Learn Hardcore Spanish (Latin America): Mis amigos se llevan bien con mi novia. - My friends get along well with my girlfriend.

Mis amigos se llevan bien con mi novia.

My friends get along well with my girlfriend.

Breakdown of Mis amigos se llevan bien con mi novia.

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Questions & Answers about Mis amigos se llevan bien con mi novia.

What does se llevan bien literally mean, and why do we need se?

The expression llevarse bien (con alguien) is an idiomatic, pronominal verb that means “to get along (with someone)”.

llevar on its own = to carry, to take, to wear, to lead, etc.
llevarse bien = to get along well

The se doesn’t translate directly into English; it’s part of how Spanish forms this meaning. Without se, llevan bien would sound wrong here.

So:

Mis amigos se llevan bien con mi novia.
= My friends get along well with my girlfriend.

Think of llevarse bien as a fixed chunk you have to learn together, like an idiom.

What’s the difference between llevarse bien con alguien and verbs like gustar or caer bien?

All three are positive, but they’re used differently:

Llevarse bien con alguien
Focuses on the relationship and interaction.
→ Me llevo bien con Ana. = Ana and I get along well.
Gustar (used with people)
Usually means to be attracted to, or in context, to like romantically or to like as a person.
→ Ana me gusta. = I like Ana (romantically / I’m attracted to her).
Caer bien
Means to like someone in the sense “they make a good impression on me,” “I find them nice / pleasant.”
→ Ana me cae bien. = I like Ana / I think she’s nice.

So se llevan bien is about the quality of the relationship, rather than attraction or first impressions.

Why is it con mi novia and not something like a mi novia?

The verb llevarse bien is normally used with con to indicate “with” whom you get along:

llevarse bien con alguien = to get along well with someone

So:

Mis amigos se llevan bien con mi novia.
= My friends get along well with my girlfriend.

Using a here would be ungrammatical:
✗ Mis amigos se llevan bien a mi novia. → incorrect

This verb simply requires con for the person you get along with.

Why is it se llevan bien and not just llevan bien?

Because llevarse bien is a pronominal/idiomatic form meaning “to get along (well)”. The se is required to create that meaning.

Compare:

Ellos llevan las cajas.
→ They carry the boxes. (llevar = to carry)
Ellos se llevan bien.
→ They get along well. (llevarse bien = to get along)

So without se, the meaning changes (and in this specific sentence, it becomes incorrect for “get along”).

Who is the subject in Mis amigos se llevan bien con mi novia? Why is the verb plural?

The subject is mis amigos (“my friends”). That’s why the verb is plural: llevan.

Breakdown:

Mis amigos = subject (plural)
se = reflexive/pronominal pronoun
llevan = 3rd person plural form of llevar
bien = adverb (“well”)
con mi novia = prepositional phrase (“with my girlfriend”)

Even though mi novia is singular, it’s not part of the subject; it’s the person they get along with. So the verb agrees only with mis amigos.

Could I also say Mis amigos y mi novia se llevan bien? Is there a difference?

Yes, you can say:

Mis amigos y mi novia se llevan bien.

Meaning: My friends and my girlfriend get along (with each other).

Difference in nuance:

Mis amigos se llevan bien con mi novia.
Focuses on your friends’ relationship with your girlfriend.
Mis amigos y mi novia se llevan bien.
Presents them as one group and says they all get along with each other (more symmetrical).

Both are natural; you choose based on what you want to emphasize.

What’s the difference between llevarse bien and llevar bien?

They’re different structures with different meanings:

llevarse bien (con alguien) = to get along well (with someone)
- Me llevo bien con mis vecinos.
  → I get along well with my neighbors.
llevar bien algo = to handle / manage something well
- Llevo bien el estrés.
  → I handle stress well.
- Ella lleva muy bien la situación.
  → She is handling the situation very well.

In the sentence you gave, we need the relationship meaning → llevarse bien, so the se is essential.

Why is it bien and not bueno in se llevan bien?

Bien is an adverb (“well”), while bueno is an adjective (“good”).

Verbs like llevarse are modified by adverbs, so we use bien:
- Se llevan bien. = They get along well.
Bueno modifies nouns:
- un buen amigo = a good friend
- una película buena = a good movie

✗ Se llevan bueno is incorrect because bueno can’t directly modify the verb in this way.

Can this sentence be made negative? How would I say “My friends don’t get along well with my girlfriend”?

Yes, just put no before the pronoun se (or before the verb if there’s no pronoun). Here:

Mis amigos no se llevan bien con mi novia.
= My friends don’t get along well with my girlfriend.

To say they get along badly, you can also say:

Mis amigos se llevan mal con mi novia.
= My friends get along badly with my girlfriend.

Why is it mis amigos and not mis amigas? Does amigos include women?

In standard Spanish:

amigos (masculine plural) can mean:
- a group of all male friends, or
- a mixed group (male + female)
amigas (feminine plural) is only used for a group of all female friends.

So:

Mis amigos = could be all men, or men and women.
Mis amigas = all women.

The sentence Mis amigos se llevan bien con mi novia doesn’t tell you whether your friends are all male or mixed; it just uses the default masculine plural.

Could I leave out mis or mi and say just Amigos se llevan bien con novia?

No, that would be wrong in normal Spanish.

You need possessive adjectives (mi, mis, tu, tus, etc.) or other determiners with these nouns:

Mis amigos se llevan bien con mi novia. ✓
Los amigos se llevan bien con su novia. ✓ (different meaning: “the friends get along with his/her/their girlfriend”)
✗ Amigos se llevan bien con novia.

Bare nouns like amigos and novia without an article or possessive are very restricted in Spanish and don’t work here.

Why is there no subject pronoun like ellos in Mis amigos se llevan bien con mi novia?

In Spanish, subject pronouns (yo, tú, él, ella, nosotros, ellos, etc.) are usually omitted because the verb ending already indicates the person and number.

Se llevan bien con mi novia.
Could be understood as “They get along well with my girlfriend,” from context.

Here, because the subject mis amigos is explicitly stated, adding ellos would be redundant:

Mis amigos se llevan bien con mi novia. ✓ (normal)
Ellos, mis amigos, se llevan bien con mi novia. (possible if you want special emphasis)
✗ Mis amigos ellos se llevan bien… (sounds clumsy and wrong in normal speech)

Does novia always mean “girlfriend,” or can it also mean “fiancée” or “bride”?

In Latin American Spanish, novia can mean:

Girlfriend
- Mi novia vive en otra ciudad.
  → My girlfriend lives in another city.
Fiancée (a woman you’re engaged to)
- Ella es mi novia; nos casamos el próximo año.
  → She’s my fiancée; we’re getting married next year.
In certain wedding contexts, bride
- La novia llegó a la iglesia.
  → The bride arrived at the church.

Context tells you which one it is. In your sentence, it’s most naturally understood as girlfriend.

How do I conjugate llevarse bien with different subjects?

Use the normal present tense of llevar, plus the reflexive pronoun that matches the subject:

Yo me llevo bien con… → I get along well with…
Me llevo bien con mis vecinos.
Tú te llevas bien con… → You get along well with…
Te llevas bien con tu jefe.
Él / Ella / Usted se lleva bien con…
Ella se lleva bien con todos.
Nosotros / Nosotras nos llevamos bien con…
Nos llevamos bien con los vecinos.
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes se llevan bien con…
Mis amigos se llevan bien con mi novia.

The pattern [pronoun] + [reflexive pronoun] + [llevar] + bien + con stays the same; only the pronoun and verb ending change.