Introducing Yourself

Spanish Basic Conversation 1

Chapter 2 · Introducing Yourself

🙋 Introducing Yourself — Presentarse

In this chapter you will learn to say who you are, ask someone's name, say you are pleased to meet them and introduce a friend. You will also meet the most important verb in Spanish, ser ("to be"), and learn why Spanish speakers usually leave out the word for "I". Every Spanish line has an English respelling beneath it, with CAPITALS on the stressed syllable.

① Meeting for the First Time (formal) — Mucho gusto

A: Buenos días. Me llamo Carmen Ruiz López. BWEH-nohs DEE-ahs. meh YAH-moh kar-MEHN RWEETH LOH-pehth. Good morning. My name is Carmen Ruiz López.

B: Mucho gusto. Yo soy Javier García. MOO-choh GOOS-toh. yoh SOY khah-BYEHR gar-THEE-ah. Pleased to meet you. I'm Javier García.

A: Encantada, señor García. ehn-kahn-TAH-dah, seh-NYOR gar-THEE-ah. Delighted, Mr García. (a woman speaking)

B: Igualmente, señora Ruiz. ee-gwahl-MEHN-teh, seh-NYOH-rah RWEETH. Likewise, Mrs Ruiz.

② Meeting a Peer (informal) — ¿Cómo te llamas?

A: Hola, ¿cómo te llamas? OH-lah, KOH-moh teh YAH-mahs? Hi, what's your name?

B: Me llamo Lucía. ¿Y tú? meh YAH-moh loo-THEE-ah. ee TOO? My name is Lucía. And you?

A: Yo soy Pablo. Encantado. yoh SOY PAH-bloh. ehn-kahn-TAH-doh. I'm Pablo. Delighted. (a man speaking)

B: Encantada. ehn-kahn-TAH-dah. Delighted. (a woman speaking)

③ At the Hotel Desk — ¿Cuál es su apellido?

A: Buenas tardes. ¿Cómo se llama usted? BWEH-nahs TAR-dehs. KOH-moh seh YAH-mah oos-TEHD? Good afternoon. What is your name? (formal)

B: Me llamo Philip. meh YAH-moh FEE-leep. My name is Philip.

A: ¿Y cuál es su apellido? ee KWAHL ehs soo ah-peh-YEE-doh? And what is your surname?

B: Mi apellido es Scott. Gracias. mee ah-peh-YEE-doh ehs eh-SKOT. GRAH-thyahs. My surname is Scott. Thank you.

④ Introducing a Friend — Te presento a…

A: Ana, te presento a Pablo. AH-nah, teh preh-SEHN-toh ah PAH-bloh. Ana, let me introduce you to Pablo.

B: Hola, Pablo. Mucho gusto. OH-lah, PAH-bloh. MOO-choh GOOS-toh. Hello, Pablo. Pleased to meet you.

C: Igualmente, Ana. ¿Qué tal? ee-gwahl-MEHN-teh, AH-nah. keh TAHL? Likewise, Ana. How's it going?

B: Bien, gracias. BYEHN, GRAH-thyahs. Fine, thanks.

⑤ Are You…? — ¿Es usted…?

A: Perdone, ¿es usted el señor Ruiz? pehr-DOH-neh, ehs oos-TEHD ehl seh-NYOR RWEETH? Excuse me, are you Mr Ruiz?

B: No, no soy el señor Ruiz. Soy el señor García. NOH, noh SOY ehl seh-NYOR RWEETH. SOY ehl seh-NYOR gar-THEE-ah. No, I'm not Mr Ruiz. I'm Mr García.

A: Ah, lo siento mucho. AH, loh SYEHN-toh MOO-choh. Ah, I'm very sorry.

B: No pasa nada. El señor Ruiz es él. noh PAH-sah NAH-dah. ehl seh-NYOR RWEETH ehs EHL. It's no problem. Mr Ruiz is him.

⑥ A Group of Friends (casual) — ¿Cómo os llamáis?

A: ¡Hola! Yo soy Pablo y ella es Lucía. OH-lah! yoh SOY PAH-bloh ee EH-yah ehs loo-THEE-ah. Hi! I'm Pablo and she is Lucía.

B: Hola. ¿Cómo os llamáis vosotros? OH-lah. KOH-moh ohs yah-MAHYS boh-SOH-trohs? Hi. What are your names? (to two or more people)

C: Nosotros somos Ana y Javier. noh-SOH-trohs SOH-mohs AH-nah ee khah-BYEHR. We are Ana and Javier.

A: Mucho gusto, chicos. MOO-choh GOOS-toh, CHEE-kohs. Nice to meet you, guys.

🗝️ Key Phrases — Frases clave

Situation	Formal (usted)	Informal (tú)
What's your name?	¿Cómo se llama usted? KOH-moh seh YAH-mah oos-TEHD	¿Cómo te llamas? KOH-moh teh YAH-mahs
My name is…	Me llamo… / Soy… meh YAH-moh / SOY	Me llamo… / Soy… meh YAH-moh / SOY
What's your surname?	¿Cuál es su apellido? KWAHL ehs soo ah-peh-YEE-doh	¿Cuál es tu apellido? KWAHL ehs too ah-peh-YEE-doh
Pleased to meet you	Mucho gusto. / Encantado / Encantada. MOO-choh GOOS-toh / ehn-kahn-TAH-doh / ehn-kahn-TAH-dah	Encantado / Encantada. / Mucho gusto. ehn-kahn-TAH-doh / ehn-kahn-TAH-dah / MOO-choh GOOS-toh
Likewise	Igualmente. ee-gwahl-MEHN-teh	Igualmente. / Lo mismo. ee-gwahl-MEHN-teh / loh MEES-moh
Let me introduce you to…	Le presento a… leh preh-SEHN-toh ah	Te presento a… teh preh-SEHN-toh ah
Are you…?	¿Es usted…? ehs oos-TEHD	¿Eres…? EH-rehs

Encantado or Encantada? Encantado ("delighted") is an adjective that agrees with the person speaking: a man says encantado, a woman says encantada. Mucho gusto does not change: it works for everyone. Plural: encantados / encantadas.

🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Names in Spain — Los apellidos

Spaniards normally have two surnames (apellidos): the first is the father's first surname and the second is the mother's first surname. So Carmen Ruiz López is the daughter of Mr Ruiz and Mrs López.

Part	Example	Notes
el nombre ehl NOHM-breh	Carmen	first name
el primer apellido ehl pree-MEHR ah-peh-YEE-doh	Ruiz	father's surname; the one used in speech
el segundo apellido ehl seh-GOON-doh ah-peh-YEE-doh	López	mother's surname; used on documents

In everyday speech people use the first surname after a title (señora Ruiz) and both surnames on official forms. A woman usually keeps her own surnames when she marries.

🔤 Three Verbs for Introductions — Verbos

Here are ser ("to be", for who someone is), llamarse ("to be called", literally "to call oneself") and presentar ("to introduce"). Presentar is a regular -ar verb. Ser is highly irregular and must be learned by heart. Llamarse is a reflexive verb: the small word before the verb (me, te, se, nos, os, se) says that the action goes back to the speaker.

	ser (to be)	llamarse (to be called)	presentar (to introduce)
yo (I) YOH	soy SOY	me llamo meh YAH-moh	presento preh-SEHN-toh
tú (you, informal) TOO	eres EH-rehs	te llamas teh YAH-mahs	presentas preh-SEHN-tahs
él, ella, usted (he, she; you, formal) EHL, EH-yah, oos-TEHD	es EHS	se llama seh YAH-mah	presenta preh-SEHN-tah
nosotros (we) noh-SOH-trohs	somos SOH-mohs	nos llamamos nohs yah-MAH-mohs	presentamos preh-sehn-TAH-mohs
vosotros (you, plural informal; Spain) boh-SOH-trohs	sois SOYS	os llamáis ohs yah-MAHYS	presentáis preh-sehn-TAHYS
ellos, ellas, ustedes (they; you, plural formal) EH-yohs, EH-yahs, oos-TEH-dehs	son SOHN	se llaman seh YAH-mahn	presentan preh-SEHN-tahn

Drop the Pronoun! The verb ending already tells you who is speaking, so Spanish leaves out yo, tú, nosotros… most of the time: Soy Pablo (not Yo soy Pablo). Keep the pronoun only for emphasis or contrast: Yo soy Pablo y ella es Lucía, or ¿Y tú? The pronouns usted and ustedes are used more often than the others, to make clear that you are being formal.

Two Ways to Say Your Name Me llamo Pablo ("I'm called Pablo") and Soy Pablo ("I am Pablo") both give your name. Me llamo is the usual way to give your name when meeting someone; soy is also common, for example when you answer "who is it?" (Soy Pablo).

❓ Question Words — Palabras interrogativas

Question word	Meaning	Example
¿cómo? KOH-moh	how; what (like)	¿Cómo te llamas? What's your name?
¿quién? KYEHN	who	¿Quién es ella? Who is she?
¿qué? KEH	what	¿Qué tal? How's it going?
¿cuál? KWAHL	which; what (a choice)	¿Cuál es su apellido? What is your surname?

Every question word carries a written accent, and every question starts with ¿ and ends with ? To make a yes/no question you can simply raise your voice: Es usted el señor Ruiz. → ¿Es usted el señor Ruiz?

📖 Vocabulary — Vocabulario

20 key words. Read the Spanish first, then check the respelling (CAPITALS = the stressed syllable).

#	Spanish	Say it	English	Type
1	el nombre	ehl NOHM-breh	first name; name	noun
2	el apellido	ehl ah-peh-YEE-doh	surname	noun
3	yo	YOH	I	pron
4	tú	TOO	you (informal)	pron
5	usted	oos-TEHD	you (formal)	pron
6	él	EHL	he	pron
7	ella	EH-yah	she	pron
8	nosotros	noh-SOH-trohs	we	pron
9	vosotros	boh-SOH-trohs	you (plural, informal; Spain)	pron
10	ser	SEHR	to be	verb
11	llamarse	yah-MAR-seh	to be called	verb
12	presentar	preh-sehn-TAR	to introduce	verb
13	mucho gusto	MOO-choh GOOS-toh	pleased to meet you	phrase
14	encantado / encantada	ehn-kahn-TAH-doh / -dah	delighted	adj
15	igualmente	ee-gwahl-MEHN-teh	likewise	phrase
16	el amigo / la amiga	ehl ah-MEE-goh / lah ah-MEE-gah	friend	noun
17	¿cómo?	KOH-moh	how?	q-word
18	¿quién?	KYEHN	who?	q-word
19	¿qué?	KEH	what?	q-word
20	¿cuál?	KWAHL	which?; what?	q-word

Latin America Note In Latin America, to a group you say ustedes, so the question to two or more people is ¿Cómo se llaman ustedes? rather than ¿Cómo os llamáis?, and the answer is Nos llamamos… or Somos… In the countries where vos is used instead of tú, you will hear ¿Cómo te llamás? Mucho gusto and encantado / encantada are used in both Spain and Latin America.

Grammar Pointer Ser against estar is explained fully in Spanish Grammar 2 3, and reflexive verbs such as llamarse in Spanish Grammar 2 6. Subject pronouns and when to drop them are in Spanish Grammar 1 9. Use them as a reference after this chapter. The little words mi and su / tu in the hotel dialog mean "my" and "your"; possessives are taught in Chapter 5, so for now learn those lines as phrases.

✍️ Try It Yourself — Ejercicios

Say each answer out loud first, then click to check.

1. You meet a stranger at a conference. Ask their name politely, then say your own.

Show answer

¿Cómo se llama usted? Me llamo Philip. (KOH-moh seh YAH-mah oos-TEHD? meh YAH-moh FEE-leep)

2. You meet a student your age. Ask their name, then say you are pleased to meet them (you are a woman).

Show answer

¿Cómo te llamas? Encantada. (a man would say Encantado)

3. Complete with the right form of ser: "Yo ___ Pablo." · "Ella ___ Lucía." · "Nosotros ___ amigos."

Show answer

soy · es · somos.

4. Introduce your friend Ana to a friend, Pablo, informally.

Show answer

Pablo, te presento a Ana. (PAH-bloh, teh preh-SEHN-toh ah AH-nah)

5. Carmen Ruiz López: which surname is the father's, and which would you use after señora?

Show answer

Ruiz is the father's surname, and it is the one used after the title: señora Ruiz. López is the mother's surname.

6. Make a question from "Es usted el señor Ruiz." and answer "no".

Show answer

¿Es usted el señor Ruiz? · No, no soy el señor Ruiz. (NOH, noh SOY ehl seh-NYOR RWEETH)

Coming Up in Chapter 3 Numbers, age and contact details: the numbers from 0 to 100 and beyond, Tengo veintiocho años ("I am 28 years old"), phone numbers (said in groups of two or three digits), and the Spanish identity numbers, the DNI and the NIE.