Introduction

Despertarse means «to wake up». Despertarse means to wake up: the first thing you do every morning. It is reflexive — the pronouns me, te, se, nos, os, se go before the verb — and it is an e → ie stem-changing verb, so the stem vowel changes in the present and the subjunctive. It is a reflexive -ar verb, stem-changing (e → ie), so the tables below show you exactly how it behaves in every tense. On this page you will find the full conjugation of despertarse 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 despierto a las siete todos los días.» — I wake up at seven every day.

Quick facts
Infinitive despertarse
English to wake up
Verb type Reflexive -ar verb, stem-changing (e → ie)
Gerund despertando
Past participle despertado
Auxiliary verb haber

Full conjugation tables

The tables below show the verb forms exactly as conjugated. Because despertarse is reflexive, add the pronoun before the form in real sentences: me, te, se, nos, os, se — for example, «Me despierto».

Gerund: despertando · Past participle: despertado

Present Indicative

Person Form
yo despierto
tú despiertas
él/ella/Ud. despierta
nosotros/as despertamos
vosotros/as despertáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. despiertan

The present tense describes habits, facts and what is happening now. For despertarse, the yo form is despierto, as in «Yo despierto» in the examples below. This is one of the tenses where despertarse 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 desperté
tú despertaste
él/ella/Ud. despertó
nosotros/as despertamos
vosotros/as despertasteis
ellos/ellas/Uds. despertaron

The preterite describes completed actions in the past — things that started and finished. «Ayer yo desperté» 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 despertaba
tú despertabas
él/ella/Ud. despertaba
nosotros/as despertábamos
vosotros/as despertabais
ellos/ellas/Uds. despertaban

The imperfect describes the past as background: habits, descriptions and actions in progress. «De pequeño, yo despertaba» shows the habitual use. It sets the scene while the preterite reports what happened inside it.

Future

Person Form
yo despertaré
tú despertarás
él/ella/Ud. despertará
nosotros/as despertaremos
vosotros/as despertaréis
ellos/ellas/Uds. despertarán

The future tense states what will happen. For despertarse the future is built on the infinitive: «Mañana yo despertaré». It is also used for predictions and promises, and in spoken Spanish it often alternates with ir a + infinitive.

Conditional

Person Form
yo despertaría
tú despertarías
él/ella/Ud. despertaría
nosotros/as despertaríamos
vosotros/as despertaríais
ellos/ellas/Uds. despertarían

The conditional expresses what would happen: wishes, polite requests and hypothetical results. «Si tuviera más tiempo, yo despertaría» is the typical pattern. It shares its stem with the future and changes only the endings.

Present Perfect

Person Form
yo he despertado
tú has despertado
él/ella/Ud. ha despertado
nosotros/as hemos despertado
vosotros/as habéis despertado
ellos/ellas/Uds. han despertado

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 despertado». In Spain it is used for anything that happened today; in Latin America the preterite is often preferred.

Pluperfect

Person Form
yo había despertado
tú habías despertado
él/ella/Ud. había despertado
nosotros/as habíamos despertado
vosotros/as habíais despertado
ellos/ellas/Uds. habían despertado

The pluperfect describes an event that happened before another past event: «Cuando llegué, ya había despertado». 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 despertado
tú habrás despertado
él/ella/Ud. habrá despertado
nosotros/as habremos despertado
vosotros/as habréis despertado
ellos/ellas/Uds. habrán despertado

The future perfect looks back from a future point: by then, something will already have happened. «Para mañana, yo habré despertado» 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 despertado
tú habrías despertado
él/ella/Ud. habría despertado
nosotros/as habríamos despertado
vosotros/as habríais despertado
ellos/ellas/Uds. habrían despertado

The conditional perfect expresses what would have happened: «Yo habría despertado 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 despierte
tú despiertes
él/ella/Ud. despierte
nosotros/as despertemos
vosotros/as despertéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. despierten

The present subjunctive appears after wishes, doubts, emotions and impersonal expressions: «Espero que él despierte». 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 despertarse 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 despertara
tú despertaras
él/ella/Ud. despertara
nosotros/as despertáramos
vosotros/as despertarais
ellos/ellas/Uds. despertaran

The imperfect subjunctive is the past partner of the present subjunctive, used after past-tense triggers and in si-clauses: «Si él despertara, 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 despierta
él/ella/Ud. despierte
nosotros/as despertemos
vosotros/as despertad
ellos/ellas/Uds. despierten

There is no yo form in the imperative — you cannot command yourself.

The affirmative imperative gives direct commands and instructions: «¡Despierta!». 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 despertarse 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 despiertes
él/ella/Ud. despierte
nosotros/as despertemos
vosotros/as despertéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. despierten

There is no yo form in the imperative — you cannot command yourself.

The negative imperative tells someone not to do something: «¡No despiertes!». 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 despertarse does not follow the regular -ar pattern, so learn the forms in the table above rather than guessing them from the infinitive.

Example sentences

  1. Yo me despierto a las siete todos los días. — I wake up at seven every day.
  2. Mi hermana se despierta a las siete mucho. — My sister wakes up at seven a lot.
  3. Ayer yo me desperté a las siete por la tarde. — Yesterday I woke up at seven in the afternoon.
  4. De pequeño, yo me despertaba a las siete muchas veces. — As a child, I used to wake up at seven often.
  5. Mañana yo me despertaré a las siete sin falta. — Tomorrow I will wake up at seven without fail.
  6. Si tuviera más tiempo, yo me despertaría a las siete ahora mismo. — If I had more time, I would wake up at seven right now.
  7. Hoy yo me he despertado temprano dos veces. — Today I have woken up early twice.
  8. Espero que él se despierte a las siete pronto. — I hope he wakes up at seven soon.
  9. ¡No te despiertes tan tarde mañana! — Don't wake up so late tomorrow!
  10. Ahora mismo me estoy despertando. — Right now I am waking up.

Common mistakes

1. Using the regular stem in the present

Wrong: desperto

Right: despierto

Despertarse does not keep its infinitive stem here. The correct form is despierto; the regular-looking desperto is a form learners invent by applying the standard endings to the wrong stem.

2. Dropping the reflexive pronoun

Wrong: Yo despierto a las siete.

Right: Yo me despierto a las siete.

Despertarse 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: *Despierto a las siete.

Right: Me despierto a las siete.

Without the reflexive pronoun, despierto means you wake someone else. Waking up yourself always needs me, te or se.

4. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger

Wrong: Espero que tú despiertas a las siete.

Right: Espero que tú despiertes a las siete.

After espero que, Spanish requires the subjunctive: despiertes, not the indicative despiertas. Wishes, hopes and doubts all trigger this change.

5. Using the affirmative imperative after no

Wrong: No despierta a las siete.

Right: No despiertes a las siete.

Negative commands use the subjunctive-based forms: no despiertes. The affirmative despierta 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 despertarse in the present tense? (the reflexive pronoun goes before the verb form)

- (a) despertamos
- (b) despierta
- (c) despiertas
- (d) despierto

2. What is the él/ella form of despertarse in the preterite?

- (a) despertamos
- (b) despertaste
- (c) desperté
- (d) despertó

3. What is the nosotros form of despertarse in the imperfect?

- (a) despertaba
- (b) despertabas
- (c) despertábamos

4. What is the tú form of despertarse in the future tense?

- (a) despertaremos
- (b) despertará
- (c) despertarás
- (d) despertaré

5. What is the ellos form of despertarse in the conditional?

- (a) despertaría
- (b) despertarían
- (c) despertarías

6. What is the yo form of despertarse in the present perfect? (the reflexive pronoun goes before the verb form)

- (a) ha despertado
- (b) has despertado
- (c) he despertado
- (d) hemos despertado

7. After «Espero que…», what is the tú form of despertarse?

- (a) despertemos
- (b) despierte
- (c) despiertes

8. What is the nosotros form of despertarse in the imperfect subjunctive (-ra)?

- (a) despertara
- (b) despertáramos
- (c) despertaras

9. What is the gerund of despertarse?

- (a) despertado
- (b) despertando
- (c) despertarse
- (d) despierto

10. What is the past participle of despertarse?

- (a) despertado
- (b) despertando
- (c) despertarse
- (d) desperté

Answer key

1. (d) despierto — In the present, the yo form of despertarse is despierto. The other options are the same tense but different persons.

2. (d) despertó — In the preterite, the el form of despertarse is despertó. The other options are the same tense but different persons.

3. (c) despertábamos — In the imperfect, the nosotros form of despertarse is despertábamos. The other options are the same tense but different persons.

4. (c) despertarás — In the future, the tu form of despertarse is despertarás. The other options are the same tense but different persons.

5. (b) despertarían — In the conditional, the ellos form of despertarse is despertarían. The other options are the same tense but different persons.

6. (c) he despertado — In the present perfect, the yo form of despertarse is he despertado. The other options are the same tense but different persons.

7. (c) despiertes — In the present subjunctive, the tu form of despertarse is despiertes. The other options are the same tense but different persons.

8. (b) despertáramos — In the imperfect subjunctive, the nosotros form of despertarse is despertáramos. The other options are the same tense but different persons.

9. (b) despertando — The gerund of despertarse is despertando. It is used with estar for the progressive: «Estoy despertando».

10. (a) despertado — The past participle of despertarse is despertado. It follows haber in all the perfect tenses: «he despertado».

Frequently asked questions

Is despertarse regular or irregular?

No — despertarse is a stem-changing verb (e → ie). 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 despertarse?

The gerund is despertando and the past participle is despertado. Use the gerund with estar for actions in progress («Estoy despertando») and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses («he despertado»).

What is the difference between despertarse and levantarse?

Despertarse and levantarse are often confused. Levantarse is to get out of bed; despertarse is to stop sleeping.

How do I say «I wake up» in Spanish?

Say «Yo me despierto». That is the yo form of the present tense, the form you need for talking about yourself right now.

Why does despertarse end in -se?

The -se marks a reflexive verb: the action comes back to the subject. The pronoun changes with the person — me despierto, te despiertas, se despierta — and it always goes before the conjugated verb, or attached to an infinitive or gerund.

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