when referring to a deceased person do I say his name was sellamo or se llamo?
This is my great grandfather. His name was Jaime.
9 Answers
Nila Sam
Llamaba is the tense to use.
Mi abuelo se llamaba Juan.
Mi abuelo se llamó Juanito (for a time)
If you say "se llamó" the action is finished. Then, it could be an alias, but it is not.
If you say "se llamaba", then you are talking about his name
Anyway, I cannot think about any example with "se llamó". It sounds weird..
If it is an alias, I would say "le llamaban". For example: le llamaban Juanito cuando era pequeño.
Definitely, I would not say: se llamó. This is because "se llamó" does not make sense. How long did he have that name?. The fact of using a name is lasting. Under my point of view, I cannot find any example with "se llamó".
Mi bisabuelo se llamó Jaime.
Shouldn't that be se llamaba?
Here is a thread you might be interested in seeing: se llamó vs se llamaba
I started to mention that estaba might be more appropriate, but then I thought it might mean was named as in at birth (christening) he was named Jaime, over and done, completed in the past.
fue nombrado
That is. "Mi bisabuelo se llamaba Jaime". You have understood it well.
"Se llamaba" is the most used form... It´s connotation indicates that the person is no longer alive.
"Mi bisabuelo se llamó Jaime" To me this sounds completely normal. If one substitutes "se llamaba", I am inclined to think that you mean that "Jaime" was not, really, his name but, rather, an alias.
Heidita/Nilda, ¿dónde estás/estáis?
Are you saying I should say, "Mi bisabuelo se llamó Jaime"?
Do you mean "se llamó"?
llamo with se is totally incorrect (me llamo...se llama).
Mi bisabuelo se llamó Jaime.
