'Amo' vs. 'Quiero'

When you love a person or a pet, you need to add the small word 'a' right after 'amo'. For example, 'Amo a mi perro' (I love my dog), but just 'Amo el café' (I love coffee).

The Personal 'a'

You can also use 'amo' to show you're really passionate about an activity or a thing, not just a person. For example, 'Amo leer' means 'I love to read.'

Expressing Passion

Extremely common, used daily to express love for people, pets, or things.

Confusing the Noun and Verb

This word is masculine, so you say 'el amo' or 'un amo'. The word for a female master is 'el ama'. We use 'el' instead of 'la' to avoid the awkward 'la ama' sound, even though 'ama' is a feminine noun.

A Masculine Word

Today, it's more common to use 'dueño' for 'owner'. But you'll still hear 'amo' used, especially in an affectionate way for pet owners or figuratively, like calling an expert 'the master of his craft'.

Modern Use

Less common in modern speech. Often found in literature, historical settings, or when talking about pets.

Learn the two meanings of 'amo' in Spanish: the verb 'I love' (from 'amar') and the noun 'master/owner'. See full conjugations, examples, and usage tips.

amar

Complete Conjugation Tables

🔄 Conjugations

indicative

present

preterite

imperfect

future

conditional

subjunctive

present

imperfect

imperative

affirmative

negative

Practice Conjugations