llamarse & other reflexive verbs simplified



A reflexive verb is one that relates to oneself. The first one we usually learn is ‘llamarse’. Reflexive verbs are formed by adding ‘se’ to the end – which indicates that the action relates to oneself.
Llamar = to call (for example on the phone)
eg. Llamo a Juan = I call Juan
Llamarse = to call oneself
eg. Me llamo Juan = I call myself Juan

In use the ‘se’ moves to the front of the verb, and changes to indicate who is performing the action
Yo me myself
Tú te yourself (informal)
Él se himself
Ella se herself
Usted se yourself (formal)
Nosotros nos ourselves
Vosotros os yourselves (informal)
Ellos/Ellas se themselves
Ustedes se yourselves (formal)



So for llamarse

(Yo) me llamo I call myself
(Tú) te llamas you call yourself (informal)
(Él) se llama he calls himself
(Ella) se llama she calls herself
(Usted) se llama you call yourself (formal)
(Nosotros) nos llamamos we call ourselves
(Vosotros) os llamáis you call yourselves (informal)
(Ellos/Ellas) se llaman they call themselves
(Ustedes) se llaman you call yourselves (formal)

¿Cómo te llamas? = What do you call yourself? (we would probably say ‘what’s your name?’, although that isn’t the precise translation.)
Me llamo Carlos. = I call myself Carlos (or I’m called Carlos/my name’s Carlos – again not precise translations)

The ‘me; te; se; nos; os;’ remains the same for all reflexive verbs.
So: ‘lavar’ = to wash
Lavo los platos = I wash the plates
Lavas los platos = you wash the plates
Lavarse = to wash oneself
Me lavo = I wash myself
Te lavas = you wash yourself