Introduction

recostarse means “to lie down”, and it is one of the verbs you will use every day in Spanish. It is the verb for expressing “to lie down” in everyday Spanish — in conversation, at work, and at home. This page shows recostarse 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 form unless the sentence is clearly marked as past or future. For a first taste: “Yo me recuesto en la cama por la mañana.” — “I lie down in bed.”

recostarse in real example sentences

The twelve sentences below are grouped by how recostarse 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 {verb} in the present tense, which is how you will meet it most often: routines, facts, and things happening now.

  1. “Yo me recuesto en la cama cada día.” — “I lie down in bed.”
  2. “Tú te recuestas en la cama cada día.” — “you lie down in bed.”
  3. “Él se recuesta en la cama siempre.” — “He lies down in bed.”
  4. “Nosotros nos recostamos en la cama todos los días.” — “We lie down in bed.”

Talking about the past

The present is not the only tense you need. These sentences show {verb} in the past, so you can talk about what already happened. 5. “Yo me recosté en la cama ayer.” — “I lay down in bed.” (preterite) 6. “Él se recostó en la cama ayer.” — “He lay down in bed.” (preterite) 7. “Yo me recostaba en la cama cuando era joven.” — “I used to lie down in bed.” (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 {verb} stays the same. 8. “Nosotros nos recostaremos en la cama mañana.” — “We will lie down in bed.” (future) 9. “Tú te has recostado en la cama hoy.” — “you have lain down in bed.” (present-perfect) 10. “Espero que yo me recueste en la cama.” — “I hope that I lie down in bed.” (present-subjunctive)

More everyday uses

Two more present-tense sentences, covering the remaining persons, so you can see the whole table in action. 11. “Vosotros os recostáis en la cama cada semana.” — “You lie down in bed.” 12. “Ellos se recuestan en la cama normalmente.” — “They lie down in bed.”

recostarse 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 recostarse appears naturally, without anyone stopping to think about conjugation.

Dialogue at work during a coffee break

Marta: “¿Tú te recuestas en la cama?” — Do you lie down in bed?

Carlos: “Sí, yo me recuesto en la cama cada día. Es parte de mi rutina.” — Yes, I lie down in bed every day. It is part of my routine.

Marta: “¿Y ayer? ¿También te recuestas en la cama?” — And yesterday? Did you lie down in bed too?

Carlos: “Sí, ayer yo me recosté en la cama. Mañana nosotros recostaremos en la cama otra vez.” — Yes, yesterday I lay down in bed. Tomorrow we will lie down in bed again.

A short paragraph

Él se recuesta en la cama cada día — that one sentence already tells you a lot about how recostarse works in real Spanish: who does it, when, and with what. Around it you can build a whole paragraph: what happened yesterday, what is happening now, and what will happen tomorrow, all with the same verb. When you write your own paragraph, start with the present — yo recuesto en la cama — then add one past sentence and one future sentence, and you have practised three tenses with one verb. That is the fastest way to make recostarse yours: use it in a story, not only in a table.

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 recostarse 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 en la cama — 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 recostarse.

Mixing up present and preterite nosotros

For recostarse, 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.

Dropping the reflexive pronoun

Because recostarse is reflexive, it always needs its pronoun: yo me recuesto en la cama, not yo recuesto en la cama. Without me, the sentence either means something else or means nothing at all. The pronouns are me, te, se, nos, os, se — learn them with the verb, not as an afterthought.

Using ser instead of haber in perfect tenses

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

Quiz

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

10. What is the nosotros form of recostarse 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

How do I use recostarse in a sentence?

Put the subject first, then the conjugated form, then the rest: “Yo me recuesto en la cama.” — “I lie down in bed.” Do not forget the reflexive pronoun: it goes before the verb. Change the form for the person and the tense, but keep the sentence pattern the same.

What is the most useful form of recostarse to learn first?

Learn the present yo form recuesto first, then the preterite yo form recosté and the participle recostado. With those three you can talk about the present, the past and the perfect tenses. Add the gerund recostando next, and you can describe actions in progress too.

Is recostarse reflexive?

Yes — recostarse is reflexive, so it always takes me, te, se, nos, os or se. You say yo me recuesto, never just yo recuesto. The pronoun goes before the conjugated verb, or attached to the infinitive and gerund.

Where can I see the full conjugation of recostarse?

On the main conjugation page for recostarse, which has every tense, every person, the gerund and the past participle, plus notes, examples and a quiz. The present-tense page covers one tense in depth if that is what you need right now.

Related links