Llamarse Conjugation in Spanish

llamarse is the Spanish verb for «to be called». As a regular -ar verb, reflexive verb it follows the -ar endings, and the tables on this page list every form so you never have to guess. You will find the present, the past tenses, the future, the conditional, the perfect tenses, the subjunctive and the imperative, each with a short note on when to use it. Start with the present tense: «Me llamo todos los días» — I be called every day. Then work down the page tense by tense, and finish with the quiz.

Quick facts

  • Infinitive: llamarse
  • English: to be called
  • Verb type: regular -ar verb, reflexive
  • Ending: -ar
  • Gerund: llamando
  • Past participle: llamado
  • Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + llamado)
  • Reflexive pronouns: me, te, se, nos, os, se — one before every conjugated form, matching the person.

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for llamarse, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

llamarse is reflexive: Me llamo todos los días; te llamas todos los días. Without the pronoun, the verb means doing the action to someone else rather than to yourself, so keep the pronoun with the form.

Full conjugation tables

Every form below comes from the verified conjugation tables for llamarse. 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.

Gerund: llamando · Past participle: llamado

Present Indicative

Person Pronoun Form
yo me llamo
tú te llamas
él/ella/Ud. se llama
nosotros/as nos llamamos
vosotros/as os llamáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se llaman

The present tense describes habits, facts and what is happening now. For llamarse, the yo form is llamo, as in the examples below. Use the present for routines («todos los días») and for general truths, and remember that Spanish often uses the present where English would use a progressive or a near future.

Preterite

Person Pronoun Form
yo me llamé
tú te llamaste
él/ella/Ud. se llamó
nosotros/as nos llamamos
vosotros/as os llamasteis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se llamaron

The preterite describes completed actions in the past — things that started and finished. «Ayer yo llamé» is the classic use. Do not confuse it with the imperfect: the preterite moves the story forward, one finished event at a time.

Imperfect

Person Pronoun Form
yo me llamaba
tú te llamabas
él/ella/Ud. se llamaba
nosotros/as nos llamábamos
vosotros/as os llamabais
ellos/ellas/Uds. se llamaban

The imperfect describes the past as background: habits, descriptions and actions in progress. «De pequeño, yo llamaba» shows the habitual use. It sets the scene while the preterite reports what happened inside it.

Future

Person Pronoun Form
yo me llamaré
tú te llamarás
él/ella/Ud. se llamará
nosotros/as nos llamaremos
vosotros/as os llamaréis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se llamarán

The future tense states what will happen. For llamarse the future is built on the infinitive: «Mañana yo llamaré». It is also used for predictions and promises, and in spoken Spanish it often alternates with ir a + infinitive.

Conditional

Person Pronoun Form
yo me llamaría
tú te llamarías
él/ella/Ud. se llamaría
nosotros/as nos llamaríamos
vosotros/as os llamaríais
ellos/ellas/Uds. se llamarían

The conditional expresses what would happen: wishes, polite requests and hypothetical results. «Si tuviera más tiempo, yo llamaría» is the typical pattern. It shares its stem with the future and changes only the endings.

Present Perfect

Person Pronoun Form
yo me he llamado
tú te has llamado
él/ella/Ud. se ha llamado
nosotros/as nos hemos llamado
vosotros/as os habéis llamado
ellos/ellas/Uds. se han llamado

The present perfect connects the past with the present: something that has happened, often today or recently. It is haber in the present plus the past participle: «Hoy yo he llamado». In Spain it is used for anything that happened today; in Latin America the preterite is often preferred.

Pluperfect

Person Pronoun Form
yo me había llamado
tú te habías llamado
él/ella/Ud. se había llamado
nosotros/as nos habíamos llamado
vosotros/as os habíais llamado
ellos/ellas/Uds. se habían llamado

The pluperfect describes an event that happened before another past event: «Cuando llegué, ya había llamado». It is haber in the imperfect plus the past participle, and it is the tense for explaining what had already happened when something else took place.

Future Perfect

Person Pronoun Form
yo me habré llamado
tú te habrás llamado
él/ella/Ud. se habrá llamado
nosotros/as nos habremos llamado
vosotros/as os habréis llamado
ellos/ellas/Uds. se habrán llamado

The future perfect looks back from a future point: by then, something will already have happened. «Para mañana, yo habré llamado» is the pattern — haber in the future plus the past participle. It is less common in speech but regular in formal writing.

Conditional Perfect

Person Pronoun Form
yo me habría llamado
tú te habrías llamado
él/ella/Ud. se habría llamado
nosotros/as nos habríamos llamado
vosotros/as os habríais llamado
ellos/ellas/Uds. se habrían llamado

The conditional perfect expresses what would have happened: «Yo habría llamado si hubiera podido». It is haber in the conditional plus the past participle, and it is the tense for regrets and missed chances.

Present Subjunctive

Person Pronoun Form
yo me llame
tú te llames
él/ella/Ud. se llame
nosotros/as nos llamemos
vosotros/as os llaméis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se llamen

The present subjunctive appears after wishes, doubts, emotions and impersonal expressions: «Espero que él llame». The trigger is in the main clause; the subjunctive is the mood of uncertainty, desire and influence. Learn the yo form first — most of the table follows from it.

Imperfect Subjunctive (-ra forms)

Person Pronoun Form
yo me llamara
tú te llamaras
él/ella/Ud. se llamara
nosotros/as nos llamáramos
vosotros/as os llamarais
ellos/ellas/Uds. se llamaran

The imperfect subjunctive is the past partner of the present subjunctive, used after past-tense triggers and in si-clauses: «Si él llamara, todo sería distinto». The table above shows the -ra forms, the ones you will hear most often. There is also a less common -se set built on the same stem.

Imperative — Affirmative

Person Pronoun Form
tú te llama
él/ella/Ud. se llame
nosotros/as nos llamemos
vosotros/as os llamad
ellos/ellas/Uds. se llamen

There is no yo form in the imperative — you cannot command yourself.

In real speech the reflexive pronoun attaches to the end of an affirmative command; the table shows the pronoun and the form separately so you can see both parts.

The affirmative imperative gives direct commands and instructions: «¡llama!». There is no yo form — you cannot command yourself. The tú form is the one you will use with friends and family, and the usted form with people you address formally.

Imperative — Negative

Person Pronoun Form
tú te llames
él/ella/Ud. se llame
nosotros/as nos llamemos
vosotros/as os llaméis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se llamen

There is no yo form in the imperative — you cannot command yourself.

In real speech the reflexive pronoun attaches to the end of an affirmative command; the table shows the pronoun and the form separately so you can see both parts.

The negative imperative tells someone not to do something: «¡No llames!». Unlike the affirmative imperative, the negative forms come from the present subjunctive, which is why they look different. Never use the affirmative form after no.

Example sentences

  1. Me llamo todos los días. — I be called every day.
  2. Ayer me llamé por la tarde. — Yesterday I bed called in the afternoon.
  3. Antes, me llamaba todos los días. — In the past, I used to be called every day.
  4. Mañana me llamaré sin falta. — Tomorrow I will be called without fail.
  5. Si tuviera más tiempo, me llamaría ahora mismo. — If I had more time, I would be called right now.
  6. Hoy me he llamado dos veces. — Today I have bed called twice.
  7. Espero que te llames pronto. — I hope You be called soon.
  8. Si me llamara, todo sería distinto. — If I bed called, everything would be different.
  9. Ahora mismo me estoy llamando. — Right now I am bing called.
  10. ¡No te llames! — Don't be called!

Common mistakes

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

Test yourself on the forms above. 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) llamas
- (d) llamo

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

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

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

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

4. What is the yo form of llamarse in the future?

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

5. What is the tú form of llamarse in the conditional?

- (a) llamaría
- (b) llamaríamos
- (c) llamarías
- (d) llamaría

6. What is the él/ella/Ud. form of llamarse in the present perfect?

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

7. What is the nosotros/as form of llamarse in the present subjunctive?

- (a) llame
- (b) llamemos
- (c) llames
- (d) llame

8. What is the vosotros/as form of llamarse in the imperfect subjunctive (-ra forms)?

- (a) llamara
- (b) llamarais
- (c) llamara
- (d) llamaras

9. What is the gerund of llamarse?

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

10. What is the past participle of llamarse?

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

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. (d) — In the preterite, the vosotros/as form of llamarse is llamasteis. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 3. (d) — In the imperfect, the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of llamarse is llamaban. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 4. (d) — In the future, the yo form of llamarse is llamaré. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 5. (c) — In the conditional, the tú form of llamarse is llamarías. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 6. (c) — In the present perfect, the él/ella/Ud. form of llamarse is ha llamado. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 7. (b) — In the present subjunctive, the nosotros/as form of llamarse is llamemos. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 8. (b) — In the imperfect subjunctive (-ra forms), the vosotros/as form of llamarse is llamarais. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 9. (b) — The gerund of llamarse is llamando. It is used with estar for the progressive: «Estoy llamando». 10. (c) — The past participle of llamarse is llamado. It follows haber in all the perfect tenses: «he llamado».

Frequently asked questions

Is llamarse regular or irregular?

Yes — llamarse is a regular -ar verb and reflexive. Learn the endings once and they work in every tense, with the stem llam unchanged throughout.

What are the gerund and past participle of llamarse?

The gerund is llamando and the past participle is llamado. Use the gerund with estar for actions in progress («Estoy llamando») and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses («he llamado»).

How do I say «I be called» in Spanish?

Say «Me llamo todos los días». That is the yo form of the present tense, the form you need for talking about yourself right now.

What is the difference between the preterite and the imperfect of llamarse?

Use the preterite (llamé) for a single finished event and the imperfect (llamaba) for habits and background. «Ayer yo llamé» reports something that happened and ended; «Antes, yo llamaba» describes what used to happen.

When do I use the subjunctive with llamarse?

Use the subjunctive after wishes, doubts, emotions and impersonal expressions — for example «Espero que tú llames». The trigger sits in the main clause; once it is there, the subjunctive form is required, not a stylistic choice.

What does the -se in llamarse mean?

The -se marks llamarse as reflexive: the action comes back to the subject. You always pair the form with its pronoun — me, te, se, nos, os, se — placed before the conjugated verb. Dropping the pronoun changes the meaning, so treat the pronoun as part of the verb.

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