Adormecer Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Spanish
adormecer means "to make sleepy" in English, and this page shows it in everyday use: real example sentences in several tenses, two short dialogues, the mistakes learners actually make, and a quiz to test yourself. You will see adormecer with the baby with a song, the children with a story, the patient with the medicine and his grandmother with the music — the situations where Spanish speakers really use it. A good first sentence to learn is: Cada día, yo adormezco al bebé con una canción. — "Every day, I make sleepy the baby with a song." Read the examples aloud, notice which tense each one uses, and then try the dialogues and the quiz.
adormecer in everyday sentences
Twelve sentences with adormecer, grouped by situation. Each one shows the verb in a different tense or person, with its English translation and a note on when to use that form.
Everyday use
- Cada día, yo adormezco al bebé con una canción. — "Every day, I make sleepy the baby with a song." The present tense fits a habit here.
- Ayer, yo adormecí a los niños con un cuento. — "Yesterday, I made sleepy the children with a story." The preterite fits one finished action.
- Antes, yo adormecía al paciente con la medicina. — "In the past, I used to make sleepy the patient with the medicine." The imperfect fits a repeated action in the past.
- Mañana, nosotros adormeceremos a su abuela con la música. — "Tomorrow, we will make sleepy his grandmother with the music." The future tense fits a plan for tomorrow.
- Si pudieras, tú adormecerías al bebé con una canción. — "If you could, you would make sleepy the baby with a song." The conditional fits something that would happen.
- Yo he adormecido a los niños con un cuento. — "I have made sleepy the children with a story." The present perfect fits an action with present relevance.
More situations
- Normalmente, él adormece al paciente con la medicina. — "Normally, he/she makes sleepy the patient with the medicine." The present tense fits a general truth here.
- Ayer, él adormeció a su abuela con la música. — "Yesterday, he/she made sleepy his grandmother with the music." The preterite fits one finished action.
- Antes, nosotros adormecíamos al bebé con una canción. — "In the past, we used to make sleepy the baby with a song." The imperfect fits a repeated action in the past.
- Mañana, yo adormeceré a los niños con un cuento. — "Tomorrow, I will make sleepy the children with a story." The future tense fits a plan for tomorrow.
- Espero que él adormezca al paciente con la medicina. — "I hope that he/she makes sleepy the patient with the medicine." The present subjunctive follows espero que.
- ¡Adormece a su abuela con la música! — "Make sleepy his grandmother with the music!" The imperative fits a direct order or request.
The verb in context
Two short dialogues using adormecer naturally. Notice how the verb changes person and tense as the conversation moves, and how the complements stay the same kind of situation: the baby with a song, the children with a story, the patient with the medicine and his grandmother with the music.
Dialogue 1: talking about the baby with a song
Ana: ¿Tú adormeces al bebé con una canción? — "Do you make sleepy the baby with a song?" Luis: Sí, yo adormezco al bebé con una canción. — "I make sleepy the baby with a song." Ana: ¿Y ayer? — "And yesterday?" Luis: Ayer, yo adormecí a los niños con un cuento. — "Yesterday, I made sleepy the children with a story." Ana: Mañana, nosotros adormeceremos al paciente con la medicina. — "Tomorrow, we will make sleepy the patient with the medicine." Luis: Si pudiera, yo adormecería a su abuela con la música. — "If I could, I would make sleepy his grandmother with the music." Ana: Antes, yo adormecía a los niños con un cuento. — "In the past, I used to make sleepy the children with a story." Luis: Yo he adormecido al bebé con una canción. — "I have made sleepy the baby with a song." Ana: ¡Adormece al paciente con la medicina! — "Make sleepy the patient with the medicine!"
In this dialogue adormecer appears in the present, the preterite, the imperfect, the future, the conditional and the present perfect. That is the point: one verb, many tenses, and the complement tells you which situation you are in. Try the same dialogue with your own complements.
Dialogue 2: talking about the patient with the medicine
Ana: Él adormece al paciente con la medicina. — "he/she makes sleepy the patient with the medicine." Luis: ¿De verdad? ¿Él adormece al paciente con la medicina todos los días? — "Really? Does he/she makes sleepy the patient with the medicine every day?" Ana: Sí, y ellos adormecen a su abuela con la música. — "they make sleepy his grandmother with the music." Luis: Ayer, ellos adormecieron al paciente con la medicina. — "Yesterday, they made sleepy the patient with the medicine." Ana: Espero que él adormezca a su abuela con la música. — "I hope that he/she makes sleepy his grandmother with the music." Luis: Mañana, él adormecerá al paciente con la medicina. — "Tomorrow, he/she will make sleepy the patient with the medicine." Ana: Antes, nosotros adormecíamos a su abuela con la música. — "In the past, we used to make sleepy his grandmother with the music." Luis: Nosotros adormecemos al bebé con una canción también. — "we make sleepy the baby with a song too."
This dialogue shows adormecer in the third person and in the plural, which is where learners most often hesitate. Read it aloud with a partner, swapping the names and the complements for your own life, and the forms will start to feel automatic.
Common mistakes with adormecer
The errors learners actually make with adormecer in everyday use, each with the wrong form, the right form, and why it is wrong.
Mistake 1: Adding a reflexive pronoun that does not belong
- Wrong: Yo me adormezco al bebé con una canción.
- Right: Yo adormezco al bebé con una canción.
- Why: adormecer is not reflexive, so there is no pronoun to add: Yo adormezco al bebé con una canción. is the correct sentence.
Mistake 2: Using the infinitive as a conjugated form
- Wrong: Yo adormecer al bebé con una canción.
- Right: Yo adormezco al bebé con una canción.
- Why: The infinitive adormecer is the dictionary form, not a conjugated form. In a sentence with yo you need the present-tense form adormezco.
Mistake 3: Using the present tense for yesterday
- Wrong: Ayer, yo adormezco a los niños con un cuento.
- Right: Ayer, yo adormecí a los niños con un cuento.
- Why: Ayer means yesterday, so the action is finished and needs the preterite: Ayer, yo adormecí a los niños con un cuento. — "Yesterday, I made sleepy the children with a story."
Mistake 4: Mixing up the gerund and the participle
- Wrong: Estoy adormecido al paciente con la medicina.
- Right: Estoy adormeciendo al paciente con la medicina.
- Why: After estar you need the gerund adormeciendo for the progressive. The participle adormecido goes with haber in the perfect tenses (he adormecido), never after estar.
Mistake 5: Using the él form for nosotros
- Wrong: Nosotros adormece al bebé con una canción.
- Right: Nosotros adormecemos al bebé con una canción.
- Why: The person and the ending must match: nosotros takes adormecemos, while adormece belongs to él and ella.
Quiz: adormecer in use
Test yourself with ten questions on adormecer. The answers are explained, so read them even when you get a question right.
1. What is the yo form of adormecer in the present tense?
- (a) adormeces
- (b) adormece
- (c) adormecemos
- (d) adormezco
Answer: (d) adormezco. The yo form is adormezco.
2. What is the tú form of adormecer in the present tense?
- (a) adormece
- (b) adormecemos
- (c) adormeces
- (d) adormezco
Answer: (c) adormeces. The tú form is adormeces.
3. What is the él/ella form of adormecer in the present tense?
- (a) adormecemos
- (b) adormece
- (c) adormezco
- (d) adormeces
Answer: (b) adormece. The él/ella form is adormece.
4. Complete the sentence: Cada día, yo ___ al bebé con una canción.
- (a) adormezco
- (b) adormeces
- (c) adormece
- (d) adormecemos
Answer: (a) adormezco. The sentence needs the yo form adormezco.
5. Complete the sentence: Ayer, yo ___ a los niños con un cuento.
- (a) adormeciste
- (b) adormeció
- (c) adormecimos
- (d) adormecí
Answer: (d) adormecí. Ayer needs the preterite, and the yo form is adormecí.
6. Complete the sentence: Antes, yo ___ al paciente con la medicina.
- (a) adormecíamos
- (b) adormecíais
- (c) adormecía
- (d) adormecías
Answer: (c) adormecía. Antes needs the imperfect, and the yo form is adormecía.
7. Complete the sentence: Mañana, yo ___ a su abuela con la música.
- (a) adormeceremos
- (b) adormeceré
- (c) adormecerás
- (d) adormecerá
Answer: (b) adormeceré. Mañana needs the future, and the yo form is adormeceré.
8. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ al bebé con una canción.
- (a) hemos adormecido
- (b) he adormecido
- (c) has adormecido
- (d) ha adormecido
Answer: (b) he adormecido. The present perfect uses haber plus the participle: he adormecido.
9. Complete the sentence: Espero que él ___ al paciente con la medicina.
- (a) adormezcas
- (b) adormezcamos
- (c) adormecáis
- (d) adormezca
Answer: (d) adormezca. After espero que Spanish needs the subjunctive, and the él form is adormezca.
10. What does adormecer mean in English?
- (a) to button oneself up
- (b) to hoard, to monopolise
- (c) to have an accident
- (d) to make sleepy
Answer: (d) to make sleepy. adormecer means "to make sleepy" in English.
Frequently asked questions about adormecer
What does adormecer mean?
adormecer means "to make sleepy" in English. Use it when you talk about the baby with a song, the children with a story, the patient with the medicine and his grandmother with the music — for example: Cada día, yo adormezco al bebé con una canción. — "Every day, I make sleepy the baby with a song."
Is there a reflexive form of adormecer?
No. adormecer is not reflexive, so it is used without a pronoun: Cada día, yo adormezco al bebé con una canción. — "Every day, I make sleepy the baby with a song."
What is the most common mistake with adormecer?
The spelling change. Watch the spelling: the c becomes zc before o and a, so the yo form is adormezco and the subjunctive forms start with zc, for example adormezca. Practise the yo form and the subjunctive forms until they feel automatic, and check them against the table on the conjugation page.
How can I practise adormecer?
Take the quiz above, then make your own sentences: change the person in each example, change the complement to something from your own life, and say the sentence aloud. The verb quiz and the verb translator on this site give you more practice with the same forms.