Introduction
Levantarse means «to get up». Levantarse means to get up, to get out of bed or to stand up from a chair. It is reflexive, with pronouns me, te, se, nos, os, se before the verb, and it is completely regular, which makes it a good model for reflexive verbs. It is a reflexive -ar verb, so the tables below show you exactly how it behaves in every tense. On this page you will find the full conjugation of levantarse 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 levanto temprano todos los días.» — I get up early every day.
Quick facts
| Infinitive | levantarse |
| English | to get up |
| Verb type | Reflexive -ar verb |
| Gerund | levantando |
| Past participle | levantado |
| Auxiliary verb | haber |
Full conjugation tables
The tables below show the verb forms exactly as conjugated. Because levantarse is reflexive, add the pronoun before the form in real sentences: me, te, se, nos, os, se — for example, «Me levanto».
Gerund: levantando · Past participle: levantado
Present Indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | levanto |
| tú | levantas |
| él/ella/Ud. | levanta |
| nosotros/as | levantamos |
| vosotros/as | levantáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | levantan |
The present tense describes habits, facts and what is happening now. For levantarse, the yo form is levanto, as in «Yo levanto» in the examples below. Use the present for routines («todos los días») and for general truths.
Preterite
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | levanté |
| tú | levantaste |
| él/ella/Ud. | levantó |
| nosotros/as | levantamos |
| vosotros/as | levantasteis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | levantaron |
The preterite describes completed actions in the past — things that started and finished. «Ayer yo levanté» 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 | levantaba |
| tú | levantabas |
| él/ella/Ud. | levantaba |
| nosotros/as | levantábamos |
| vosotros/as | levantabais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | levantaban |
The imperfect describes the past as background: habits, descriptions and actions in progress. «De pequeño, yo levantaba» shows the habitual use. It sets the scene while the preterite reports what happened inside it.
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | levantaré |
| tú | levantarás |
| él/ella/Ud. | levantará |
| nosotros/as | levantaremos |
| vosotros/as | levantaréis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | levantarán |
The future tense states what will happen. For levantarse the future is built on the infinitive: «Mañana yo levantaré». It is also used for predictions and promises, and in spoken Spanish it often alternates with ir a + infinitive.
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | levantaría |
| tú | levantarías |
| él/ella/Ud. | levantaría |
| nosotros/as | levantaríamos |
| vosotros/as | levantaríais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | levantarían |
The conditional expresses what would happen: wishes, polite requests and hypothetical results. «Si tuviera más tiempo, yo levantaría» is the typical pattern. It shares its stem with the future and changes only the endings.
Present Perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | he levantado |
| tú | has levantado |
| él/ella/Ud. | ha levantado |
| nosotros/as | hemos levantado |
| vosotros/as | habéis levantado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | han levantado |
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 levantado». In Spain it is used for anything that happened today; in Latin America the preterite is often preferred.
Pluperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | había levantado |
| tú | habías levantado |
| él/ella/Ud. | había levantado |
| nosotros/as | habíamos levantado |
| vosotros/as | habíais levantado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habían levantado |
The pluperfect describes an event that happened before another past event: «Cuando llegué, ya había levantado». 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 levantado |
| tú | habrás levantado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habrá levantado |
| nosotros/as | habremos levantado |
| vosotros/as | habréis levantado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrán levantado |
The future perfect looks back from a future point: by then, something will already have happened. «Para mañana, yo habré levantado» 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 levantado |
| tú | habrías levantado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habría levantado |
| nosotros/as | habríamos levantado |
| vosotros/as | habríais levantado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrían levantado |
The conditional perfect expresses what would have happened: «Yo habría levantado 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 | levante |
| tú | levantes |
| él/ella/Ud. | levante |
| nosotros/as | levantemos |
| vosotros/as | levantéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | levanten |
The present subjunctive appears after wishes, doubts, emotions and impersonal expressions: «Espero que él levante». 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.
Imperfect Subjunctive (-ra forms)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | levantara |
| tú | levantaras |
| él/ella/Ud. | levantara |
| nosotros/as | levantáramos |
| vosotros/as | levantarais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | levantaran |
The imperfect subjunctive is the past partner of the present subjunctive, used after past-tense triggers and in si-clauses: «Si él levantara, 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 | levanta |
| él/ella/Ud. | levante |
| nosotros/as | levantemos |
| vosotros/as | levantad |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | levanten |
There is no yo form in the imperative — you cannot command yourself.
The affirmative imperative gives direct commands and instructions: «¡Levanta!». 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.
Imperative — Negative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | levantes |
| él/ella/Ud. | levante |
| nosotros/as | levantemos |
| vosotros/as | levantéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | levanten |
There is no yo form in the imperative — you cannot command yourself.
The negative imperative tells someone not to do something: «¡No levantes!». 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.
Example sentences
- Yo me levanto temprano todos los días. — I get up early every day.
- Mi hermana se levanta temprano mucho. — My sister gets up early a lot.
- Ayer yo me levanté temprano por la tarde. — Yesterday I got up early in the afternoon.
- De pequeño, yo me levantaba temprano muchas veces. — As a child, I used to get up early often.
- Mañana yo me levantaré temprano sin falta. — Tomorrow I will get up early without fail.
- Si tuviera más tiempo, yo me levantaría temprano ahora mismo. — If I had more time, I would get up early right now.
- Hoy yo me he levantado de la cama dos veces. — Today I have got up out of bed twice.
- Espero que él se levante temprano pronto. — I hope he gets up early soon.
- ¡No te levantes tan tarde! — Don't get up so late!
- Ahora mismo me estoy levantando. — Right now I am getting up.
Common mistakes
1. Forgetting the accent in the preterite
Wrong: levante
Right: levanté
The yo preterite of levantarse carries a written accent: levanté. Without it, levante is the present subjunctive yo form, a completely different tense.
2. Dropping the reflexive pronoun
Wrong: Yo levanto temprano.
Right: Yo me levanto temprano.
Levantarse 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: *Levanto a las siete.
Right: Me levanto a las siete.
Levanto means I lift or raise something. To say you get up, use the reflexive pronoun: me levanto.
4. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
Wrong: Espero que tú levantas temprano.
Right: Espero que tú levantes temprano.
After espero que, Spanish requires the subjunctive: levantes, not the indicative levantas. Wishes, hopes and doubts all trigger this change.
5. Using the affirmative imperative after no
Wrong: No levanta temprano.
Right: No levantes temprano.
Negative commands use the subjunctive-based forms: no levantes. The affirmative levanta 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 levantarse in the present tense? (the reflexive pronoun goes before the verb form)
- (a) levanta
- (b) levantamos
- (c) levantas
- (d) levanto
2. What is the él/ella form of levantarse in the preterite?
- (a) levantamos
- (b) levantaste
- (c) levanté
- (d) levantó
3. What is the nosotros form of levantarse in the imperfect?
- (a) levantaba
- (b) levantabas
- (c) levantábamos
4. What is the tú form of levantarse in the future tense?
- (a) levantaremos
- (b) levantará
- (c) levantarás
- (d) levantaré
5. What is the ellos form of levantarse in the conditional?
- (a) levantaría
- (b) levantarían
- (c) levantarías
6. What is the yo form of levantarse in the present perfect? (the reflexive pronoun goes before the verb form)
- (a) ha levantado
- (b) has levantado
- (c) he levantado
- (d) hemos levantado
7. After «Espero que…», what is the tú form of levantarse?
- (a) levante
- (b) levantemos
- (c) levantes
8. What is the nosotros form of levantarse in the imperfect subjunctive (-ra)?
- (a) levantara
- (b) levantáramos
- (c) levantaras
9. What is the gerund of levantarse?
- (a) levantado
- (b) levantando
- (c) levantarse
- (d) levanto
10. What is the past participle of levantarse?
- (a) levantado
- (b) levantando
- (c) levantarse
- (d) levanté
Answer key
1. (d) levanto — In the present, the yo form of levantarse is levanto. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
2. (d) levantó — In the preterite, the el form of levantarse is levantó. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
3. (c) levantábamos — In the imperfect, the nosotros form of levantarse is levantábamos. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
4. (c) levantarás — In the future, the tu form of levantarse is levantarás. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
5. (b) levantarían — In the conditional, the ellos form of levantarse is levantarían. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
6. (c) he levantado — In the present perfect, the yo form of levantarse is he levantado. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
7. (c) levantes — In the present subjunctive, the tu form of levantarse is levantes. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
8. (b) levantáramos — In the imperfect subjunctive, the nosotros form of levantarse is levantáramos. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
9. (b) levantando — The gerund of levantarse is levantando. It is used with estar for the progressive: «Estoy levantando».
10. (a) levantado — The past participle of levantarse is levantado. It follows haber in all the perfect tenses: «he levantado».
Frequently asked questions
Is levantarse regular or irregular?
Yes, levantarse is a regular -ar verb. Every tense follows the standard -ar endings, so once you know the pattern you can generate the whole table. The only thing to watch is choosing the right tense, not the forms themselves.
What are the gerund and past participle of levantarse?
The gerund is levantando and the past participle is levantado. Use the gerund with estar for actions in progress («Estoy levantando») and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses («he levantado»).
What is the difference between levantarse and despertarse?
Levantarse and despertarse are often confused. Despertarse is to wake up; levantarse is to get out of bed afterwards.
How do I say «I get up» in Spanish?
Say «Yo me levanto». That is the yo form of the present tense, the form you need for talking about yourself right now.
Why does levantarse end in -se?
The -se marks a reflexive verb: the action comes back to the subject. The pronoun changes with the person — me levanto, te levantas, se levanta — and it always goes before the conjugated verb, or attached to an infinitive or gerund.
Related links
- Practise this verb in one tense: levantarse-present-tense
- More examples and a quiz: levantarse-examples-and-quiz
- Browse all Spanish verbs: /spanish/
- Related verb: despertarse
- Related verb: acostarse
- Related verb: ducharse
- Conjugate any verb: verb-conjugator
- Reflexive verb conjugator: reflexive-verb-conjugator