Introduction
Acostarse means «to go to bed». Acostarse means to go to bed. It is reflexive — me acuesto, te acuestas — and an o → ue stem-changing verb, so the stem vowel changes in the present tense and the subjunctive. It is the natural partner of despertarse in any description of a daily routine. It is a reflexive -ar verb, stem-changing (o → ue), so the tables below show you exactly how it behaves in every tense. On this page you will find the full conjugation of acostarse in all thirteen tenses, notes on when to use each one, example sentences, the mistakes learners make most often, a ten-question quiz and answers to the questions students ask about this verb. For example: «Yo me acuesto a las once todos los días.» — I go to bed at eleven every day.
Quick facts
| Infinitive | acostarse |
| English | to go to bed |
| Verb type | Reflexive -ar verb, stem-changing (o → ue) |
| Gerund | acostando |
| Past participle | acostado |
| Auxiliary verb | haber |
Full conjugation tables
The tables below show the verb forms exactly as conjugated. Because acostarse is reflexive, add the pronoun before the form in real sentences: me, te, se, nos, os, se — for example, «Me acuesto».
Gerund: acostando · Past participle: acostado
Present Indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | acuesto |
| tú | acuestas |
| él/ella/Ud. | acuesta |
| nosotros/as | acostamos |
| vosotros/as | acostáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | acuestan |
The present tense describes habits, facts and what is happening now. For acostarse, the yo form is acuesto, as in «Yo acuesto» in the examples below. This is one of the tenses where acostarse does not follow the regular -ar pattern, so learn the forms in the table above rather than guessing them from the infinitive. Use the present for routines («todos los días») and for general truths.
Preterite
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | acosté |
| tú | acostaste |
| él/ella/Ud. | acostó |
| nosotros/as | acostamos |
| vosotros/as | acostasteis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | acostaron |
The preterite describes completed actions in the past — things that started and finished. «Ayer yo acosté» is the classic use. Do not confuse it with the imperfect: the preterite moves the story forward, one finished event at a time.
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | acostaba |
| tú | acostabas |
| él/ella/Ud. | acostaba |
| nosotros/as | acostábamos |
| vosotros/as | acostabais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | acostaban |
The imperfect describes the past as background: habits, descriptions and actions in progress. «De pequeño, yo acostaba» shows the habitual use. It sets the scene while the preterite reports what happened inside it.
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | acostaré |
| tú | acostarás |
| él/ella/Ud. | acostará |
| nosotros/as | acostaremos |
| vosotros/as | acostaréis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | acostarán |
The future tense states what will happen. For acostarse the future is built on the infinitive: «Mañana yo acostaré». It is also used for predictions and promises, and in spoken Spanish it often alternates with ir a + infinitive.
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | acostaría |
| tú | acostarías |
| él/ella/Ud. | acostaría |
| nosotros/as | acostaríamos |
| vosotros/as | acostaríais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | acostarían |
The conditional expresses what would happen: wishes, polite requests and hypothetical results. «Si tuviera más tiempo, yo acostaría» is the typical pattern. It shares its stem with the future and changes only the endings.
Present Perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | he acostado |
| tú | has acostado |
| él/ella/Ud. | ha acostado |
| nosotros/as | hemos acostado |
| vosotros/as | habéis acostado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | han acostado |
The present perfect connects the past with the present: something that has happened, often today or recently. It is haber in the present plus the past participle: «Hoy yo he acostado». In Spain it is used for anything that happened today; in Latin America the preterite is often preferred.
Pluperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | había acostado |
| tú | habías acostado |
| él/ella/Ud. | había acostado |
| nosotros/as | habíamos acostado |
| vosotros/as | habíais acostado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habían acostado |
The pluperfect describes an event that happened before another past event: «Cuando llegué, ya había acostado». It is haber in the imperfect plus the past participle, and it is the tense for explaining what had already happened when something else took place.
Future Perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habré acostado |
| tú | habrás acostado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habrá acostado |
| nosotros/as | habremos acostado |
| vosotros/as | habréis acostado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrán acostado |
The future perfect looks back from a future point: by then, something will already have happened. «Para mañana, yo habré acostado» is the pattern — haber in the future plus the past participle. It is less common in speech but regular in formal writing.
Conditional Perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habría acostado |
| tú | habrías acostado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habría acostado |
| nosotros/as | habríamos acostado |
| vosotros/as | habríais acostado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrían acostado |
The conditional perfect expresses what would have happened: «Yo habría acostado si hubiera podido». It is haber in the conditional plus the past participle, and it is the tense for regrets and missed chances.
Present Subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | acueste |
| tú | acuestes |
| él/ella/Ud. | acueste |
| nosotros/as | acostemos |
| vosotros/as | acostéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | acuesten |
The present subjunctive appears after wishes, doubts, emotions and impersonal expressions: «Espero que él acueste». The trigger is in the main clause; the subjunctive is the mood of uncertainty, desire and influence. Learn the yo form first — most of the table follows from it. This is one of the tenses where acostarse does not follow the regular -ar pattern, so learn the forms in the table above rather than guessing them from the infinitive.
Imperfect Subjunctive (-ra forms)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | acostara |
| tú | acostaras |
| él/ella/Ud. | acostara |
| nosotros/as | acostáramos |
| vosotros/as | acostarais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | acostaran |
The imperfect subjunctive is the past partner of the present subjunctive, used after past-tense triggers and in si-clauses: «Si él acostara, todo sería distinto». The table above shows the -ra forms, the ones you will hear most often. There is also a less common -se set built on the same stem.
Imperative — Affirmative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | acuesta |
| él/ella/Ud. | acueste |
| nosotros/as | acostemos |
| vosotros/as | acostad |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | acuesten |
There is no yo form in the imperative — you cannot command yourself.
The affirmative imperative gives direct commands and instructions: «¡Acuesta!». There is no yo form — you cannot command yourself. The tú form is the one you will use with friends and family, and the usted form with people you address formally. This is one of the tenses where acostarse does not follow the regular -ar pattern, so learn the forms in the table above rather than guessing them from the infinitive.
Imperative — Negative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | acuestes |
| él/ella/Ud. | acueste |
| nosotros/as | acostemos |
| vosotros/as | acostéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | acuesten |
There is no yo form in the imperative — you cannot command yourself.
The negative imperative tells someone not to do something: «¡No acuestes!». Unlike the affirmative imperative, the negative forms come from the present subjunctive, which is why they look different. Never use the affirmative form after no. This is one of the tenses where acostarse does not follow the regular -ar pattern, so learn the forms in the table above rather than guessing them from the infinitive.
Example sentences
- Yo me acuesto a las once todos los días. — I go to bed at eleven every day.
- Mi hermana se acuesta a las once mucho. — My sister goes to bed at eleven a lot.
- Ayer yo me acosté a las once por la tarde. — Yesterday I went to bed at eleven in the afternoon.
- De pequeño, yo me acostaba a las once muchas veces. — As a child, I used to go to bed at eleven often.
- Mañana yo me acostaré a las once sin falta. — Tomorrow I will go to bed at eleven without fail.
- Si tuviera más tiempo, yo me acostaría a las once ahora mismo. — If I had more time, I would go to bed at eleven right now.
- Hoy yo me he acostado temprano dos veces. — Today I have gone to bed early twice.
- Espero que él se acueste a las once pronto. — I hope he goes to bed at eleven soon.
- ¡No te acuestes tan tarde esta noche! — Don't go to bed so late tonight!
- Ahora mismo me estoy acostando. — Right now I am going to bed.
Common mistakes
1. Using the regular stem in the present
Wrong: acosto
Right: acuesto
Acostarse does not keep its infinitive stem here. The correct form is acuesto; the regular-looking acosto is a form learners invent by applying the standard endings to the wrong stem.
2. Dropping the reflexive pronoun
Wrong: Yo acuesto a las once.
Right: Yo me acuesto a las once.
Acostarse is reflexive: the pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se) is part of the verb. Without it you are using the non-reflexive verb, which means something else entirely.
3. Confusing it with a similar verb
Wrong: *Acuesto a las once.
Right: Me acuesto a las once.
Acuesto without a pronoun means I put someone to bed. Going to bed yourself needs the reflexive pronoun: me acuesto.
4. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
Wrong: Espero que tú acuestas a las once.
Right: Espero que tú acuestes a las once.
After espero que, Spanish requires the subjunctive: acuestes, not the indicative acuestas. Wishes, hopes and doubts all trigger this change.
5. Using the affirmative imperative after no
Wrong: No acuesta a las once.
Right: No acuestes a las once.
Negative commands use the subjunctive-based forms: no acuestes. The affirmative acuesta can never follow no.
Quiz
Test yourself on the forms above. Choose the correct answer, then check the key below.
1. What is the yo form of acostarse in the present tense? (the reflexive pronoun goes before the verb form)
- (a) acostamos
- (b) acuesta
- (c) acuestas
- (d) acuesto
2. What is the él/ella form of acostarse in the preterite?
- (a) acostamos
- (b) acostaste
- (c) acosté
- (d) acostó
3. What is the nosotros form of acostarse in the imperfect?
- (a) acostaba
- (b) acostabas
- (c) acostábamos
4. What is the tú form of acostarse in the future tense?
- (a) acostaremos
- (b) acostará
- (c) acostarás
- (d) acostaré
5. What is the ellos form of acostarse in the conditional?
- (a) acostaría
- (b) acostarían
- (c) acostarías
6. What is the yo form of acostarse in the present perfect? (the reflexive pronoun goes before the verb form)
- (a) ha acostado
- (b) has acostado
- (c) he acostado
- (d) hemos acostado
7. After «Espero que…», what is the tú form of acostarse?
- (a) acostemos
- (b) acueste
- (c) acuestes
8. What is the nosotros form of acostarse in the imperfect subjunctive (-ra)?
- (a) acostara
- (b) acostáramos
- (c) acostaras
9. What is the gerund of acostarse?
- (a) acostado
- (b) acostando
- (c) acostarse
- (d) acuesto
10. What is the past participle of acostarse?
- (a) acostado
- (b) acostando
- (c) acostarse
- (d) acosté
Answer key
1. (d) acuesto — In the present, the yo form of acostarse is acuesto. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
2. (d) acostó — In the preterite, the el form of acostarse is acostó. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
3. (c) acostábamos — In the imperfect, the nosotros form of acostarse is acostábamos. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
4. (c) acostarás — In the future, the tu form of acostarse is acostarás. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
5. (b) acostarían — In the conditional, the ellos form of acostarse is acostarían. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
6. (c) he acostado — In the present perfect, the yo form of acostarse is he acostado. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
7. (c) acuestes — In the present subjunctive, the tu form of acostarse is acuestes. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
8. (b) acostáramos — In the imperfect subjunctive, the nosotros form of acostarse is acostáramos. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
9. (b) acostando — The gerund of acostarse is acostando. It is used with estar for the progressive: «Estoy acostando».
10. (a) acostado — The past participle of acostarse is acostado. It follows haber in all the perfect tenses: «he acostado».
Frequently asked questions
Is acostarse regular or irregular?
No — acostarse is a stem-changing verb (o → ue). The stem vowel changes in the present tense, the present subjunctive and the imperative, and the tenses affected are: present, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative. The nosotros and vosotros forms keep the original stem.
What are the gerund and past participle of acostarse?
The gerund is acostando and the past participle is acostado. Use the gerund with estar for actions in progress («Estoy acostando») and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses («he acostado»).
What is the difference between acostarse and dormirse?
Acostarse and dormirse are often confused. Dormirse is to fall asleep; acostarse is to go to bed.
How do I say «I go to bed» in Spanish?
Say «Yo me acuesto». That is the yo form of the present tense, the form you need for talking about yourself right now.
Why does acostarse end in -se?
The -se marks a reflexive verb: the action comes back to the subject. The pronoun changes with the person — me acuesto, te acuestas, se acuesta — and it always goes before the conjugated verb, or attached to an infinitive or gerund.
Related links
- Practise this verb in one tense: acostarse-present-tense
- More examples and a quiz: acostarse-examples-and-quiz
- Browse all Spanish verbs: /spanish/
- Full list of irregular verbs: spanish-irregular-verbs
- Related verb: despertarse
- Related verb: levantarse
- Related verb: dormir
- Conjugate any verb: verb-conjugator
- Reflexive verb conjugator: reflexive-verb-conjugator