Acordarse Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The Spanish verb acordarse means to remember, and this page covers it in the present tense — the tense for habits, facts and what is happening now. If you want the whole picture, start with the full acordarse conjugation, which has every tense on one page. Here we go deep on one tense only: the full table, how it is formed, when to use it, how it differs from the closest tense, examples, the mistakes learners actually make, a quiz and answers to the questions people ask most. One example to start: Yo me acuerdo de su cumpleaños. — "I remember his birthday."
No pronunciation is given on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for acordarse, so no pronunciation is shown rather than an invented one. All the forms below come from the verified conjugation tables, so you can trust every form you see here.
Watch out for one thing before you start: acordarse is a stem-changing verb (o → ue). The stem vowel changes in four of the six present forms, and the table below shows exactly which ones.
acordarse is reflexive, so every form below is shown with its reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se). The pronoun is part of the verb, not an optional extra.
The acordarse present tense table
Every form below comes from the verified conjugation tables for acordarse. The gerund is acordando and the past participle is acordado.
| Person | Pronoun | Form |
|---|---|---|
| yo | me | acuerdo |
| tú | te | acuerdas |
| él/ella/Ud. | se | acuerda |
| nosotros/as | nos | acordamos |
| vosotros/as | os | acordáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | se | acuerdan |
The gerund acordando is used with estar for the progressive (estoy acordando, I am remembering), and the past participle acordado is used with haber for the perfect tenses (he acordado, I have remembered).
How the present tense of acordarse is formed
Start with the infinitive acordar. Take off the -ar ending and you are left with the stem acord-. Then add the present endings for -ar verbs: -o (yo), -as (tú), -a (él/ella/Ud.), -amos (nosotros/as), -áis (vosotros/as) and -an (ellos/ellas/Uds.). That gives you the six forms in the table above, and for most verbs in this group that is the whole story.
acordarse is a stem-changing verb: the stem vowel changes from o → ue in the four stressed forms of the present. You say acuerdo (yo), acuerdas (tú), acuerda (él/ella) and acuerdan (ellos/ellas), but the nosotros and vosotros forms are unstressed, so they keep the plain stem: acordamos and acordáis. This is the single most important thing to learn about acordarse, because the change appears in the present, in the present subjunctive and in the imperative too. Learn the four changed forms as a set, and the two unchanged forms as a pair, and the pattern becomes automatic.
acordarse is reflexive, so every form needs its reflexive pronoun in front of it: me, te, se, nos, os, se, matching the person. In the table above the pronoun is shown in its own column, and in a sentence it goes before the conjugated verb: Me acuerdo de su cumpleaños.. Do not drop the pronoun: without it, you are talking about a different verb. In the infinitive the pronoun is attached to the end (acordarse), and in the gerund it can go before the auxiliary or attached to the gerund: estoy acordando or acordándome.
Two details are worth fixing early. First, the vosotros form carries a written accent on the ending: acordáis. Second, the present tense in Spanish has no auxiliary verb: me acuerdo on its own means both "I remember" and "I am remembering" in English, so you do not need a separate word for the progressive unless you want to stress that something is happening right now.
When to use the present tense of acordarse
Habits and routines
The present is the tense of what you do regularly. Talking about remembering dates: birthdays, exams, anniversaries.
- Yo me acuerdo de su cumpleaños. — "I remember his birthday."
- Tú te acuerdas de mi infancia. — "you remember my childhood."
Facts and general truths
The present also states facts that are true in general, not just today. Talking about remembering your childhood or a special night.
- Él se acuerda de la fecha. — "he/she remembers the date."
- Nosotros nos acordamos de todo. — "we remember everything."
What is happening now
The present describes what is happening at this moment. Talking about forgetting and remembering: no me acuerdo means I do not remember.
- Vosotros os acordáis de su nombre. — "you (all) remember her name."
- Ellos se acuerdan de aquella noche. — "they remember that night."
Plans in the near future
Spanish also uses the present for fixed plans in the near future, especially with a time expression. A plan you have already decided on can be stated in the present, and it sounds more certain than the future tense.
- Él se acuerda de la fecha. — "he/she remembers the date."
- Nosotros nos acordamos de todo. — "we remember everything."
Acordarse present vs present progressive
The present tense and the present progressive (estar + gerund) are close neighbours, and learners mix them up. The present describes a habit, a fact or a routine. The progressive describes something in progress right now, at this very moment. Compare the three pairs below: the first sentence in each pair is a habit, the second is happening now.
Present (habit): Yo me acuerdo de su cumpleaños. — "I remember his birthday."
Progressive (right now): Yo estoy acordando de su cumpleaños. — "I am remembering his birthday."
Present (habit): Tú te acuerdas de mi infancia. — "you remember my childhood."
Progressive (right now): Tú estás acordando de mi infancia. — "you are remembering my childhood."
Present (habit): Él se acuerda de la fecha. — "he/she remembers the date."
Progressive (right now): Él está acordando de la fecha. — "he/she is remembering the date."
Use the present when you talk about what you usually do, and the progressive when you want to stress that it is happening as you speak. If you say me acuerdo every day, that is a routine. If you say Estoy acordando, you are doing it at this moment.
Examples of acordarse in the present
Eight sentences in the present tense, so you can see the forms in real use. Read the Spanish first, guess the meaning, then check the translation.
- Me acuerdo de su cumpleaños. — "I remember his birthday."
- Mi abuela se acuerda de mi infancia. — "My grandmother remembers my childhood."
- Ayer me acordé de la fecha del examen. — "Yesterday I remembered the exam date."
- De niña, me acordaba de todo. — "As a girl, I used to remember everything."
- Mañana me acordaré de su nombre. — "Tomorrow I will remember her name."
- Si me acordara de aquella noche, te lo contaría. — "If I remembered that night, I would tell you about it."
- Él se acuerda de su nombre. — "he/she remembers her name."
- Nosotros nos acordamos de aquella noche. — "we remember that night."
Common mistakes with acordarse in the present
These are the errors learners actually make with this verb. Each one shows the wrong version, the right version, and why it is wrong.
1. Yo acuerdo de su cumpleaños.
Wrong: Yo acuerdo de su cumpleaños.
Right: Yo me acuerdo de su cumpleaños.
Acordarse is reflexive: the pronoun me is part of the verb. Acuerdo on its own means to agree on something.
2. Me acuerdo su cumpleaños.
Wrong: Me acuerdo su cumpleaños.
Right: Me acuerdo de su cumpleaños.
Remembering something needs the preposition de: me acuerdo de su cumpleaños. Without de, the sentence is wrong.
3. Forgetting the stem change
Wrong: Me acordo de su cumpleaños.
Right: Me acuerdo de su cumpleaños.
The stem change is not optional: acordarse changes its stem vowel in the yo form, so the correct form is acuerdo. Say the four changed forms out loud (yo, tú, él, ellos) until the new vowel feels natural.
4. Dropping the reflexive pronoun
Wrong: Yo acuerdo de su cumpleaños.
Right: Me acuerdo de su cumpleaños.
Without the pronoun you are using the non-reflexive verb, which means something else. The pronoun is part of acordarse: me acuerdo.
5. Using the present for a finished past action
Wrong: Ayer yo me acuerdo de su cumpleaños.
Right: Ayer yo me acordé de su cumpleaños.
Ayer (yesterday) signals a finished action, so it needs the preterite: me acordé. The present me acuerdo describes what you do now or usually, not what you did yesterday.
6. Forgetting the accent on the vosotros form
Wrong: Vosotros acordais de su cumpleaños.
Right: Vosotros acordáis de su cumpleaños.
The vosotros ending carries a written accent: acordáis. Without it, the spelling is wrong, even though the pronunciation is close.
Quiz: test yourself on acordarse in the present
Choose the right form for each sentence. The answers are at the end of this section, with an explanation for every question.
- Yo ___ de su cumpleaños
- a) me acuerdo
- b) te acuerdas
- c) se acuerda
- d) nos acordamos
- Tú ___ de mi infancia
- a) me acuerdo
- b) se acuerda
- c) nos acordamos
- d) te acuerdas
- Él ___ de la fecha
- a) te acuerdas
- b) nos acordamos
- c) se acuerda
- d) me acuerdo
- Nosotros ___ de todo
- a) se acuerda
- b) nos acordamos
- c) me acuerdo
- d) te acuerdas
- Vosotros ___ de su nombre
- a) os acordáis
- b) me acuerdo
- c) te acuerdas
- d) se acuerda
- Ellos ___ de aquella noche
- a) me acuerdo
- b) te acuerdas
- c) se acuerda
- d) se acuerdan
- Yo ___ de su cumpleaños
- a) se acuerda
- b) nos acordamos
- c) me acuerdo
- d) te acuerdas
- Tú ___ de mi infancia
- a) nos acordamos
- b) te acuerdas
- c) me acuerdo
- d) se acuerda
Answers
- a) me acuerdo — The sentence needs the yo form, because the subject is yo.
- d) te acuerdas — The sentence needs the tú form, because the subject is tú.
- c) se acuerda — The sentence needs the él/ella/Ud. form, because the subject is él/ella/Ud..
- b) nos acordamos — The sentence needs the nosotros/as form, because the subject is nosotros/as.
- a) os acordáis — The sentence needs the vosotros/as form, because the subject is vosotros/as.
- d) se acuerdan — The sentence needs the ellos/ellas/Uds. form, because the subject is ellos/ellas/Uds..
- c) me acuerdo — The sentence needs the yo form, because the subject is yo.
- b) te acuerdas — The sentence needs the tú form, because the subject is tú.
Frequently asked questions about acordarse in the present
What is the difference between acordar and acordarse?
Acordar means to agree: acordamos la fecha. Acordarse means to remember: me acuerdo de la fecha. The pronoun -se changes the meaning completely.
Why is it me acuerdo and not me acordo?
Acordarse is an o → ue stem-changing verb: me acuerdo, te acuerdas, se acuerda, se acuerdan. Nosotros and vosotros keep o: nos acordamos, os acordáis.
Is acordarse a stem-changing verb in the present?
Yes. In the present the stem vowel changes o → ue in the yo, tú, él and ellos forms: acuerdo, acuerdas, acuerda and acuerdan. The nosotros form (acordamos) and the vosotros form (acordáis) keep the plain stem.
What are the gerund and the past participle of acordarse?
The gerund is acordando, used with estar for the progressive (estoy acordando), and the past participle is acordado, used with haber for the perfect tenses (he acordado).
How to remember acordarse
Four small habits will fix acordarse in your memory. First, say the present tense out loud, in order, three times: me acuerdo, te acuerdas, se acuerda, nos acordamos, os acordáis, se acuerdan. Saying the forms is far more effective than reading them silently, because you hear the endings and the stem at the same time. Second, write three sentences about your own life: one about today with the present (me acuerdo), one about yesterday with the preterite (me acordé), and one about tomorrow with the future (me acordaré). Personal sentences stick because they are about you, not about a textbook. Third, remember the difference from olvidarse: Acordarse is remembering; olvidarse is forgetting. They are opposites: me acuerdo de su cumpleaños, pero me olvido de la fecha. Finally, learn the two key forms by heart: the gerund acordando and the past participle acordado. With those two and the present tense, you can already build the progressive (estoy acordando) and the present perfect (he acordado), which covers most everyday conversation.
Related pages
- Acordarse conjugation: full tables — every tense of acordarse on one page.
- Acordarse examples and quiz — more sentences and a longer quiz on acordarse.
- Spanish Present tense guide — the whole tense explained with a regular model verb.
- Spanish verbs — the hub for all Spanish verbs on VerbFlow.
- Present conjugator — conjugate any Spanish verb in the present.
- Spanish verb quiz — test yourself on real conjugated forms.
- Reflexive verb conjugator — reflexive verbs with the right pronoun for every person.