llamábamos

Llamábamos is the first-person plural imperfect indicative form of the Spanish verb llamar, meaning "we were calling" or "we used to call." It describes past actions that were habitual or ongoing. The form can be used with or without a reflexive pronoun; with the reflexive, as in llamarse, it forms phrases like nos llamábamos meaning "we called each other."

In standard Spanish, the imperfect endings for -ar verbs are -aba, -abas, -aba, -ábamos, -abais, -aban. Therefore, llamábamos corresponds to the nosotros form: we called or we used to call. The accent on the á marks the stress pattern of this irregular past tense form.

Pronunciation varies by dialect. The letter pair ll is a feature of Spanish orthography; in many dialects, ll is pronounced as a palatal lateral [ʎ] or a palatal approximant [ʝ] (yeísmo). The meaning remains the same regardless of pronunciation.

Etymology traces llamarse back to the Latin clamāre, with llamadas evolving through Old Spanish into modern llamar. The word is closely related to other forms of llamar and to expressions used to name or summon someone.

Examples

- Cuando éramos niños, llamábamos a la casa de la abuela cada domingo.

- En aquellos tiempos, nos llamábamos por teléfono todas las noches.

See also: llamar, imperfect, -ar verb endings, llamarse.