Introduce him/her in Spanish

Do you want to introduce someone else —a friend, perhaps— and you don’t know how? Keep reading and learn how to introduce someone in Spanish.

Introducing Someone in Spanish

There are different ways to introduce people. The words you choose will depend on some details you definitely have to pay attention to.

Who You Are Talking to

Read moreVideo: Spanish-English false friends

We usally start an introduction with a typical sentence, but there are certain nuances when it comes to formality or the number of people you are talking to. There are four options:

• Te presento a… – That’s informal, talking to one person, like you mum or your friend.
• Le presento a… – That’s formal, talking to one person, like your boss or an unknown old person.
• Os presento a… – That’s informal, talking to two people or more, like your parents or friends.
• Les presento a… – That’s formal, talking to two people or more, like the royal family.

In formal conversations, you don’t use “tú” but “usted“, and the verbal tenses are different —don’t stop too much about this. I just want you to pay attention to the second person in the singular and plural forms. As you can see, the formal second person and the third person have the same verb forms. In Latin American, people use the formal version in informal situations, but in Spain this is unseen.

• First person in singular: Yo soy / yo vivo/ yo me llamo
• Second person in singular – informal: Tú eres / tú vives/ tú te llamas
• Second person in singular – formal: Usted es / usted vive/ usted se llama 
• Third person in singular and masculin: Él es / él vive/ él se llama
• Third person in singular and femenin: Ella es / ella vive/ ella se llama /
• First person in plural: Nosotros somos / nosotros vivimos / nosotros nos llamamos
• Second person in plural: Vosotros sois / vosotros vivís / vosotros os llamáis
• Second person in plural: Ustedes son / ustedes viven / ustedes se llaman
• Third person in plural and masculin: Ellos son / ellos viven /ellos se llaman
• Third person in plural and femenin: Ellas son / ellas viven /ellas se llaman

The Relationship Between You and the Person You Are Introducing

Read moreOnline Activity: Conjugate Spanish Verbs in Present

Introductions usually start like this:

1. Hola, te presento a mi amigo Pepe.
2. Buenas, esta es mi hermana Juana.
3. Qué tal, estos son Pablo y Marta, mis primos.
4. Buenos días. Le presento a Carla, la directora de la sucursal.

These are just some of the examples you can hear and use. The introduction continues with his/her/their relevant personal details.

You can practice introduction sentences with this online activity.