Spanish infinitives and -se
English
Spanish
Spanish verbs in the infinitive normally end in one of three ways:
Verbs we already know
ser
tener
Other examples
hablar (speak)
vivir (live)
Today we are going to learn our third Spanish verb:
llamarse
This verb looks a little different.
llamar
+
se
→
llamarse
What is the -se?
From yo, tú, él... to me, te, se...
The -se tells us that this verb is used with a small pronoun.
llamarse literally means
to call oneself.
Me llamo Juan.
Literally: I call myself Juan.
Natural English: My name is Juan.
Spanish can use different forms of pronouns, just like English.
English
| Subject form | Another form |
|---|
| I | me |
| he | him |
| she | her |
| we | us |
| they | them |
Spanish with llamarse
| Subject | Pronoun |
|---|
| yo | me |
| tú | te |
| él / ella / usted | se |
| nosotros / nosotras | nos |
| vosotros / vosotras | os |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | se |
Just like English has I / me or he / him,
Spanish also uses different pronoun forms in different situations.
The forms are not exactly the same as English, but the basic idea is similar.
The conjugation of LLAMARSE
With llamarse, two things change:
the pronoun and the verb.
| Subject |
Pronoun |
LLAMARSE |
| yo |
me |
me llamo |
| tú |
te |
te llamas |
| él / ella / usted |
se |
se llama |
| nosotros / nosotras |
nos |
nos llamamos |
| vosotros / vosotras |
os |
os llamáis |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes |
se |
se llaman |
Two steps:
1. Choose the pronoun: me, te, se, nos, os, se
2. Change the verb: llamo, llamas, llama, llamamos, llamáis, llaman
yo
→
me
+
llamo
→
Me llamo Juan.
Using LLAMARSE
Asking someone's name
¿Cómo te llamas?
What is your name?
Me llamo Alejandro.
My name is Alejandro.
¿Cómo se llama?
What is his / her / your name?
Se llama María.
Her name is María.
With llamarse, the small pronoun changes with the subject:
me, te, se, nos, os, se.
You will see more Spanish verbs with -se later.
The same basic idea will help you understand them.