Introduction

Learning to conjugate recostar — “to lean, to lie down” — opens up a whole set of sentences you will use in real Spanish. Whether you are talking about what you do every day, what happened yesterday, or what you plan to do tomorrow, recostar is one of the verbs that carries those sentences, especially when the topic is my head on the pillow. On this page you will find the full conjugation of recostar 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. recostar is a stem-changing -ar verb (o → ue); the gerund is recostando and the past participle is recostado, and both appear in the tables and examples below. For example: “Yo recuesto la cabeza en la almohada todos los días.” — “I lean my head on the pillow.” Read the tables first, then the notes, and finish with the quiz to check what you have learned.

Quick facts
Infinitive recostar
English to lean, to lie down
Verb type Stem-changing -ar verb (o → ue)
Gerund recostando
Past participle recostado
Auxiliary verb haber

Full conjugation tables

Gerund: recostando · Past participle: recostado

Present Indicative

Person Form
yo recuesto
tú recuestas
él/ella/Ud. recuesta
nosotros/as recostamos
vosotros/as recostáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. recuestan

The present tense describes habits, facts and what is happening now. For recostar, the yo form is recuesto, as in “Yo recuesto la cabeza en la almohada.” — “I lean my head on the pillow.” This is one of the tenses where recostar does not follow the regular -ar pattern, so learn the forms in the table above rather than guessing them from the infinitive.

Preterite

Person Form
yo recosté
tú recostaste
él/ella/Ud. recostó
nosotros/as recostamos
vosotros/as recostasteis
ellos/ellas/Uds. recostaron

The preterite describes completed actions in the past — things that started and finished. For recostar, the yo form is recosté, as in “Yo recosté la cabeza en la almohada.” — “I leaned my head on the pillow.” The stem change o → ue affects this tense, so the stem looks different from the infinitive in several persons.

Imperfect

Person Form
yo recostaba
tú recostabas
él/ella/Ud. recostaba
nosotros/as recostábamos
vosotros/as recostabais
ellos/ellas/Uds. recostaban

The imperfect describes the past as background: habits, descriptions and actions in progress. For recostar, the yo form is recostaba, as in “Yo recostaba la cabeza en la almohada.” — “I used to lean my head on the pillow.”

Future

Person Form
yo recostaré
tú recostarás
él/ella/Ud. recostará
nosotros/as recostaremos
vosotros/as recostaréis
ellos/ellas/Uds. recostarán

The future tense states what will happen. It is also used for predictions and promises. For recostar, the yo form is recostaré, as in “Yo recostaré la cabeza en la almohada.” — “I will lean my head on the pillow.”

Conditional

Person Form
yo recostaría
tú recostarías
él/ella/Ud. recostaría
nosotros/as recostaríamos
vosotros/as recostaríais
ellos/ellas/Uds. recostarían

The conditional expresses what would happen: wishes, polite requests and hypothetical results. For recostar, the yo form is recostaría, as in “Yo recostaría la cabeza en la almohada.” — “I would lean my head on the pillow.”

Present Perfect

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

The present perfect connects the past with the present: something that has happened, often today or recently. For recostar, the yo form is he recostado, as in “Yo he recostado la cabeza en la almohada.” — “I have leaned my head on the pillow.”

Pluperfect

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

The pluperfect describes an event that happened before another past event. For recostar, the yo form is había recostado, as in “Yo había recostado la cabeza en la almohada.” — “I had leaned my head on the pillow.”

Future Perfect

Person Form
yo habré recostado
tú habrás recostado
él/ella/Ud. habrá recostado
nosotros/as habremos recostado
vosotros/as habréis recostado
ellos/ellas/Uds. habrán recostado

The future perfect describes something that will already be finished by a future moment. For recostar, the yo form is habré recostado, as in “Yo habré recostado la cabeza en la almohada.” — “I will have leaned my head on the pillow.”

Conditional Perfect

Person Form
yo habría recostado
tú habrías recostado
él/ella/Ud. habría recostado
nosotros/as habríamos recostado
vosotros/as habríais recostado
ellos/ellas/Uds. habrían recostado

The conditional perfect describes what would have happened under different conditions. For recostar, the yo form is habría recostado, as in “Yo habría recostado la cabeza en la almohada.” — “I would have leaned my head on the pillow.”

Present Subjunctive

Person Form
yo recueste
tú recuestes
él/ella/Ud. recueste
nosotros/as recostemos
vosotros/as recostéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. recuesten

The present subjunctive is used after expressions of wish, doubt, emotion and influence. For recostar, the yo form is recueste, as in “Espero que yo recueste la cabeza en la almohada.” — “I hope that I lean my head on the pillow.” This is one of the tenses where recostar 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)

Person Form
yo recostara
tú recostaras
él/ella/Ud. recostara
nosotros/as recostáramos
vosotros/as recostarais
ellos/ellas/Uds. recostaran

The imperfect subjunctive is used in the past versions of subjunctive clauses, and after "si" in hypothetical sentences. For recostar, the yo form is recostara, as in “Si yo recostara la cabeza en la almohada, ...” — “If I leaned my head on the pillow, ...” The stem change o → ue affects this tense, so the stem looks different from the infinitive in several persons.

The -se variant of this tense follows the same pattern with -se instead of -ra: recostara becomes recostase, and the same change applies to every person. Both variants mean the same thing; -ra is more common in everyday speech.

Imperative (affirmative)

Person Form
tú recuesta
Ud. recueste
nosotros/as recostemos
vosotros/as recostad
Uds. recuesten

Imperative (negative)

Person Form
tú recuestes
Ud. recueste
nosotros/as recostemos
vosotros/as recostéis
Uds. recuesten

The imperative is for orders, requests and advice. The affirmative tú form is recuesta, as in “¡Recuesta la cabeza en la almohada” — “Lean my head on the pillow” For the negative imperative, Spanish uses the subjunctive forms: no recuestes. Note that the affirmative and negative forms differ, so check the table above before you give an order with recostar. This is one of the tenses where recostar does not follow the regular -ar pattern, so learn the forms in the table above rather than guessing them from the infinitive.

Example sentences

Here are ten sentences with recostar, covering different tenses and persons. Read each one out loud, then read the translation, and notice how the verb form changes while the meaning stays the same.

  1. “Yo recuesto la cabeza en la almohada cada día.” — “I lean my head on the pillow.”
  2. “Él recuesta la cabeza en la almohada todos los días.” — “He leans my head on the pillow.”
  3. “Yo recosté la cabeza en la almohada ayer.” — “I leaned my head on the pillow.”
  4. “Él recostó la cabeza en la almohada ayer.” — “He leaned my head on the pillow.”
  5. “Yo recostaba la cabeza en la almohada cuando era joven.” — “I used to lean my head on the pillow.”
  6. “Nosotros recostaremos la cabeza en la almohada mañana.” — “We will lean my head on the pillow.”
  7. “Si pudiera, yo recostaría la cabeza en la almohada.” — “If I could, i would lean my head on the pillow.”
  8. “Yo he recostado la cabeza en la almohada hoy.” — “I have leaned my head on the pillow.”
  9. “Espero que yo recueste la cabeza en la almohada.” — “I hope that I lean my head on the pillow.”
  10. “estoy recostando la cabeza en la almohada ahora mismo.” — “I am leaning my head on the pillow.”

Common mistakes

Using the unchanged stem

Learners often write recosto for the yo form, keeping the infinitive stem unchanged. The correct form is recuesto. Because recostar changes its stem vowel, the change appears in the stressed syllables of the present: say the correct form out loud a few times — yo recuesto la cabeza en la almohada — until the changed stem feels natural.

Forgetting the accent in the preterite

The yo preterite form is recosté, with an accent on the stressed vowel. Writing it without the accent — recoste — is a spelling error, and in speech the stress lands in the wrong place. Preterite yo forms that end in a vowel carry that accent, so check it every time you write the preterite of recostar.

Mixing up present and preterite nosotros

For recostar, the nosotros form is the same in the present and the preterite: recostamos. Only the context tells you which tense is meant, so pay attention to the time words around it — cada día points to the present, ayer points to the preterite. Do not invent a different form for one of the tenses.

Using ser instead of haber in perfect tenses

Spanish perfect tenses always use haber, never ser: yo he recostado la cabeza en la almohada. English speakers sometimes reach for soy because English uses to be in some passives, but soy recostado is not the present perfect of recostar — it is a passive construction with a different meaning.

Confusing recostar with recuperar

recostar and recuperar look similar, and learners mix them up. They are different verbs with different meanings, so check which one the sentence needs before you conjugate. If you can substitute the English meaning of recostar — lean — the sentence needs recostar; if it needs the meaning of recuperar, use that verb instead.

Using the indicative after "espero que"

After espero que (I hope that), Spanish needs the subjunctive: Espero que yo recueste la cabeza en la almohada. Using the indicative — Espero que yo recuesto — is one of the most frequent learner errors with recostar. Whenever the main clause expresses a wish, doubt or emotion, switch to the subjunctive.

Quiz

Test yourself on the forms above. Choose the best answer, then check the key below.

1. What is the yo form of recostar in the present?

  • A. recuestas
  • B. recuesta
  • C. recostamos
  • D. recuesto

2. What is the tu form of recostar in the preterite?

  • A. recostamos
  • B. recostaste
  • C. recosté
  • D. recostó

3. What is the el form of recostar in the imperfect?

  • A. recostabas
  • B. recostábamos
  • C. recostabais
  • D. recostaba

4. What is the nosotros form of recostar in the future?

  • A. recostará
  • B. recostaremos
  • C. recostaré
  • D. recostarás

5. What is the vosotros form of recostar in the present perfect?

  • A. he recostado
  • B. has recostado
  • C. ha recostado
  • D. habéis recostado

6. What is the ellos form of recostar in the present subjunctive?

  • A. recueste
  • B. recuesten
  • C. recueste
  • D. recuestes

7. What is the yo form of recostar in the preterite?

  • A. recostaste
  • B. recostó
  • C. recostamos
  • D. recosté

8. What is the tu form of recostar in the imperfect?

  • A. recostábamos
  • B. recostabas
  • C. recostaba
  • D. recostaba

9. What is the el form of recostar in the future?

  • A. recostaré
  • B. recostarás
  • C. recostaremos
  • D. recostará

10. What is the nosotros form of recostar in the conditional?

  • A. recostaría
  • B. recostaríamos
  • C. recostaría
  • D. recostarías

Answer key

  1. recuesto — The present table gives yo = recuesto.
  2. recostaste — The preterite table gives tu = recostaste.
  3. recostaba — The imperfect table gives el = recostaba.
  4. recostaremos — The future table gives nosotros = recostaremos.
  5. habéis recostado — The present perfect table gives vosotros = habéis recostado.
  6. recuesten — The present subjunctive table gives ellos = recuesten.
  7. recosté — The preterite table gives yo = recosté.
  8. recostabas — The imperfect table gives tu = recostabas.
  9. recostará — The future table gives el = recostará.
  10. recostaríamos — The conditional table gives nosotros = recostaríamos.

Frequently asked questions

Is recostar regular or irregular?

recostar is a stem-changing -ar verb (o → ue). It changes its stem (o → ue) in several tenses, so the stem in the table is not always the infinitive stem. It is irregular in these tenses: present, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative. The tables on this page show the correct form for every person, so use them rather than guessing.

What is the past participle of recostar?

The past participle of recostar is recostado. You use it with haber in the perfect tenses — he recostado, había recostado, habré recostado — and after estar in passive-style descriptions. It is the regular participle for its verb class. Learn it together with the gerund recostando and you have the two non-finite forms covered.

What is the gerund of recostar?

The gerund of recostar is recostando. You use it with estar to describe an action in progress, as in estoy recostando, and after verbs such as seguir and ir. Keep it distinct from the past participle recostado, which belongs with haber, not with estar.

What is the yo form of recostar in the present?

The yo form is recuesto — “Yo recuesto la cabeza en la almohada.” means “I lean my head on the pillow.” That is the form you will use most often when you talk about yourself. For other persons, use the present table above: tú recuestas, él recuesta, nosotros recostamos, ellos recuestan.

What is the difference between recostar and recuperar?

recostar means “to lean, to lie down”, while recuperar means “to recover, to get back”. They share letters and sometimes a root, but they are different verbs. If your sentence means “to lean, to lie down”, use recostar; if it is about the meaning of recuperar, use recuperar instead. Checking the English meaning first prevents most mix-ups.

Related links