Introduction
Dormir means «to sleep». Dormir means to sleep, and everyone talks about it: how many hours you slept, whether you slept well, what time you go to bed. It is a stem-changing o → ue verb with extra changes in the preterite and gerund, so it repays careful study. It is a irregular -ir 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 dormir 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 duermo ocho horas todos los días.» — I sleep eight hours every day.
Quick facts
| Infinitive | dormir |
| English | to sleep |
| Verb type | Irregular -ir verb, stem-changing (o → ue) |
| Gerund | durmiendo |
| Past participle | dormido |
| Auxiliary verb | haber |
Full conjugation tables
Gerund: durmiendo · Past participle: dormido
Present Indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | duermo |
| tú | duermes |
| él/ella/Ud. | duerme |
| nosotros/as | dormimos |
| vosotros/as | dormís |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | duermen |
The present tense describes habits, facts and what is happening now. For dormir, the yo form is duermo, as in «Yo duermo» in the examples below. This is one of the tenses where dormir does not follow the regular -ir 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 | dormí |
| tú | dormiste |
| él/ella/Ud. | durmió |
| nosotros/as | dormimos |
| vosotros/as | dormisteis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | durmieron |
The preterite describes completed actions in the past — things that started and finished. «Ayer yo dormí» is the classic use. Do not confuse it with the imperfect: the preterite moves the story forward, one finished event at a time. This is one of the tenses where dormir does not follow the regular -ir pattern, so learn the forms in the table above rather than guessing them from the infinitive.
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | dormía |
| tú | dormías |
| él/ella/Ud. | dormía |
| nosotros/as | dormíamos |
| vosotros/as | dormíais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | dormían |
The imperfect describes the past as background: habits, descriptions and actions in progress. «De pequeño, yo dormía» shows the habitual use. It sets the scene while the preterite reports what happened inside it.
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | dormiré |
| tú | dormirás |
| él/ella/Ud. | dormirá |
| nosotros/as | dormiremos |
| vosotros/as | dormiréis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | dormirán |
The future tense states what will happen. For dormir the future is built on the infinitive: «Mañana yo dormiré». It is also used for predictions and promises, and in spoken Spanish it often alternates with ir a + infinitive.
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | dormiría |
| tú | dormirías |
| él/ella/Ud. | dormiría |
| nosotros/as | dormiríamos |
| vosotros/as | dormiríais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | dormirían |
The conditional expresses what would happen: wishes, polite requests and hypothetical results. «Si tuviera más tiempo, yo dormiría» is the typical pattern. It shares its stem with the future and changes only the endings.
Present Perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | he dormido |
| tú | has dormido |
| él/ella/Ud. | ha dormido |
| nosotros/as | hemos dormido |
| vosotros/as | habéis dormido |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | han dormido |
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 dormido». In Spain it is used for anything that happened today; in Latin America the preterite is often preferred.
Pluperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | había dormido |
| tú | habías dormido |
| él/ella/Ud. | había dormido |
| nosotros/as | habíamos dormido |
| vosotros/as | habíais dormido |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habían dormido |
The pluperfect describes an event that happened before another past event: «Cuando llegué, ya había dormido». 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 dormido |
| tú | habrás dormido |
| él/ella/Ud. | habrá dormido |
| nosotros/as | habremos dormido |
| vosotros/as | habréis dormido |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrán dormido |
The future perfect looks back from a future point: by then, something will already have happened. «Para mañana, yo habré dormido» 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 dormido |
| tú | habrías dormido |
| él/ella/Ud. | habría dormido |
| nosotros/as | habríamos dormido |
| vosotros/as | habríais dormido |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrían dormido |
The conditional perfect expresses what would have happened: «Yo habría dormido 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 | duerma |
| tú | duermas |
| él/ella/Ud. | duerma |
| nosotros/as | durmamos |
| vosotros/as | durmáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | duerman |
The present subjunctive appears after wishes, doubts, emotions and impersonal expressions: «Espero que él duerma». 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 dormir does not follow the regular -ir pattern, so learn the forms in the table above rather than guessing them from the infinitive.
Imperfect Subjunctive (-ra forms)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | durmiera |
| tú | durmieras |
| él/ella/Ud. | durmiera |
| nosotros/as | durmiéramos |
| vosotros/as | durmierais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | durmieran |
The imperfect subjunctive is the past partner of the present subjunctive, used after past-tense triggers and in si-clauses: «Si él durmiera, 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. This is one of the tenses where dormir does not follow the regular -ir pattern, so learn the forms in the table above rather than guessing them from the infinitive.
Imperative — Affirmative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | duerme |
| él/ella/Ud. | duerma |
| nosotros/as | durmamos |
| vosotros/as | dormid |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | duerman |
There is no yo form in the imperative — you cannot command yourself.
The affirmative imperative gives direct commands and instructions: «¡Duerme!». 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 dormir does not follow the regular -ir pattern, so learn the forms in the table above rather than guessing them from the infinitive.
Imperative — Negative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | duermas |
| él/ella/Ud. | duerma |
| nosotros/as | durmamos |
| vosotros/as | durmáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | duerman |
There is no yo form in the imperative — you cannot command yourself.
The negative imperative tells someone not to do something: «¡No duermas!». 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 dormir does not follow the regular -ir pattern, so learn the forms in the table above rather than guessing them from the infinitive.
Example sentences
- Yo duermo ocho horas todos los días. — I sleep eight hours every day.
- Mi hermana duerme ocho horas mucho. — My sister sleeps eight hours a lot.
- Ayer yo dormí ocho horas por la tarde. — Yesterday I slept eight hours in the afternoon.
- De pequeño, yo dormía ocho horas muchas veces. — As a child, I used to sleep eight hours often.
- Mañana yo dormiré ocho horas sin falta. — Tomorrow I will sleep eight hours without fail.
- Si tuviera más tiempo, yo dormiría ocho horas ahora mismo. — If I had more time, I would sleep eight hours right now.
- Hoy yo he dormido bien dos veces. — Today I have slept well twice.
- Espero que él duerma ocho horas pronto. — I hope he sleeps eight hours soon.
- ¡Duerme ocho horas esta noche! — Sleep eight hours tonight!
- Ahora mismo estoy durmiendo ocho horas. — Right now I am sleeping eight hours.
Common mistakes
1. Using the regular stem in the present
Wrong: dormo
Right: duermo
Dormir does not keep its infinitive stem here. The correct form is duermo; the regular-looking dormo is a form learners invent by applying the standard endings to the wrong stem.
2. Using the imperfect for a finished event
Wrong: Ayer yo dormía ocho horas.
Right: Ayer yo dormí ocho horas.
Yesterday's finished action needs the preterite, dormí. The imperfect dormía describes what used to happen or what was going on, not a single completed event.
3. Confusing it with a similar verb
Wrong: *Duermo a ocho horas.
Right: Duermo ocho horas.
Dormir takes a direct object of time with no preposition: dormir ocho horas.
4. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
Wrong: Espero que tú duermes ocho horas.
Right: Espero que tú duermas ocho horas.
After espero que, Spanish requires the subjunctive: duermas, not the indicative duermes. Wishes, hopes and doubts all trigger this change.
5. Using the regular gerund
Wrong: dormiendo
Right: durmiendo
The gerund of dormir is irregular: durmiendo, not dormiendo. Use it with estar for the progressive: «Estoy durmiendo».
Quiz
Test yourself on the forms above. Choose the correct answer, then check the key below.
1. What is the yo form of dormir in the present tense?
- (a) dormimos
- (b) duerme
- (c) duermes
- (d) duermo
2. What is the él/ella form of dormir in the preterite?
- (a) dormimos
- (b) dormiste
- (c) dormí
- (d) durmió
3. What is the nosotros form of dormir in the imperfect?
- (a) dormía
- (b) dormíamos
- (c) dormías
4. What is the tú form of dormir in the future tense?
- (a) dormiremos
- (b) dormirá
- (c) dormirás
- (d) dormiré
5. What is the ellos form of dormir in the conditional?
- (a) dormiría
- (b) dormirían
- (c) dormirías
6. What is the yo form of dormir in the present perfect?
- (a) ha dormido
- (b) has dormido
- (c) he dormido
- (d) hemos dormido
7. After «Espero que…», what is the tú form of dormir?
- (a) duerma
- (b) duermas
- (c) durmamos
8. What is the nosotros form of dormir in the imperfect subjunctive (-ra)?
- (a) durmiera
- (b) durmiéramos
- (c) durmieras
9. What is the gerund of dormir?
- (a) dormido
- (b) dormir
- (c) duermo
- (d) durmiendo
10. What is the past participle of dormir?
- (a) dormido
- (b) dormir
- (c) dormí
- (d) durmiendo
Answer key
1. (d) duermo — In the present, the yo form of dormir is duermo. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
2. (d) durmió — In the preterite, the el form of dormir is durmió. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
3. (b) dormíamos — In the imperfect, the nosotros form of dormir is dormíamos. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
4. (c) dormirás — In the future, the tu form of dormir is dormirás. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
5. (b) dormirían — In the conditional, the ellos form of dormir is dormirían. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
6. (c) he dormido — In the present perfect, the yo form of dormir is he dormido. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
7. (b) duermas — In the present subjunctive, the tu form of dormir is duermas. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
8. (b) durmiéramos — In the imperfect subjunctive, the nosotros form of dormir is durmiéramos. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
9. (d) durmiendo — The gerund of dormir is durmiendo. It is used with estar for the progressive: «Estoy durmiendo».
10. (a) dormido — The past participle of dormir is dormido. It follows haber in all the perfect tenses: «he dormido».
Frequently asked questions
Is dormir regular or irregular?
No — dormir 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, preterite, imperfect-subjunctive, gerund, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative. The nosotros and vosotros forms keep the original stem.
What are the gerund and past participle of dormir?
The gerund is durmiendo and the past participle is dormido. Use the gerund with estar for actions in progress («Estoy durmiendo») and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses («he dormido»).
What is the difference between dormir and acostarse?
Dormir and acostarse are often confused. Acostarse is to go to bed; dormir is to sleep once you are there.
How do I say «I sleep» in Spanish?
Say «Yo duermo». That is the yo form of the present tense, the form you need for talking about yourself right now.
Which forms of dormir change the stem?
The stem changes (o → ue) in the present tense, the present subjunctive and the imperative — everywhere except the nosotros and vosotros forms. The preterite, imperfect, future and conditional keep the infinitive stem, except where the verb has an extra preterite change.
Related links
- Practise this verb in one tense: dormir-present-tense
- More examples and a quiz: dormir-examples-and-quiz
- Browse all Spanish verbs: /spanish/
- Full list of irregular verbs: spanish-irregular-verbs
- Related verb: despertarse
- Related verb: acostarse
- Related verb: levantarse
- Conjugate any verb: verb-conjugator
- Test yourself: verb-quiz