Inklingo

How to Say "was naming" in Spanish

The Spanish word forwas namingis llamabaA2 level. This is a very common word in everyday Spanish.

English → SpanishA2
verbA2
giving a name to something
An adult and a young girl looking fondly at a small puppy the girl is holding. The adult is gently pointing toward the puppy, symbolizing the designation of a name.

Examples

Antes, la gente llamaba a esa calle 'El Camino Real'.

Before, people used to call that street 'The Royal Road'.

Ella llamaba a su perro 'Capitán', aunque era muy pequeño.

She used to call her dog 'Captain', even though he was very small.

Naming in the Past

When using 'llamar' to mean 'to name' or 'to call someone something,' the imperfect 'llamaba' describes the long-term or common name used for a person or object in the past.

Using Reflexive Incorrectly

Mistake:Confusing 'yo llamaba' (I was calling someone else) with 'yo me llamaba' (I was called/my name was).

Correction: To state your own name in the past, you must add 'me': 'Yo me llamaba Juan.' (My name was Juan).

Related Translations

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