The Verb “Llevar” in Spanish: A Complete Guide + 100 Examples (A1-B2)

The Spanish verb llevar is one of those essential but sometimes confusing verbs you’ll use daily. While its most basic meanings are “to wear” and “to carry,” its uses extend far beyond that, touching on concepts of time, relationships, and management.

Think of llevar as a verb of transportation or bearing. You can bear clothes on your body, bear an object in your hand, bear someone to a place, or even bear a period of time in a certain state.

🟧 Verb “Llevar”

Llevar is one of the most flexible verbs in Spanish. It can mean to wear, carry, take, manage, or talk about time and age differences.

Here’s a quick overview of its core meanings:

1️⃣ Llevar – To wear (clothes, accessories)

• Llevo una chaqueta. – I’m wearing a jacket.
• Llevo una camiseta blanca. – I’m wearing a white T-shirt.

2️⃣ Llevar – To carry (objects)

• Llevo una mochila. – I’m carrying a backpack.
• Llevo el móvil en la mano. – I’m carrying my phone in my hand.

3️⃣ Llevar – To take (away from the speaker)

• Llevo a mi hijo al colegio. – I take my son to school.
• Voy a llevar esto a la cocina.– I’m going to take this to the kitchen.

📌 Verb llevar usually indicates movement away from the speaker, while traer indicates movement toward the speaker.

4️⃣ Llevar – To lead / to manage

• Llevar un proyecto. – To manage a project.
• Ella lleva las cuentas de la empresa. – She handles the company’s accounts.

5️⃣ Llevar – To have been doing something for a period of time

• Llevo estudiando español desde enero. – I have been studying Spanish since January.
• Llevo esperando desde las ocho. – I’ve been waiting since eight.

6️ Llevar – To be ahead / to be older by X years

• Te llevo dos años. – I am two years older than you.

🟧 Verb “Llevarse”

The verb Llevarse used when taking something with you, taking away, choosing to buy, or talking about relationships. It implies a change of state, location, or a reciprocal action.

1️⃣ Llevarse – To take away / to buy

• ¿Te gusta esta camiseta? – Sí, me la llevo. – Do you like this T-shirt? / Yes, I’ll take it.
• El cliente decidió llevarse la televisión más barata. – The customer decided to take the cheapest TV.

2️⃣ Llevarse – To get along

• Mis compañeros de trabajo y yo nos llevamos muy bien. – My coworkers and I get along very well.
• Ellos se llevan fatal desde que discutieron. – They get along terribly since they argued.

3️⃣ Llevarse – To take (with you)

• Si vas al parque, llévate una botella de agua. – If you’re going to the park, take a bottle of water with you.
• Me voy temprano y me llevo el coche. – I’m leaving early and I’m taking the car with me.

4️⃣ Llevarse – To get/receive (a reaction)

• Me llevé un susto enorme cuando sonó la alarma. – I got a huge fright when the alarm went off.
• Se llevó una gran ovación del público. – He received a big ovation from the audience.

5️⃣ Llevarse – To win / obtain a prize

• Marta se llevó la medalla de oro. – Marta won (took) the gold medal.
• La película se llevó tres premios importantes. – The movie won three major awards.

6️ Llevarse – To steal / to take illegally

• Los ladrones se llevaron todo el dinero de la caja fuerte. – The thieves stole all the money from the safe.
• ¿Quién se ha llevado mis llaves? No están donde las dejé. – Who took my keys? They’re not where I left them.

7️⃣ Llevarse – To “run away with” something (natural forces / movement)

• La corriente se llevó la pelota río abajo. – The current carried the ball downstream.
• Un golpe de viento se llevó todos los papeles de la mesa. – A gust of wind blew all the papers off the table.

📚 Quiz: Llevar vs Llevarse

Choose the correct form: LLEVAR or LLEVARSE. Pay attention to the context to determine which verb fits best.

🧠  Verb Conjugation of “Llevar”

To use llevar correctly in different contexts, you need to master its conjugation. Below are the conjugations for the most common tenses. Notice that llevar is a regular -ar verb, making its conjugation patterns straightforward to learn.

🔑 Key Tenses – Table 1

🔑 Key Tenses – Table 2

🔑 Examples

Now, let’s see these conjugations in action with practical examples.

📚 Grammar Focus: Verb Conjugation of “Llevar”

Complete each sentence with the correct form of the verb LLEVAR. Choose only ONE option from the brackets that best fits the context. Pay attention to time expressions and context clues to determine which tense to use.

✔️ TEST (Level A1-A2)

✔️ TEST (Level B1-B2)

🔶 Common Patterns & Prepositions

The meaning of llevar often changes depending on the words that follow it.

1️⃣ llevar + object → to carry / to wear

• Llevo gafas. – I wear glasses.
• En verano siempre llevo sombrero para el sol. – In summer I always wear a hat for the sun.

2️⃣ llevar a + place/person → to take someone somewhere

• Llevo a mi hermana al cine. – I take my sister to the cinema.
• El autobús nos lleva al centro en 15 minutos. – The bus takes us downtown in 15 minutes.

3️⃣ llevar + time period → to have been doing something – for a duration

• Llevo dos horas estudiando. – I have been studying for two hours.
• Llevo tres años viviendo en Madrid y aún me pierdo. – I’ve been living in Madrid for three years and I still get lost.

4️⃣ llevarse bien/mal con → to get along well/badly with someone

• Me llevo bien con mis compañeros. – I get along well with my colleagues.
• Mi gato y el perro no se llevan nada bien. – My cat and the dog don’t get along at all.

✔️ Quiz: Multiple Meanings of “Llevar”

Read each question carefully and select the correct response. Remember that the verb “llevar” has multiple meanings in Spanish: to wear, to carry, to take someone somewhere, to get along with someone, and to express duration of time.

🎓 100 Example Sentences (A1-B2)

Now that you’ve seen llevar and llevarse in action across 100 real-life sentences from A1 to B2, it’s time to make them stick forever.

We’ve prepared ready-to-use flashcards for all 100 examples – one side shows the Spanish sentence, the other the English translation + short explanation of the exact meaning.

🔶Level A1 (25 Basic Examples)

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🔶Level A2 (25 More Contexts)

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🔶Level B1 (25 Reflexive & Idiomatic Uses)

↩️ Flashcard:

🔶Level B2 (25 Figurative & Advanced Uses)

↩️ Flashcard:

⭐️ Idioms & Fixed Expressions with “Llevar”

Aquí está tu lista con un segundo ejemplo añadido a cada expresión:

🔸 llevarse bien/mal (con) – to get along well/badly (with)

• Me llevo muy bien con mi equipo. – I get along very well with my team.
• No me llevo bien con mi suegra. – I don’t get along well with my mother-in-law.

🔸 llevar la cuenta – to keep track / the count

• Él lleva la cuenta de los gastos. – He keeps track of the expenses.
• ¿Quién lleva la cuenta de los puntos? – Who’s keeping track of the points.

🔸 llevar la contraria – to contradict

• Siempre lleva la contraria por gusto. – He always contradicts just for the sake of it.
• No me lleves la contraria delante de los niños. – Don’t contradict me in front of the children.

🔸 llevar a cabo – to carry out, to perform

• Vamos a llevar a cabo el plan. – We are going to carry out the plan.
• La policía llevó a cabo una investigación. – The police carried out an investigation.

🔸 llevar tiempo (haciendo algo) – to have been doing something for a while

• Llevo tiempo queriendo visitarte. – I have been wanting to visit you for some time.
• Llevo tres años estudiando español. – I have been studying Spanish for three years.

🔸 llevarse algo – to take something with you / to buy something

• Me llevo este. – I’ll take this one.
• ¿Te llevas algo de postre? – Are you taking anything for dessert.

🔸 llevarse un susto – to get a fright

• Me llevé un susto al verlo. – I got a fright when I saw him.
• Nos llevamos un susto cuando sonó la alarma. – We got a fright when the alarm went off.

🔸 llevarse la palma – to be the best / to take the cake (prize)

• Su pastel se lleva la palma. – Her cake takes the prize.
• En cuanto a mentiras, tú te llevas la palma. – When it comes to lies, you take the cake.

🔸 llevarse una sorpresa – to get a surprise

• Os vais a llevar una sorpresa. – You are going to get a surprise.
• Me llevé una sorpresa al ver los resultados. – I got a surprise when I saw the results.

🔸llevar las de ganar/perder – to be in a position to win/lose

• Con este equipo, llevamos las de ganar. – With this team, we are in a position to win.
• Sin preparación, llevas las de perder. – Without preparation, you’re in a position to lose.

🎧 Listening Practice: The Verb “Llevar”

Listen carefully to each spoken sentence. Then select the image that best matches what you hear. Only one picture correctly represents the audio.

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Complete Quiz

Quiz Results:

Total Correct Answers:

🟠 Real-Life Contexts for “Llevar”

🛍️ In Stores:

• Me llevo esta falda. – I’ll take this skirt.
• ¿Qué talla llevas? – What size are you? / What size do you wear?
• No me lo llevo, es muy caro. – I won’t take it, it’s too expensive.

✈️ Travel:

• Llevo dos maletas. – I have two suitcases.
• El autobús nos lleva al aeropuerto. – The bus takes us to the airport.
• ¿Llevas el pasaporte contigo? – Do you have your passport with you?

🏠 Daily Routine:

• Llevo a los niños al colegio. – I take the kids to school.
• Siempre llevo agua en la mochila. – I always carry water in my backpack.
• Hoy llevo prisa porque tengo una cita. – Today I’m in a hurry because I have an appointment.

❤️ Relationships:

• Nos llevamos genial. – We get along great.
• Llevan tres años juntos. – They have been together for three years.
• Me llevo fatal con mi vecino. – I get along terribly with my neighbor.

💼 Work & Studies:

• Llevo un proyecto muy importante. – I’m managing a very important project.
• Ella lleva la contabilidad de la empresa. – She handles the company’s accounting.
• Llevo seis meses trabajando en esta oficina. – I have been working in this office for six months.

🔍 Fill in the Missing Word: Diálogo 1 (Level A2)

Complete the missing parts of the dialogue using the word bank.

🔍 Fill in the Missing Word: Diálogo 1 (Level B1-B2)

Use the words from the box to complete the dialogue.

🔑 Key Comparisons With Other Verbs

↔️ Llevar vs. Traer: Llevar – to take there (away from where the speaker is), traer – to bring here (toward the speaker).

• Lleva esto a la mesa. – Take this to the table over there.
• Trae eso aquí. – Bring that here to me.

📝 Tip: Use llevar when the movement is away from your current location, use traer when the movement is toward you.

↔️ Llevar vs. Ponerse: Llevar – to wear something (state), ponerse – to put on something (action).

• Llevo una camisa azul. – I am wearing a blue shirt.
• Me pongo una camisa azul. – I am putting on a blue shirt.

📝 Tip: Llevar describes what you have on your body now. Ponerse describes the moment of putting it on.

↔️ Llevar vs. Tomar / Coger: Llevar – to transport something/someone somewhere, Tomar/Coger –to take, grab, or catch (transport, bus, object).

• Llevo el coche al taller. – I’m taking the car to the workshop.
• Tomo/Cojo el autobús a las 8. – I take the bus at 8.

📝 Tip: In Latin America, coger is avoided due to a vulgar meaning. Use tomar instead.

↔️ Llevarse vs. Irse: Llevarse – to take something/someone away with you, Irse – to leave (you go, but you don’t take something with you).

• Me llevo el libro. – I’m taking the book with me.
• Me voy de la fiesta. – I’m leaving the party.

📝 Tip: Llevarse = taking something along when you leave. Irse = simply leaving a place.

↔️ Llevar vs. Tardar / Durar: Llevar + gerundio – for how long something has been happening (duration of an ongoing action), tardar – how long it takes to do something, durar – how long something lasts (movie, class, event).

• Llevo una hora esperando. – I have been waiting for an hour.
• Tardo una hora en llegar. – It takes me an hour to get there.
• La película dura dos horas. – The movie lasts two hours.

↔️ Llevarse bien vs. Gustar: Llevarse bien – to get along with someone, gustar – to like someone (often with a romantic or emotional nuance).

• Me llevo bien con María. – I have a good relationship with Maria.
• María me gusta. – I like Maria (often romantically).

📝 Tip:  These are not interchangeable. Llevarse bien refers to relationship dynamics. Gustar expresses personal liking or attraction.

🧩 Vocabulary Quiz

Complete the sentences by selecting the most appropriate answer from the dropdown menu.

🧭 Conclusion: Mastering “Llevar”

As you’ve seen, llevar is a small word with immense power. From describing what you wear to expressing how long you’ve been doing something, it’s a verb that carries you deep into the Spanish language. Don’t try to memorize everything at once. 

Start with the basic meanings (wear, carry, take), then gradually incorporate the time expressions and reflexive forms like llevarse bien. With practice, using llevar will become second nature.

¡Te llevará un poco de práctica, pero lo conseguirás!