Introduction
Vestirse means «to get dressed». Vestirse means to get dressed. It is reflexive — me visto, te vistes — and an e → i stem-changing verb, with the change also appearing in the preterite third person (vistió) and the gerund (vistiendo). It is a daily-routine essential. It is a reflexive -ir verb, stem-changing (e → i), so the tables below show you exactly how it behaves in every tense. On this page you will find the full conjugation of vestirse 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 visto rápido todos los días.» — I get dressed quickly every day.
Quick facts
| Infinitive | vestirse |
| English | to get dressed |
| Verb type | Reflexive -ir verb, stem-changing (e → i) |
| Gerund | vistiendo |
| Past participle | vestido |
| Auxiliary verb | haber |
Full conjugation tables
The tables below show the verb forms exactly as conjugated. Because vestirse is reflexive, add the pronoun before the form in real sentences: me, te, se, nos, os, se — for example, «Me visto».
Gerund: vistiendo · Past participle: vestido
Present Indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | visto |
| tú | vistes |
| él/ella/Ud. | viste |
| nosotros/as | vestimos |
| vosotros/as | vestís |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | visten |
The present tense describes habits, facts and what is happening now. For vestirse, the yo form is visto, as in «Yo visto» in the examples below. This is one of the tenses where vestirse 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 | vestí |
| tú | vestiste |
| él/ella/Ud. | vistió |
| nosotros/as | vestimos |
| vosotros/as | vestisteis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | vistieron |
The preterite describes completed actions in the past — things that started and finished. «Ayer yo vestí» 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 vestirse 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 | vestía |
| tú | vestías |
| él/ella/Ud. | vestía |
| nosotros/as | vestíamos |
| vosotros/as | vestíais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | vestían |
The imperfect describes the past as background: habits, descriptions and actions in progress. «De pequeño, yo vestía» shows the habitual use. It sets the scene while the preterite reports what happened inside it.
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | vestiré |
| tú | vestirás |
| él/ella/Ud. | vestirá |
| nosotros/as | vestiremos |
| vosotros/as | vestiréis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | vestirán |
The future tense states what will happen. For vestirse the future is built on the infinitive: «Mañana yo vestiré». It is also used for predictions and promises, and in spoken Spanish it often alternates with ir a + infinitive.
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | vestiría |
| tú | vestirías |
| él/ella/Ud. | vestiría |
| nosotros/as | vestiríamos |
| vosotros/as | vestiríais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | vestirían |
The conditional expresses what would happen: wishes, polite requests and hypothetical results. «Si tuviera más tiempo, yo vestiría» is the typical pattern. It shares its stem with the future and changes only the endings.
Present Perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | he vestido |
| tú | has vestido |
| él/ella/Ud. | ha vestido |
| nosotros/as | hemos vestido |
| vosotros/as | habéis vestido |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | han vestido |
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 vestido». In Spain it is used for anything that happened today; in Latin America the preterite is often preferred.
Pluperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | había vestido |
| tú | habías vestido |
| él/ella/Ud. | había vestido |
| nosotros/as | habíamos vestido |
| vosotros/as | habíais vestido |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habían vestido |
The pluperfect describes an event that happened before another past event: «Cuando llegué, ya había vestido». 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 vestido |
| tú | habrás vestido |
| él/ella/Ud. | habrá vestido |
| nosotros/as | habremos vestido |
| vosotros/as | habréis vestido |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrán vestido |
The future perfect looks back from a future point: by then, something will already have happened. «Para mañana, yo habré vestido» 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 vestido |
| tú | habrías vestido |
| él/ella/Ud. | habría vestido |
| nosotros/as | habríamos vestido |
| vosotros/as | habríais vestido |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrían vestido |
The conditional perfect expresses what would have happened: «Yo habría vestido 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 | vista |
| tú | vistas |
| él/ella/Ud. | vista |
| nosotros/as | vistamos |
| vosotros/as | vistáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | vistan |
The present subjunctive appears after wishes, doubts, emotions and impersonal expressions: «Espero que él vista». 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 vestirse 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 | vistiera |
| tú | vistieras |
| él/ella/Ud. | vistiera |
| nosotros/as | vistiéramos |
| vosotros/as | vistierais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | vistieran |
The imperfect subjunctive is the past partner of the present subjunctive, used after past-tense triggers and in si-clauses: «Si él vistiera, 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 vestirse 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 | viste |
| él/ella/Ud. | vista |
| nosotros/as | vistamos |
| vosotros/as | vestid |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | vistan |
There is no yo form in the imperative — you cannot command yourself.
The affirmative imperative gives direct commands and instructions: «¡Viste!». 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 vestirse 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 | vistas |
| él/ella/Ud. | vista |
| nosotros/as | vistamos |
| vosotros/as | vistáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | vistan |
There is no yo form in the imperative — you cannot command yourself.
The negative imperative tells someone not to do something: «¡No vistas!». 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 vestirse 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 me visto rápido todos los días. — I get dressed quickly every day.
- Mi hermana se viste rápido mucho. — My sister gets dressed quickly a lot.
- Ayer yo me vestí rápido por la tarde. — Yesterday I got dressed quickly in the afternoon.
- De pequeño, yo me vestía rápido muchas veces. — As a child, I used to get dressed quickly often.
- Mañana yo me vestiré rápido sin falta. — Tomorrow I will get dressed quickly without fail.
- Si tuviera más tiempo, yo me vestiría rápido ahora mismo. — If I had more time, I would get dressed quickly right now.
- Hoy yo me he vestido para la fiesta dos veces. — Today I have got dressed for the party twice.
- Espero que él se vista rápido pronto. — I hope he gets dressed quickly soon.
- ¡No te vistas tan despacio! — Don't get dressed so slowly!
- Ahora mismo me estoy vistiendo. — Right now I am getting dressed.
Common mistakes
1. Using the regular stem in the preterite
Wrong: vestió
Right: vistió
Vestirse does not keep its infinitive stem here. The correct form is vistió; the regular-looking vestió is a form learners invent by applying the standard endings to the wrong stem.
2. Dropping the reflexive pronoun
Wrong: Yo visto rápido.
Right: Yo me visto rápido.
Vestirse 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: *Visto rápido.
Right: Me visto rápido.
Visto means I dress someone else. Dressing yourself needs the reflexive pronoun: me visto.
4. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
Wrong: Espero que tú vistes rápido.
Right: Espero que tú vistas rápido.
After espero que, Spanish requires the subjunctive: vistas, not the indicative vistes. Wishes, hopes and doubts all trigger this change.
5. Using the regular gerund
Wrong: vestiendo
Right: vistiendo
The gerund of vestirse is irregular: vistiendo, not vestiendo. Use it with estar for the progressive: «Estoy vistiendo».
Quiz
Test yourself on the forms above. Choose the correct answer, then check the key below.
1. What is the yo form of vestirse in the present tense? (the reflexive pronoun goes before the verb form)
- (a) vestimos
- (b) viste
- (c) vistes
- (d) visto
2. What is the él/ella form of vestirse in the preterite?
- (a) vestimos
- (b) vestiste
- (c) vestí
- (d) vistió
3. What is the nosotros form of vestirse in the imperfect?
- (a) vestía
- (b) vestíamos
- (c) vestías
4. What is the tú form of vestirse in the future tense?
- (a) vestiremos
- (b) vestirá
- (c) vestirás
- (d) vestiré
5. What is the ellos form of vestirse in the conditional?
- (a) vestiría
- (b) vestirían
- (c) vestirías
6. What is the yo form of vestirse in the present perfect? (the reflexive pronoun goes before the verb form)
- (a) ha vestido
- (b) has vestido
- (c) he vestido
- (d) hemos vestido
7. After «Espero que…», what is the tú form of vestirse?
- (a) vista
- (b) vistamos
- (c) vistas
8. What is the nosotros form of vestirse in the imperfect subjunctive (-ra)?
- (a) vistiera
- (b) vistiéramos
- (c) vistieras
9. What is the gerund of vestirse?
- (a) vestido
- (b) vestirse
- (c) vistiendo
- (d) visto
10. What is the past participle of vestirse?
- (a) vestido
- (b) vestirse
- (c) vestí
- (d) vistiendo
Answer key
1. (d) visto — In the present, the yo form of vestirse is visto. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
2. (d) vistió — In the preterite, the el form of vestirse is vistió. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
3. (b) vestíamos — In the imperfect, the nosotros form of vestirse is vestíamos. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
4. (c) vestirás — In the future, the tu form of vestirse is vestirás. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
5. (b) vestirían — In the conditional, the ellos form of vestirse is vestirían. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
6. (c) he vestido — In the present perfect, the yo form of vestirse is he vestido. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
7. (c) vistas — In the present subjunctive, the tu form of vestirse is vistas. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
8. (b) vistiéramos — In the imperfect subjunctive, the nosotros form of vestirse is vistiéramos. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
9. (c) vistiendo — The gerund of vestirse is vistiendo. It is used with estar for the progressive: «Estoy vistiendo».
10. (a) vestido — The past participle of vestirse is vestido. It follows haber in all the perfect tenses: «he vestido».
Frequently asked questions
Is vestirse regular or irregular?
No — vestirse is a stem-changing verb (e → i). 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 vestirse?
The gerund is vistiendo and the past participle is vestido. Use the gerund with estar for actions in progress («Estoy vistiendo») and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses («he vestido»).
What is the difference between vestirse and vestir?
Vestirse and vestir are often confused. Vestir is to dress someone else; vestirse is to dress yourself.
How do I say «I get dressed» in Spanish?
Say «Yo me visto». That is the yo form of the present tense, the form you need for talking about yourself right now.
Why does vestirse end in -se?
The -se marks a reflexive verb: the action comes back to the subject. The pronoun changes with the person — me visto, te vistes, se viste — and it always goes before the conjugated verb, or attached to an infinitive or gerund.
Related links
- Practise this verb in one tense: vestirse-present-tense
- More examples and a quiz: vestirse-examples-and-quiz
- Browse all Spanish verbs: /spanish/
- Full list of irregular verbs: spanish-irregular-verbs
- Related verb: ducharse
- Related verb: levantarse
- Related verb: despertarse
- Conjugate any verb: verb-conjugator
- Reflexive verb conjugator: reflexive-verb-conjugator