Acercarse Conjugation in Spanish

The Spanish verb acercarse means to approach, and it is a verb you will use again and again once you know it. Acercarse means to approach, and it is used for walking up to a person, a building or a place, and for a date or an event drawing near. It is always used with a, as in acercarse a la puerta, and it is a spelling-change verb, so the subjunctive is acerque, not acerce. Like every Spanish verb, acercarse changes its ending for each person and tense, and this page gives you the complete picture: every tense, every person, the gerund and the past participle, all from the verified conjugation tables. For example, in the present tense you say me acerco a la puerta con cuidado, and in the preterite you say me acerqué al mostrador a preguntar. Work through the tables below, read the notes for each tense, and then test yourself with the examples, the common mistakes and the quiz at the end of the page.

Quick facts

  • Infinitive: acercarse
  • English: to approach
  • Verb type: irregular verb, reflexive
  • Ending: -ar
  • Gerund: acercando
  • Past participle: acercado
  • Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + acercado)
  • Reflexive pronouns: me, te, se, nos, os, se — one before every conjugated form, matching the person.

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for acercarse, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one. Acercarse takes a, and the c becomes qu before e: the subjunctive is acerque, never acerce.

Full conjugation tables

Every form below comes from the verified conjugation tables for acercarse. The imperfect subjunctive is shown in its -ra forms; the -se forms use the same stem. For reflexive verbs, the pronoun column shows the reflexive pronoun that goes before each form.

Present indicative

Person Pronoun Form
yo me acerco
tú te acercas
él/ella/Ud. se acerca
nosotros/as nos acercamos
vosotros/as os acercáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se acercan

Preterite

Person Pronoun Form
yo me acerqué
tú te acercaste
él/ella/Ud. se acercó
nosotros/as nos acercamos
vosotros/as os acercasteis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se acercaron

Imperfect

Person Pronoun Form
yo me acercaba
tú te acercabas
él/ella/Ud. se acercaba
nosotros/as nos acercábamos
vosotros/as os acercabais
ellos/ellas/Uds. se acercaban

Future

Person Pronoun Form
yo me acercaré
tú te acercarás
él/ella/Ud. se acercará
nosotros/as nos acercaremos
vosotros/as os acercaréis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se acercarán

Conditional

Person Pronoun Form
yo me acercaría
tú te acercarías
él/ella/Ud. se acercaría
nosotros/as nos acercaríamos
vosotros/as os acercaríais
ellos/ellas/Uds. se acercarían

Present perfect

Person Pronoun Form
yo me he acercado
tú te has acercado
él/ella/Ud. se ha acercado
nosotros/as nos hemos acercado
vosotros/as os habéis acercado
ellos/ellas/Uds. se han acercado

Pluperfect

Person Pronoun Form
yo me había acercado
tú te habías acercado
él/ella/Ud. se había acercado
nosotros/as nos habíamos acercado
vosotros/as os habíais acercado
ellos/ellas/Uds. se habían acercado

Future perfect

Person Pronoun Form
yo me habré acercado
tú te habrás acercado
él/ella/Ud. se habrá acercado
nosotros/as nos habremos acercado
vosotros/as os habréis acercado
ellos/ellas/Uds. se habrán acercado

Conditional perfect

Person Pronoun Form
yo me habría acercado
tú te habrías acercado
él/ella/Ud. se habría acercado
nosotros/as nos habríamos acercado
vosotros/as os habríais acercado
ellos/ellas/Uds. se habrían acercado

Present subjunctive

Person Pronoun Form
yo me acerque
tú te acerques
él/ella/Ud. se acerque
nosotros/as nos acerquemos
vosotros/as os acerquéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se acerquen

Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)

Person Pronoun Form
yo me acercara
tú te acercaras
él/ella/Ud. se acercara
nosotros/as nos acercáramos
vosotros/as os acercarais
ellos/ellas/Uds. se acercaran

Imperative (affirmative)

Person Pronoun Form
tú te acerca
él/ella/Ud. se acerque
nosotros/as nos acerquemos
vosotros/as os acercad
ellos/ellas/Uds. se acerquen

Imperative (negative)

Person Pronoun Form
tú te acerques
él/ella/Ud. se acerque
nosotros/as nos acerquemos
vosotros/as os acerquéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se acerquen

Gerund and past participle

Form Spanish Use
Gerund acercando with estar for the progressive: estoy acercando (or me estoy acercando for this reflexive verb)
Past participle acercado with haber for the perfect tenses: he acercado

How to use each tense

Present indicative

Use the present for routines, general facts and what is happening right now. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For acercarse, the present looks like this in a real sentence: Me acerco a la puerta con cuidado. Learn the present forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Preterite

Use the preterite for finished actions with a clear end, often with ayer, el año pasado or anoche. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For acercarse, the preterite looks like this in a real sentence: Ayer, me acerqué a la ventana para mirar. Learn the preterite forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Imperfect

Use the imperfect for background, habits and actions in progress in the past, often with de niño, antes or mientras. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For acercarse, the imperfect looks like this in a real sentence: De niño, me acercaba al mostrador a preguntar. Learn the imperfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Future

Use the future for plans, predictions and promises, often with mañana, el año que viene or pronto. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For acercarse, the future looks like this in a real sentence: Mañana, me acercaré a su amigo en la fiesta. Learn the future forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Conditional

Use the conditional for polite requests, hypotheticals and what would happen, often with si clauses. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For acercarse, the conditional looks like this in a real sentence: Me acercaría a la puerta con cuidado si pudiera. Learn the conditional forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Present perfect

Use the present perfect for recent actions and experiences, often with hoy, esta semana or ya. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For acercarse, the present perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Hoy, me he acercado a la ventana para mirar. Learn the present perfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Pluperfect

Use the pluperfect when one past action happened before another past action. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For acercarse, the pluperfect looks like this in a real sentence: Me había acercado al mostrador a preguntar antes de salir. Learn the pluperfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Future perfect

Use the future perfect for something that will already be finished by a future time. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For acercarse, the future perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Para mañana, me habré acercado a su amigo en la fiesta. Learn the future perfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Conditional perfect

Use the conditional perfect for what would have happened under different conditions. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For acercarse, the conditional perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Me habría acercado a la puerta con cuidado con más tiempo. Learn the conditional perfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Present subjunctive

Use the present subjunctive after expressions of wish, doubt, emotion and hope, such as espero que or quiero que. Note the spelling change here: the final consonant of the stem changes before e to keep the same sound, so learn these forms from the table rather than copying the infinitive stem. For acercarse, the present subjunctive looks like this in a real sentence: Espero que él se acerque a la ventana para mirar. Learn the present subjunctive forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)

Use the imperfect subjunctive after past wishes and in si clauses about the past, and note the -ra forms shown here; the -se forms use the same stem. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For acercarse, the imperfect subjunctive looks like this in a real sentence: Si él se acercara al mostrador a preguntar, todo cambiaría. Learn the imperfect subjunctive forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Imperative (affirmative)

Use the affirmative imperative for direct commands, instructions and invitations. Note the spelling change here: the final consonant of the stem changes before e to keep the same sound, so learn these forms from the table rather than copying the infinitive stem. For acercarse, the affirmative imperative looks like this in a real sentence: Que se acerque a su amigo en la fiesta. Learn the affirmative imperative forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Imperative (negative)

Use the negative imperative, always with no, to tell someone not to do something. Note the spelling change here: the final consonant of the stem changes before e to keep the same sound, so learn these forms from the table rather than copying the infinitive stem. For acercarse, the negative imperative looks like this in a real sentence: No te acerques a la puerta con cuidado. Learn the negative imperative forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Example sentences

Ten natural sentences with acercarse, covering different tenses and persons. Each one uses a form from the tables above.

  1. Me acerco a la puerta con cuidado. — I approach to the door carefully.
  2. Se acerca a la ventana para mirar. — He/she approaches to the window to look.
  3. Ayer, me acerqué al mostrador a preguntar. — Yesterday, I approached to the counter to ask.
  4. Antes, nosotros nos acercábamos a su amigo en la fiesta. — Before, we used to approach to his friend at the party.
  5. Mañana, tú te acercarás a la puerta con cuidado. — Tomorrow, you will approach to the door carefully.
  6. Yo me acercaría a la ventana para mirar si tuviera más tiempo. — I would approach to the window to look if I had more time.
  7. Él se ha acercado al mostrador a preguntar. — He has approached to the counter to ask.
  8. Espero que él se acerque a su amigo en la fiesta. — I hope he approaches to his friend at the party.
  9. Yo ya me había acercado a la puerta con cuidado antes de salir. — I had already approached to the door carefully before leaving.
  10. Ellos se acercaban a la ventana para mirar cuando eran jóvenes. — They used to approach to the window to look when they were young.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo acerco a la puerta con cuidado. — Right: Yo me acerco a la puerta con cuidado. — Acercarse is reflexive, so the pronoun me is required: without it the verb means something else, or nothing at all.
  2. Wrong: Ayer yo acercé a la ventana para mirar. — Right: Ayer yo acerqué a la ventana para mirar. — Acercarse has an irregular preterite: the correct first-person form is acerqué, not the regular acercé. Learn the preterite forms in the table as a set.
  3. Wrong: Treating acercarse and alejarse as identical in every context. — Right: Acercarse means to approach, while alejarse means to move away. — They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: acercarse fits sentences such as Me acerco a la puerta con cuidado, while alejarse belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy acercado a la ventana para mirar. — Right: Yo he acercado a la ventana para mirar. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he acercado, has acercado, ha acercado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
  5. Wrong: De niño, yo acerqué al mostrador a preguntar todos los días. — Right: De niño, yo acercaba al mostrador a preguntar todos los días. — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (acercaba), not the preterite. The preterite (acerqué) is for one finished action.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on acercarse. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ a la puerta con cuidado. (present tense) A. me acerco B. te acercas C. se acerca D. nos acercamos

  2. Complete the sentence: Ayer, él ___ a la ventana para mirar. (preterite) A. me acerqué B. te acercaste C. se acercaron D. se acercó

  3. Complete the sentence: Antes, nosotros ___ al mostrador a preguntar. (imperfect) A. te acercabas B. se acercaban C. nos acercábamos D. me acercaba

  4. Complete the sentence: Mañana, tú ___ a su amigo en la fiesta. (future) A. nos acercaremos B. te acercarás C. me acercaré D. se acercará

  5. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ a la puerta con cuidado si pudiera. (conditional) A. me acercaría B. te acercarías C. se acercaría D. se acercarían

  6. Complete the sentence: Espero que él ___ a la ventana para mirar. (present subjunctive) A. me acerque B. te acerques C. nos acerquemos D. se acerque

  7. Complete the sentence: Si yo ___ al mostrador a preguntar, todo cambiaría. (imperfect subjunctive, -ra form) A. se acercara B. nos acercáramos C. me acercara D. te acercaras

  8. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ a su amigo en la fiesta. (present perfect) A. se han acercado B. nos hemos acercado C. me he acercado D. te has acercado

  9. Complete the command: No ___ a la puerta con cuidado. (negative imperative, tú) A. te acerques B. se acerque C. nos acerquemos D. os acerquéis

  10. Which is the gerund of acercarse, used with estar for the progressive? A. acercado B. acerco C. acerqué D. acercando

Answer key

  1. me acerco — The first-person present of acercarse is me acerco. The other options are the tú, él/ella and nosotros forms.
  2. se acercó — The third-person preterite of acercarse is se acercó, the form for a single finished action in the past.
  3. nos acercábamos — The nosotros imperfect of acercarse is nos acercábamos, used here for a repeated past habit.
  4. te acercarás — The second-person future of acercarse is te acercarás.
  5. me acercaría — The first-person conditional of acercarse is me acercaría, the form for what would happen.
  6. se acerque — After espero que, the subjunctive is required: the third-person present subjunctive of acercarse is se acerque.
  7. me acercara — The first-person imperfect subjunctive (-ra) of acercarse is me acercara.
  8. nos hemos acercado — The nosotros present perfect of acercarse is nos hemos acercado: hemos + acercado.
  9. te acerques — The negative tú imperative uses the present subjunctive form with no before it: te acerques.
  10. acercando — The gerund of acercarse is acercando: estoy acercando. The participle acercado is used with haber instead.

Frequently asked questions

What does acercarse mean in English?

Acercarse means to approach. It is used in everyday situations such as Me acerco a la puerta con cuidado. The exact English wording depends on the context, but the core meaning stays the same across the tenses.

Is acercarse a reflexive verb?

Yes. Acercarse is reflexive, so it always takes a reflexive pronoun that matches the person: me, te, se, nos, os or se. For example, Me acerco a la puerta con cuidado and él se acerca a la ventana para mirar. If you leave the pronoun out, the verb changes meaning or stops making sense.

What is the difference between acercarse and alejarse?

Acercarse means to approach, while alejarse means to move away. They are easy to confuse because they appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable: use acercarse when you mean to approach, as in Me acerco a la puerta con cuidado, and use alejarse for to move away. When in doubt, check the object of the sentence — it usually shows which verb fits.

How do I say “I approach” in the past?

It depends on the kind of past. For one finished action, use the preterite: yo me acerqué a la ventana para mirar. For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: yo me acercaba al mostrador a preguntar. For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: yo me he acercado a la ventana para mirar.

How do I practise acercarse?

Start with the present tense table, then drill the preterite and the imperfect, since those two past tenses cause the most mistakes. Try the acercarse examples and quiz page for more sentences, and use the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure.

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