Se le llamaba?

Question

In a paragraph about Charles Lindbergh in Spanish, I read the phrase "A Charles Lindbergh se le llamaba.....". 3 options occured to me. 1) There was an error and the correct phrase was "se la llamaba" or "se lo llamaba". 2) The verb was llamarse and he called himself to somebody else. 3) This is something I haven't learned about that involves "se le".

Thanks so much for your help!

Answer 1

se le llamaba

He was called ... (the "le" refers to Lindbergh)

e.g. En España se las llaman "patatas" y en Méjico se las llaman "papas". In Spain they are called "patatas" and in Mexico they are called "papas". In this case it's not really reflexive (potatoes don't speak, much less "call themselves" anything). It's a case of an impersonal/passive construction with no explicit subject. The "las" refers to the "potatoes".

Thanks, I guess what really confused me was the se... but I see that llamarse is called as in a name. It's that it needed to be se le llamaba to distinguish it from "se llamaba, like a call on the telephone. Am I correct? - kokolatte, Aug 11, 2010

Answer 2

se usa se "le" llamaba He was called, that the spirit of the sentence. You really dont use "se lo" o "se la" just "se le" always

Answer 3

The question is asking for his nickname, or what he called himself, "El águila solitario." Llamarse is the reflexive verb, and so the translation would literally be "he called himself." "Se llamaba" is the third person singular of "llamarse."

So where does the le come in? - kokolatte, Aug 10, 2010

Answer 4

Can you provide the entire sentence please?

I added a comment with some additionl info. - kokolatte, Aug 10, 2010

Answer 5

Ok, here's the thing. That phrase is from a question that literally reads "A Charles Lindbergh se le llamaba _______." The sentence that I think it's talking about is, "En 1928 Charles Lindbergh, , voló de Wáshington a México." I think it's talking about what Charles Lindbergh was called. But, it also talks about the name of the airplane. So, I'm not sure.

I left out his nickname- oops! It's "El águila solitario". - kokolatte, Aug 10, 2010