Acostar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The present tense of acostar — “to put to bed” in English — is the form you need for what happens now, for habits and for general truths. This page gives you the full present conjugation table for acostar with all six persons, explains exactly how the tense is formed for this verb, shows when to use it with real examples, and finishes with a quiz so you can test yourself. Acostar means to put to bed, and it is the verb parents use every night: you put a child to bed, you put a baby to bed, you lay someone down to rest. Its reflexive partner acostarse means to go to bed yourself, and confusing the two is one of the classic learner mistakes. Acostar is a irregular verb, so the notes below explain exactly where it follows the rules and where it breaks them. To see it in a real sentence: Acuesto a los niños a las nueve.
Present tense conjugation table: acostar
Every person of acostar in the present tense. The gerund is acostando and the past participle is acostado.
Present indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | acuesto |
| tú | acuestas |
| él/ella/Ud. | acuesta |
| nosotros/as | acostamos |
| vosotros/as | acostáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | acuestan |
How the present of acostar is formed
The present of acostar is built from the stem acost- plus the present endings for -ar verbs. Take the infinitive, drop the -ar ending, and add the ending that matches the person. The table below shows the endings, and the full table above shows them attached to the stem.
| Person | Ending | Form |
|---|---|---|
| yo | -o | acuesto |
| tú | -as | acuestas |
| él/ella/Ud. | -a | acuesta |
| nosotros/as | -amos | acostamos |
| vosotros/as | -áis | acostáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -an | acuestan |
Watch out for yo: the form is acuesto, not the regular acosto. The stem vowel changes here, while nosotros and vosotros keep the original stem. Watch out for tú: the form is acuestas, not the regular acostas. The stem vowel changes here, while nosotros and vosotros keep the original stem. Watch out for él/ella/Ud.: the form is acuesta, not the regular acosta. The stem vowel changes here, while nosotros and vosotros keep the original stem. Watch out for ellos/ellas/Uds.: the form is acuestan, not the regular acostan. The stem vowel changes here, while nosotros and vosotros keep the original stem.
Because acostar is a stem-changing verb (o → ue), the change applies in the singular and in the third-person plural, while nosotros and vosotros keep the original stem: acostamos and acostáis.
When to use the present tense with acostar
Habits and routines
Use the present for things you do regularly.
Yo acuesto a los niños a las nueve. — I put the children to bed at nine.
General facts
Use the present for facts and general truths that do not change.
Él/Ella acuesta al bebé en su cuna. — He puts the baby to bed in his cot.
What is happening right now
Use the present for what is happening at this moment.
Ahora, Nosotros/as acostamos a mi padre después de comer. — Right now, We put my father to bed after lunch.
Near-future plans
Use the present for fixed plans in the near future, especially with mañana or la semana que viene.
Mañana, Tú acuestas a mi abuela para la siesta. — Tomorrow, You put my grandmother to bed for her nap.
Instructions and timeless statements
Use the present for instructions, rules and statements that are always true.
Él/Ella acuesta a los niños a las nueve. — He puts the children to bed at nine.
The present vs the preterite
The present and the preterite answer different questions: the present says what happens regularly or right now, while the preterite says what happened once and finished. Compare the same idea in both tenses with acostar.
- Yo acuesto a los niños a las nueve. — I put the children to bed at nine. / Ayer, Yo acosté a los niños a las nueve. — Yesterday, I put the children to bed at nine.
- Yo acuesto al bebé en su cuna. — I put the baby to bed in his cot. / Ayer, Yo acosté al bebé en su cuna. — Yesterday, I put the baby to bed in his cot.
- Yo acuesto a mi padre después de comer. — I put my father to bed after lunch. / Ayer, Yo acosté a mi padre después de comer. — Yesterday, I put my father to bed after lunch.
Example sentences in the present tense
Seven sentences with acostar in the present tense only, covering all six persons.
- Yo acuesto a los niños a las nueve. — I put the children to bed at nine.
- Tú acuestas al bebé en su cuna. — You put the baby to bed in his cot.
- Él/Ella acuesta a mi padre después de comer. — He puts my father to bed after lunch.
- Nosotros/as acostamos a mi abuela para la siesta. — We put my grandmother to bed for her nap.
- Vosotros/as acostáis a los niños a las nueve. — You put the children to bed at nine.
- Ellos/as acuestan al bebé en su cuna. — They put the baby to bed in his cot.
- Yo acuesto a mi padre después de comer. — I put my father to bed after lunch.
Common mistakes
- Wrong: Yo acuesta a los niños a las nueve. — Right: Yo acuesto a los niños a las nueve. — The person matters: acuesta is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is acuesto.
- Wrong: Yo acosto al bebé en su cuna. — Right: Yo acuesto al bebé en su cuna. — Acostar is a stem-changing verb (o → ue), so the stem changes in the present singular and third-person plural.
- Wrong: Using acostar where acostarse belongs. — Right: Acostar means to put to bed, while acostarse means to go to bed yourself. — Check the meaning before you choose: acostar fits Acuesto a los niños a las nueve.
- Wrong: Espero que él acuesta al bebé en su cuna. — Right: Espero que él acueste al bebé en su cuna. — After espero que, Spanish needs the subjunctive: acueste, not the present indicative acuesta.
Quiz: the present tense of acostar
Eight questions on the present tense of acostar. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
Complete the sentence: Yo ___ a los niños a las nueve. (present tense, yo) A. acuesto B. acuestas C. acuesta D. acostamos
Complete the sentence: Tú ___ al bebé en su cuna. (present tense, tú) A. acuesto B. acuesta C. acostamos D. acuestas
Complete the sentence: Él/Ella ___ a mi padre después de comer. (present tense, él/ella/Ud.) A. acuestas B. acostamos C. acuesta D. acuesto
Complete the sentence: Nosotros/as ___ a mi abuela para la siesta. (present tense, nosotros/as) A. acuesta B. acostamos C. acuesto D. acuestas
Complete the sentence: Vosotros/as ___ a los niños a las nueve. (present tense, vosotros/as) A. acostáis B. acuesto C. acuestas D. acuesta
Complete the sentence: Ellos/as ___ al bebé en su cuna. (present tense, ellos/ellas/Uds.) A. acuesto B. acuestas C. acuesta D. acuestan
Which is the gerund of acostar? A. acuesto B. acosté C. acostando D. acostado
Which is the past participle of acostar, used with haber in the perfect tenses? A. acosté B. acostado C. acostando D. acuesto
Answer key
- acuesto — The yo present form of acostar is acuesto.
- acuestas — The tú present form of acostar is acuestas.
- acuesta — The él/ella/Ud. present form of acostar is acuesta.
- acostamos — The nosotros/as present form of acostar is acostamos.
- acostáis — The vosotros/as present form of acostar is acostáis.
- acuestan — The ellos/ellas/Uds. present form of acostar is acuestan.
- acostando — The gerund of acostar is acostando: estoy acostando.
- acostado — The past participle of acostar is acostado: he acostado, has acostado, ha acostado.
Frequently asked questions
How is the present tense of acostar formed?
Take the infinitive acostar, drop the -ar ending to get the stem acost-, then add the present endings: -o, -as, -a, -amos, -áis, -an. The full table is above, with every person. Yes, the present of acostar is irregular: learn the forms in the table above rather than deriving them from the infinitive.
When do I use the present tense of acostar?
Use the present for habits, facts and what is happening right now. For example: Acuesto a los niños a las nueve.
What is the difference between the present and the preterite of acostar?
The present (acuesto) and the preterite (acosté) answer different questions: the present is for habits and for right now, while the preterite is for one finished action. Compare them in the contrast section above.
How do I practise the present of acostar?
Drill the six forms in the table until you can say them without looking, then use the full conjugation of acostar to see how the present fits with the other tenses, and the acostar examples and quiz page for more sentences. The Spanish Verb Quiz tests the forms under pressure.
Related links
- Acostar conjugation — the full conjugation tables for acostar.
- Acostar examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice for acostar.
- Spanish present tense guide — when and how to use the present tense.
- Spanish verbs — the Spanish hub, with every verb and tense guide.
- Complete list of Spanish irregular verbs — where this verb's pattern is listed.
- Stem-Change Finder — find other verbs with the same stem change.
- Present-Tense Conjugator — conjugate any Spanish verb in the present tense.
- Spanish Verb Quiz — test yourself on real conjugated forms.