A colorful storybook illustration showing a young person holding a blue smartphone to their ear, indicating a completed phone call in an outdoor setting.

llamaste

ya-MAS-te

Verb (Preterite Tense, tú form)A1regular ar

You called (informal)?Referring to phoning or summoning someone

Also:You phoned?Telephone communication,You summoned?Calling someone over

Quick Reference

infinitivellamar

gerundllamando

past Participlellamado

📝 In Action

¿A qué hora me llamaste anoche? Estaba dormido.

What time did you call me last night? I was asleep.

Dijiste que me llamaste, pero no tengo registro de tu llamada.

You said you called me, but I don't have a record of your call.

Si llamaste a la policía, ¿por qué no llegaron?

If you called the police, why didn't they arrive?

Word Connections

Synonyms

telefonear (to phone)
invocar (to summon)

Common Collocations

llamaste tarde – you called late
me llamaste – you called me

💡 Grammar Points

The 'Simple Past' Tense (Preterite)

The '-aste' ending tells you the action of calling happened once and was finished at a specific point in the past. It’s perfect for answering 'What did you do yesterday?'

Using 'tú'

'Llamaste' is the informal way to address one person (the 'tú' form). If you were speaking formally or to a group, you would use 'usted llamó' or 'ustedes llamaron'.

❌ Common Pitfalls

Confusing Past Tenses

Mistake: "Usando 'llamabas' when describing a single past event."

Correction: Use 'llamaste' (Preterite) for a single, completed action ('You called me at 5 PM'). Use 'llamabas' (Imperfect) to describe a habit ('You used to call me every day').

⭐ Usage Tips

The Missing Pronoun

Because the ending '-aste' is so specific to 'tú,' you can often drop the word 'tú' itself. Saying '¿Llamaste?' is perfectly natural and means 'Did you call?'

✏️ Quick Practice

💡 Quick Quiz: llamaste

Question 1 of 1

Which sentence correctly uses 'llamaste'?

📚 More Resources

Word Family

llamar(to call (infinitive)) - verb

llamada(call (the noun)) - noun

llamado(called (past participle/adjective)) - adjective

Frequently Asked Questions

Does 'llamaste' mean 'you called' or 'you were calling'?

'Llamaste' specifically means 'you called' (a single, completed action in the past). If you wanted to say 'you were calling' (an ongoing past action), you would use the Imperfect tense: 'llamabas'.

How do I say 'You named' using this verb?

While 'llamar' also means 'to name,' for a direct statement like 'You named the dog,' you would often use the reflexive verb 'llamarse' or structure it differently. However, in the simple past 'tú' form, 'llamaste' is identical for both meanings, though 'to call/phone' is far more common.