Meeting a New Friend at a Café

Key vocabulary

• llamarsev.

  to be called, to call oneself (reflexive verb)

  “Me llamo Ana.”— My name is Ana.

  Pattern llamarse + name

  me llamo, te llamas, se llama, nos llamamos, os llamáis, se llaman

  💡 Reflexive verb: you must add the reflexive pronoun when conjugating, similar to English 'to be called'.

• serv.

  to be; to exist; to become

  “Soy de China.”— I'm from China.

  Pattern ser de + place

  Compare estar (temporary state)

  soy, eres, es, somos, sois, son

  💡 Use ser for permanent characteristics such as nationality and profession; use estar for temporary states.

• deprep.

  from; of

  “Soy de Beijing.”— I'm from Beijing.

  Pattern ser de + city/country

  Compare desde (since, from a point in time)

  💡 de also shows possession, as in 'el libro de Ana' (Ana's book).

• dóndeadv.

  where

  “¿De dónde eres?”— Where are you from?

  Pattern ¿De dónde...?

  Compare adónde (to where)

  💡 The accent mark indicates a question; without the accent it is a relative adverb.

• túpron.

  you (informal singular)

  “¿Y tú?”— And you?

  Pattern tú eres...

  Compare usted (you, formal)

  💡 tú is the informal second-person singular; the accent mark distinguishes it from the possessive adjective tu.