean?

- (a) to license
- (b) to be called
- (c) to fill
- (d) to free

Answer key

1. (b) — In the present indicative, the nosotros/as form of llamarse is llamamos. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 2. (b) — In the preterite, the vosotros/as form of llamarse is llamasteis. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 3. (b) — In the future, the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of llamarse is llamarán. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 4. (b) — In the present perfect, the yo form of llamarse is he llamado. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 5. (c) — In the imperfect, the nosotros/as form of llamarse is llamábamos. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 6. (a) — The gerund of llamarse is llamando. It is used with estar for the progressive: «Estoy llamando». 7. (d) — The past participle of llamarse is llamado. It follows haber in all the perfect tenses: «he llamado». 8. (a) — Only this sentence pairs the right person with the right form of llamarse; the others mix a person with another person's form, or use the infinitive instead of a conjugated form. 9. (b) — Only this sentence pairs the right person with the right form of llamarse; the others mix a person with another person's form, or use the infinitive instead of a conjugated form. 10. (b) — llamarse means «to be called».

Frequently asked questions

How do you say 'I be called' in Spanish?

Say «Me llamo todos los días». That is the present-tense yo form, and it is the sentence you will use most with this verb.

How do you say 'I bed called' about yesterday?

Say «Ayer me llamé por la tarde». The preterite is the tense for a finished event: yesterday, last week, last night.

Is llamarse reflexive?

Yes — llamarse is reflexive, so every conjugated form takes its pronoun: me llamo, te llamas, se llama. The pronoun always comes before the verb, except in affirmative commands, where it attaches to the end.

Which tense do learners find hardest with llamarse?

Most learners struggle with choosing between the preterite and the imperfect, not with the forms themselves. Use the preterite (llamé) for a single finished event and the imperfect (llamaba) for habits and background. After that, the subjunctive is the next step.

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