Chapter 1 What's Your Name?

Learning Objectives:

Ask a person's name directly or indirectly.
Identify the singular and plural personal pronouns in Spanish.
Pronounce the letter LL in words.
Say the vowels in Spanish.
State the differences between the formal and familiar pronoun "you".

Listen to these Vokis having a short conversation. To play the Voki, put your mouse in the middle of the image and click the play button.

Hola! Me llamo Gloria. ¿Cómo te llamas (tú)? Hello. My name is Gloria. What's your name?

Me llamo Juan My name is Juan.

Grammar and wording note: Meaning and use of “Yo me llamo"

This phrase "Yo me llamo" means "I am called". Many times, Spanish speakers will drop the pronoun "Yo" and simply start with the verb phrase -- Me llamo.

We use this phrase when meeting somebody and telling them our first name or nickname.

Questions:

Here are two ways to ask someone their preferred name. One is the familiar form (to use with people your own age) and the other is more formal (for people who are older or in authority).

Familiar form

¿Cómo te llamas (tú?) - What are you called? (What’s your name?)

¿Cómo? How? / Te llamas – are called / Tú - you (familiar)

Formal form

¿Cómo se llama usted? / Usted - you (formal) / Se llama - are called

Listen to these Spanish speakers talk about their names:

*You’ll notice one of the last speakers uses “Mi nombre es” instead of “Me llamo.” You will learn about this later in this chapter.

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