Nombrar Examples, Sentences and Quiz in Spanish

nombrar means to name, and it is a verb you will meet in everyday Spanish again and again. Nombrar means to name or to appoint, and it covers naming a person, appointing someone to a post and naming streets or things. It is a fully regular -ar verb, and the double meaning — to give a name and to appoint — is its main learning point. This page puts nombrar to work: twelve example sentences in different tenses and persons, grouped by use, then two short dialogues where the verb appears naturally, then the common mistakes to avoid, and finally a ten-question quiz with explained answers. Every Spanish form on this page comes from the verified conjugation tables for nombrar, and the full tables are on the nombrar conjugation page if you need to check a form.

Example sentences

Everyday uses

  1. Yo nombro a su hijo mayor director. — I name her eldest son as director.
  2. Él nombra el nuevo ministro el lunes. — He/she names the new minister on Monday.
  3. Ayer, yo nombré las calles de la ciudad. — Yesterday, I named the streets of the city.
  4. Antes, nosotros nombrábamos a su sucesor antes de irse. — Before, we used to name his successor before leaving.

In other tenses

  1. Mañana, tú nombrarás a su hijo mayor director. — Tomorrow, you will name her eldest son as director.
  2. Yo nombraría el nuevo ministro el lunes. — I would name the new minister on Monday.
  3. Él ha nombrado las calles de la ciudad. — He/she has named the streets of the city.
  4. Espero que él nombre a su sucesor antes de irse. — I hope he/she names his successor before leaving.

With other people

  1. Nosotros nombramos a su hijo mayor director. — We name her eldest son as director.
  2. Vosotros nombráis el nuevo ministro el lunes. — You all name the new minister on Monday.
  3. Antes, ellos nombraban las calles de la ciudad. — Before, they used to name the streets of the city.
  4. Mañana, él nombrará a su sucesor antes de irse. — Tomorrow, he/she will name his successor before leaving.

Nombrar in context

Two short dialogues that use nombrar the way people really use it. Read them aloud — the verb forms will stick much faster in a conversation than in a table.

Dialogue 1: today and yesterday

  • Ana: "Hola, ¿qué tal?" — "Hello, how are you?"
  • Luis: "Hoy nombro a su hijo mayor director." — "Today I name her eldest son as director."
  • Ana: "¿Y ayer?" — "And yesterday?"
  • Luis: "Ayer, nombré las calles de la ciudad." — "Yesterday I named the streets of the city."
  • Ana: "¿Y mañana, tú nombrarás el nuevo ministro el lunes?" — "And tomorrow, will you will name the new minister on Monday?"
  • Luis: "Sí, claro. Y tú también." — "Yes, of course. And you too."

Dialogue 2: making plans

  • Marta: "Mañana, nosotros nombramos a su sucesor antes de irse." — "Tomorrow we name his successor before leaving."
  • Carlos: "Perfecto. Yo nombraría el nuevo ministro el lunes si tuviera más tiempo." — "Perfect. I would would name the new minister on Monday if I had more time."
  • Marta: "Espero que él nombre a su hijo mayor director." — "I hope he names her eldest son as director."
  • Carlos: "Seguro que sí. Él ya ha nombrado las calles de la ciudad." — "Surely. He has already has named the streets of the city."
  • Marta: "Vale, nos vemos mañana." — "OK, see you tomorrow."

Notice how the same verb changes with the tense: the present for the plan, the conditional for the wish, the subjunctive after espero que, and the present perfect for what has already happened. That is the whole point of learning a verb across its tenses, not just in one form.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo nombra a su hijo mayor director. — Right: Yo nombro a su hijo mayor director. — The person matters: nombra is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is nombro. Using the third-person form with yo is one of the most common beginner errors.
  2. Wrong: Vosotros nombrais el nuevo ministro el lunes. — Right: Vosotros nombráis el nuevo ministro el lunes. — The vosotros present form carries a written accent: nombráis, not nombrais. The accent marks the stressed vowel.
  3. Wrong: Treating nombrar and llamar as identical in every context. — Right: Nombrar means to name, while llamar means to call someone by a name. — They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: nombrar fits sentences such as Nombro a su hijo mayor director, while llamar belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy nombrado el nuevo ministro el lunes. — Right: Yo he nombrado el nuevo ministro el lunes. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he nombrado, has nombrado, ha nombrado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
  5. Wrong: De niño, yo nombré las calles de la ciudad todos los días. — Right: De niño, yo nombraba las calles de la ciudad todos los días. — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (nombraba), not the preterite. The preterite (nombré) is for one finished action.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on nombrar: four on the forms, three on the meaning, and three on spotting the correct sentence. Check the answer key below.

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ a su hijo mayor director. (present tense) A. nombro B. nombras C. nombra D. nombramos

  2. Complete the sentence: Él ___ el nuevo ministro el lunes. (preterite tense) A. nombré B. nombraste C. nombramos D. nombró

  3. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ las calles de la ciudad. (future tense) A. nombrará B. nombraremos C. nombrarás D. nombraré

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ a su sucesor antes de irse. (imperfect tense) A. nombrabais B. nombrábamos C. nombraba D. nombrabas

  5. What does "Yo nombro a su hijo mayor director." mean in English? A. I name her eldest son as director. B. I name the new minister on Monday. C. I name the streets of the city. D. I name his successor before leaving.

  6. What does "Él nombró el nuevo ministro el lunes." mean in English? A. He/she named her eldest son as director. B. He/she named the streets of the city. C. He/she named his successor before leaving. D. He/she named the new minister on Monday.

  7. What does "Nosotros nombraremos las calles de la ciudad." mean in English? A. We will name the new minister on Monday. B. We will name his successor before leaving. C. We will name the streets of the city. D. We will name her eldest son as director.

  8. Which sentence is correct? A. Yo nombran el nuevo ministro el lunes. B. Yo nombra el nuevo ministro el lunes. C. Yo nombro el nuevo ministro el lunes.

  9. Which sentence is correct? A. Él nombré las calles de la ciudad. B. Él nombró las calles de la ciudad. C. Él nombraron las calles de la ciudad.

  10. Which sentence is correct? A. Espero que yo nombre a su sucesor antes de irse. B. Yo nombren a su sucesor antes de irse. C. Yo nombre a su sucesor antes de irse.

Answer key

  1. nombro — The yo present form of nombrar is nombro.
  2. nombró — The el preterite form of nombrar is nombró.
  3. nombrarás — The tu future form of nombrar is nombrarás.
  4. nombrábamos — The nosotros imperfect form of nombrar is nombrábamos.
  5. I name her eldest son as director. — The Spanish sentence uses the present form nombro, so the English is "I name her eldest son as director." The other options use a different object or situation.
  6. He/she named the new minister on Monday. — The Spanish sentence uses the preterite form nombró, so the English is "He/she named the new minister on Monday." The other options use a different object or situation.
  7. We will name the streets of the city. — The Spanish sentence uses the future form nombraremos, so the English is "We will name the streets of the city." The other options use a different object or situation.
  8. Yo nombro el nuevo ministro el lunes. — The correct sentence is "Yo nombro el nuevo ministro el lunes." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.
  9. Él nombró las calles de la ciudad. — The correct sentence is "Él nombró las calles de la ciudad." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.
  10. Espero que yo nombre a su sucesor antes de irse. — The correct sentence is "Espero que yo nombre a su sucesor antes de irse." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.

Frequently asked questions

What does nombrar mean, and when do I use it?

Nombrar means to name. Nombrar means to name or to appoint, and it covers naming a person, appointing someone to a post and naming streets or things. It is a fully regular -ar verb, and the double meaning — to give a name and to appoint — is its main learning point. A good first sentence to remember is Yo nombro a su hijo mayor director. — "I name her eldest son as director."

What is the difference between nombrar and llamar?

Nombrar means to name, while llamar means to call someone by a name. They appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable: use nombrar when you mean to name, as in Yo nombro el nuevo ministro el lunes., and use llamar for to call someone by a name.

How do I say "I name" in the past?

For one finished action, use the preterite: Yo nombré el nuevo ministro el lunes.. For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: Yo nombraba las calles de la ciudad.. For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: Yo he nombrado el nuevo ministro el lunes..

How do I practise nombrar?

Start with the nombrar conjugation page for the full tables, then the nombrar in the present tense page for the tense in focus, and use the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure. Nombrar is fully regular: nombré, nombraba, nombraré. Nombrar a alguien director means to appoint them director.

Related links