Verb conjugating rules

Question

I am needing some clarification regarding verbs. In the below examples am I correct in believing that the only word used for these verbs in a sentence is: soy, eres, usted, ella/el instead of the two words: yo so, tú eres and so forth. I have placed in brackets the words I believe can be omitted in all the below examples. Please let me know if I have got this right. (permanent) SER: To be (Yo) soy – I am (Tú) eres - you are (Usted/Ella/El /) es – you (formal) He, She, is Impermanent) ESTAR: to be (Yo) estoy – I am (Tú) esta/s – you are/you’re (El/Ella) esta – he is /she is (it is) (Ellos) estan – they are (Vostros) estais – you are I am not sure if the below verbs fit into permanent or impermenant or a category of their own. Again is it correct to just use somos, sois or son on their own within a sentence? (nosotros/as) – somos – we are (vosotros/as) – sois – you are (ells/ellas/ustedes) – son – they, you, (formal), are

In the case of llamarse - to be called it seems that the rule changes: the end of the verb changes and the yo, tú, él/ella/usted or replaced by me,te and se. Is there an explanation for this? And then there is tengo and queror where the verb ending changes but yo, tú etc are now used.

Hopefully my muddled brain can be unmuddled by some basic rules about conjugating Spanish verbs.

Answer 1

First of all, regarding "ser" and "estar" forget about "permanent" vs. "temporary"

I am a bus driver,but tomorrow I start my new job as an accountant. Now, my being a bus driver is not very permanent, but you still use the verb "ser"

Please see my article on the subject of "ser" and "estar" It has helped many, many people on this site.

A Simple Outline on Ser and Estar

Now the "me llamo" bit. This is what is called "reflexive usage" in US textbooks. Julian Chivi covered this.

"Me llamo Daniela" (Literally "Myself I call Daniela." ) "¿Cómo te llamas tú? (How you call yourself?

Regarding "tener"and "querer" you can still use them without the personal pronouns unless you're Puerto Rican. They almost always use the personal pronouns. But most other hispanos leave them off except for emphasis or clarification as Bosquederoble has stated.

Thank you, Dani. I've added this outline to my "Dani's Textbook on Spanish" which is a compilation of all the outlines you've done for us (at least all the ones I could find). Don't worry, I give you ALL the credit. ;-) ♥♥ - Winkfish, Feb 22, 2017

Thank you, Wink for the wonderful compliment. ♥♥ - Daniela2041, Feb 22, 2017

Answer 2

Subject pronouns are used for any verb only if needed for clarification or emphasis or contrast. This is for any verb- tener and querer, ser, estar, llamar, or any other you chose.

So I could say:

Quiero pizza. It is redundant to include yo.

Or

Pablo quiere pasta pero yo quiero Pizza. The yo is in the quiero, but it is good because of the contrast with Pablo.

So you have to decide with each case, is it clear from context who I am talking about, or do I need to put it to be clear. It becomes easier with practice and you learn the automatic assumptions.

With the llamarse conjugation you are speaking of an object pronoun. You do not drop object pronouns in Spanish, and when with a single conjugated verb they come before the verb.

I call myself…

Yo me llamo… the me is like the myself in English (I call me….)

Once you drop the unnecessary yo:

Me llamo….

Hi, Bosque. I added my link to the "ser/estar" problem. - Daniela2041, Feb 22, 2017

Answer 3

The use of personal pronouns is not necessary because the conjugation of the verb tells us who does the action. They are only used for emphasis or clarification. The only rule of this topic that I know of is that you use the pronoun that corresponds to the conjugation of the verb.

The case of llamarse is a completely different subject. There are many uses of se and in this case it is the reflexive se, meaning that the subject and the object are the same, so llamase indicates that the person calls himself his name (my name is ....).