llamé
/ʝame/from spelling rules
To say I called in Spanish, use llamé.
llamé is the past tense of to call, used for a phone call you made.
Which one should you use?
llamé is for a completed call at a specific time. llamaba describes an ongoing or habitual action in the past.
How does it change in a sentence?
llamé is the first person singular preterite of llamar. When you call a specific person, put the personal a before the name or pronoun. An object pronoun goes before the verb, so I called you is te llamé.
How do you pronounce it?
In IPA it is /ʝame/.
Did you know?
- The root of llamé comes from the Latin clamare, meaning 'to shout'. This makes it a distant relative of the English word 'exclaim'.
- The double ll in llamé is pronounced differently across the world, sounding like a 'y' in Mexico but like a 'sh' or 'j' in parts of Argentina and Uruguay.
- The verb llamar also means 'to name' or 'to call someone by a name'. If you say me llamé, it could imply that you changed your name in the past.
Examples in context
- Llamé hoy a Tom.I called Tom today.Llamé is followed by the personal a before the name Tom.Tatoeba #2844397 by marcelostockle, translation #2261924 by CK
- Yo llamé a casa.I called home.Here Yo is added for emphasis on who called.Tatoeba #4589036 by Francisco_M, translation #2245633 by CK
- Por eso te llamé.That's why I called you.te comes right before llamé to say I called you.Tatoeba #3519654 by teskmon, translation #3519315 by CK
- Llamé para solicitar una reunión.I called to request a meeting.
- He llamado para confirmar la reserva del hotel.I have called to confirm the hotel reservation.
- Señor/a, llamé para solicitar información sobre el puesto laboral anunciado.Sir/Ma'am, I called to request information about the advertised job position.
- Señor/a, le comento que he llamado en varias oportunidades, pero no logro contactarlo.Sir/Ma'am, I wanted to inform you that I have called several times, but I couldn't reach you.
- Llamé a Carlos para invitarlo a la fiesta.I called Carlos to invite him to the party.
- ¡ Llamé a tu hermana y me dijo que no podrá venir!I called your sister, and she said she can't come!
- Te llamé anoche, pero no contestaste.I called you last night, but you didn't answer.
- ¡ Te llamé para contarte la buena noticia!I called you to tell you the good news!
- 47 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Mateo and Elena are talking about a missed communication.
- MateoElena, te llamé varias veces.Elena, I called you several times.
- ElenaLo siento, Mateo, no escuché mi teléfono.I'm sorry, Mateo, I didn't hear my phone.
- MateoNo te preocupes, solo quería avisarte.Don't worry, I just wanted to let you know.
- ElenaGracias por avisarme ahora.Thanks for letting me know now.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
