Introduction
Despertar means “to wake (someone) up”, and it is one of the verbs you will use every day in Spanish. Despertar is the verb for waking someone else up: a child, a partner, a friend. The person woken is the direct object, with the personal a. Despertar also describes what wakes you: a noise, an alarm, the light. The subject is the thing that wakes you, and the verb works the same way. This page shows despertar in real sentences, in short dialogues, and in the mistakes learners make most often, and it finishes with a ten-question quiz so you can test yourself. Every sentence below comes with its English translation, and every form is the correct present-tense form unless the sentence is clearly marked as past or future. For a first taste: “Yo despierto a mi hijo a las siete.” — I wake my son at seven.
Despertar in real example sentences
The twelve sentences below are grouped by how despertar is used. Read each one out loud, then read the translation. If a sentence feels useful, copy it into your own notebook with one small change — a different time, a different person, a different place — and you have a new sentence of your own.
In the present: everyday use
These sentences use despertar in the present tense, which is how you will meet it most often: routines, facts, and things happening now.
“Yo despierto a mi hijo a las siete.” — I wake my son at seven.
“¿Tú despiertas a tu hermano?” — Do you wake your brother?
“El ruido despierta a todo el barrio.” — The noise wakes the whole neighbourhood.
“Nosotros despertamos a los niños a las ocho.” — We wake the children at eight.
Talking about the past
The present is not the only tense you need. These sentences show despertar in the past, so you can talk about what already happened.
“Ayer yo desperté a mi hijo a las seis.” — Yesterday I woke my son at six. (preterite)
“El ruido despertaba a todo el barrio cada mañana.” — The noise used to wake the whole neighbourhood every morning. (imperfect)
Plans and things already done
These sentences look forward, or look back at something already finished. Notice how the verb form changes while the meaning of despertar stays the same.
“Nosotros despertaremos a los niños a las ocho mañana.” — We will wake the children at eight tomorrow. (future)
“¿Tú has despertado alguna vez a tu hermano?” — Have you ever woken your brother? (present perfect)
More everyday uses
Four more present-tense sentences, covering the remaining persons, so you can see the whole table in action.
“Vosotros despertáis al abuelo con la música.” — You wake Grandpa with the music.
“Ellos despiertan a los vecinos con el perro.” — They wake the neighbours with the dog.
“Yo despierto a mi marido con un café.” — I wake my husband with a coffee.
“La alarma despierta a toda la familia.” — The alarm wakes the whole family.
Despertar in context
Single sentences teach you the forms. Dialogues teach you when to use them. Read the short conversation below, then the paragraph that follows, and notice how despertar appears naturally, without anyone stopping to think about conjugation.
A short dialogue
Marta: “¿Tú despiertas a tu hermano?” — Do you wake your brother?
Pedro: “Sí, yo despierto a mi hijo a las siete.” — Yes, I wake my son at seven.
Marta: “Nosotros despertamos a los niños a las ocho.” — We wake the children at eight.
Pedro: “Y ellos despiertan a los vecinos con el perro.” — And they wake the neighbours with the dog.
Marta: “Vosotros despertáis al abuelo con la música.” — You wake Grandpa with the music.
Pedro: “Sí, y la alarma despierta a toda la familia.” — Yes, and the alarm wakes the whole family.
A short paragraph
Marta despierta a su hijo a las siete, y el ruido despierta a todo el barrio. Nosotros despertamos a los niños a las ocho, y ellos despiertan a los vecinos con el perro. Yo despierto a mi marido con un café, y la alarma despierta a toda la familia. Despertar is part of every morning, because waking a child, waking with noise and waking a family are all part of the same verb.
Common mistakes with despertar
These are the errors learners actually make with despertar. Each one shows the wrong version, the right version, and why the correction matters.
Wrong: “Yo despertamos a mi hijo.” Right: “Yo despierto a mi hijo.” Why: The yo form is despierto, with the e → ie change, not despertamos. The change appears in yo, tú, él and ellos, while nosotros and vosotros keep the e: despertamos, despertáis.
Wrong: “Nosotros despiertan a los niños.” Right: “Nosotros despertamos a los niños.” Why: Nosotros keeps the unchanged stem: despertamos, not despiertan. The stem change never applies to nosotros or vosotros.
Wrong: “Yo despierto mi hijo.” Right: “Yo despierto a mi hijo.” Why: Waking a person needs the personal a: despierto a mi hijo. Without the a the sentence sounds unfinished to a native speaker.
Wrong: “Ellos despierta a los vecinos.” Right: “Ellos despiertan a los vecinos.” Why: Ellos needs the ellos form despiertan. The singular despierta belongs with él, ella or a singular noun such as el ruido.
Wrong: “Ellos despierto todos los días.” Right: “Ellos despiertan todos los días.” Why: The verb must agree with its subject. Ellos needs the ellos form despiertan, not the yo form despierto. This is the most common agreement slip in the present tense, and it happens because learners memorise the yo form first and then reuse it for every person.
Quiz: despertar in use
Ten questions on despertar in real sentences. Choose the correct answer for each one, then check the answer key. Every answer is explained.
1. Complete the sentence: “Vosotros ______ al abuelo con la música.” (You wake Grandpa with the music.)
- (a) despiertas
- (b) despertáis
- (c) despierto
Answer: despertáis — The vosotros/as form of despertar in the present tense is despertáis.
2. Complete the sentence: “Ellos ______ a los vecinos con el perro.” (They wake the neighbours with the dog.)
- (a) despiertan
- (b) despierto
- (c) despiertas
Answer: despiertan — The ellos/ellas/Uds. form of despertar in the present tense is despiertan.
3. Complete the sentence (preterite): “Ayer yo ______ a mi hijo a las seis.” (Yesterday I woke my son at six.)
- (a) despertaste
- (b) despertó
- (c) desperté
Answer: desperté — In the preterite, the yo form of despertar is desperté.
4. Complete the sentence (imperfect): “El ruido ______ a todo el barrio cada mañana.” (The noise used to wake the whole neighbourhood every morning.)
- (a) despertabas
- (b) despertaba
- (c) despertaba
Answer: despertaba — In the imperfect, the él/ella/Ud. form of despertar is despertaba.
5. Complete the sentence (future): “Nosotros ______ a los niños a las ocho mañana.” (We will wake the children at eight tomorrow.)
- (a) despertaremos
- (b) despertaré
- (c) despertarás
Answer: despertaremos — In the future, the nosotros/as form of despertar is despertaremos.
6. What does despertar mean in English?
- (a) to finish, to end
- (b) to serve
- (c) to wake (someone) up
Answer: to wake (someone) up — Despertar means “to wake (someone) up”. The other options are the meanings of different verbs.
7. Which sentence is correct?
- (a) Yo despierto a mi hijo.
- (b) Yo despertamos a mi hijo.
- (c) Nosotros despiertan a los niños.
Answer: Yo despierto a mi hijo. — “Yo despierto a mi hijo.” is correct. The other two sentences contain the mistakes explained in the section above.
8. How do you say “I wake my husband with a coffee.” in Spanish?
- (a) Yo despiertan a mi marido con un café.
- (b) Yo despierto a mi marido con un café.
- (c) La alarma despierta a toda la familia.
Answer: Yo despierto a mi marido con un café. — “Yo despierto a mi marido con un café.” is the correct translation. The second option means something different, and the third uses the wrong person's form.
9. What is the nosotros form of despertar in the present tense?
- (a) despierto
- (b) despiertas
- (c) despertamos
Answer: despertamos — The nosotros form is despertamos.
10. Which of these sentences is in the present tense?
- (a) Ayer yo desperté a mi hijo a las seis.
- (b) Nosotros despertaremos a los niños a las ocho mañana.
- (c) Yo despierto a mi hijo a las siete.
Answer: Yo despierto a mi hijo a las siete. — “Yo despierto a mi hijo a las siete.” is in the present tense. The other two are in the preterite and the future.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say 'I wake my son' in Spanish?
Say 'Despierto a mi hijo'. The a is the personal a, and it is required before a person. In the morning: 'Despierto a mi hijo a las siete'.
How do you say 'The alarm wakes me' in Spanish?
Say 'La alarma me despierta'. The alarm is the subject, and me is the object pronoun. Note the word order: the thing that wakes you comes first, then the pronoun, then the verb.
Can despertar mean 'to awaken interest'?
Yes. 'El libro despierta mi interés' means the book awakens my interest. It is the figurative use of the verb, and it works exactly like the literal use, with the same forms.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of despertar — every tense of despertar in one place.
- Despertar in the present tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Spanish verbs — the hub for every Spanish verb on VerbFlow.
- Verb quiz — test yourself on despertar and other verbs.
- Conjugation practice — drill the forms of despertar until they are automatic.