‘‘Acostarse’ is a Spanish reflexive verb, however, the meaning of the verb is to lay or to go to bed. Hence, this verb is most commonly used in its reflexive form. Therefore, what is the meaning of the term ‘Reflexive’ and what are reflexive verbs in Spanish. So, reflexive verbs suggest that the verb’s action stays with the subject (yo, t, él, ella, nosotros, ustedes, ellos, ellas), or that the action affects them in some way. Therefore, the action is reflexive, meaning it is carried out on the subject (person) themselves. In conclusion, it means that the action of going to bed is done by and for the person who does the action. Therefore, the conjugation for acostarse includes reflexive pronouns. (me, te, se, nos, os, se)

Moreover, if you wish to talk to Spanish speakers, you need to know how to conjugate this verb. In conclusion, we will see how to conjugate acostarse in the present, past and future indicative, present and past subjunctive, as well as the imperative and other verb forms.

Reflexive Verbs in Spanish

In conclusion, reflexive verbs are such a big part of everyday Spanish. In fact, verbs are words that express action. Similarly, in Spanish, they end in –ar, –ir, or –er before being conjugated to match the subject.  Now, in a sentence, the subject is the person, place, or thing that is doing something. Therefore, identifying the subject is especially important. However, in Spanish the verb conjugation will change depending on the subject. In conclusion, reflexive verbs and pronouns reflect back to the subject who is doing the action. For this reason, the conjugation always matches the subject of the sentence. So, reflexive verbs indicate that the action of the verb remains with the subject (yo, tú, él, ella, nosotros, ustedes, ellos, ellas) and they are at least somehow affected by the action. In other words, the action is reflexive and thus, being performed on the subject (person) themselves.

Regular vs. Irregular Verbs

Therefore, acostarse is a Spanish irregular reflexive verb that means to go to bed. Moreover, Acostarse is part of the 100 most used Spanish verbs and is the 1st most used irregular reflexive verb. A verb is called a regular verb when its conjugation follows a typical pattern. However, if a verb does not follow these patterns exactly, it is called an irregular verb. Similarly, in Spanish, there are 3 regular patterns for verbs ending with ar, er, and ir.

In Spanish, they end in –ar, –ir, or –er before being conjugated to match the subject. However, the subject of a sentence is the person, place, or thing doing something. As a result, in Spanish, recognizing the subject is very important because the verb conjugation varies based on the topic. Finally, reflexive verbs and pronouns return the action to the subject who is performing it. As a result, the conjugation always corresponds to the sentence’s subject. Reflexive verbs suggest that the verb’s action remains with the subject (yo, t, él, ella, nosotros, ustedes, ellos, ellas) and that they are at least influenced by it.

Acostarse Reflexive Conjugation

Conjugating a reflexive verb is similar to that of a regular verb, for instance. Remember that the subject is doing the verb to themselves, so you would conjugate in that form. Therefore, let us take a look at this example, ‘me peino’ (I comb myself) the conjugation of ‘peino’ is in the first-person singular as is the pronoun. Moreover, you will notice that the infinitive form of acostarse has the reflexive pronoun se. In conclusion, this indicates that it is a reflexive verb in which the action returns to the subject who does the action. You can think of another example, ‘yo me acuesto’ as “I lay myself down” or “I put myself to bed.”

So, let us see some examples of how this verb is used.  For example, see the sentences ‘Ella se acuesta temprano’ (She goes to bed early) or ‘Nosotros nos acostamos en el piso’ (We lay down on the floor). However, this verb can also be used with the meaning of “sleeping” with someone or having sexual relation with someone. For example, El hombre se acostó con su novia, and the translation would be as “The man slept with his girlfriend.”

You can also use the verb acostar without the reflexive pronoun, in which case it means to lay something or someone down or to put someone to bed. For example, you can say ‘Él acuesta a los niños temprano’ (He puts the kids to bed early) or ‘Los enfermeros acostaron al paciente en la camilla’ (The nurses laid the patient down on the stretcher).

Acostarse Reflexive Conjugation Present Tense

So, we use the present tense every time in daily conversation. Moreover, with the present tense of acostarse, you can say at what time you usually go to bed. You can also ask others if they go to bed late on weekends, for example.

However, before taking a look at its conjugation, let us discuss a few things about acostarse:

• Firstly, the -se in the infinitive indicates that this is a reflexive verb, which means that one performs the action and for oneself. In Spanish, we must include a reflexive pronoun IN FRONT of every form when conjugating a reflexive verb. These pronouns are, for example, me/te/se/nos/os/se (in subject order).
• Secondly, Acostarse is a stem-changing verb. Therefore, its stem vowel changes in the present. So, the acostarse reflexive conjugation is done using the irregular stem acuest- for all forms. However, not for nosotros/as and vosotros/as which keep the regular stem acost-.

Therefore, let us see the resulting acostarse conjugation in present tense.

VERB: acostarse (ah-kohs-TAHR-seh) – to go to bed

Acostarse Reflexive Conjugation Preterite

Preterite tense is a tense of verbs used to relate past action, formed in English by inflection of the verb, as jumped, swam. Similarly, the Spanish preterite tense is used to describe actions completed in the past. For example, Fui al cine ayer (I went to the cinema yesterday). However, we will see how to conjugate acostarse in preterite? for instance. Therefore, as indicated by the ‘-se’ in the infinitive, the verb acostarse is pronominal. This means that when we conjugate acostarse, we’ll need to add a pronoun in front of it depending on the person.

For example, when someone is talking about actions that happened in the past, they use the preterite. Therefore, the verb acostarse keeps its stem acost- in this tense, to which we will add the corresponding endings for each person. Therefore, let us see the resulting acostarse conjugation preterite.

VERB: acostarse (ah-kohs-TAHR-seh) – to go to bed

Acostarse Reflexive Conjugation Imperative

The term ‘Imperative’ refers to a sentence that is used to convey a command, a request, or a forbiddance. This type of sentence always takes the second person (you) for the subject but most of the time the subject remains hidden. Bring me a glass of water or Don’t ever touch my phone, for example.

However, you can use acostarse conjugation imperative as follows.

VERB: acostarse (ah-kohs-TAHR-seh) – to go to bed

Acostarse Reflexive Conjugation Imperfect

For instance, imperfect is a verb form that combines past tense and imperfective aspect. It can have meanings similar to the English, that is, “was walking” or “used to walk”. Therefore, it contrasts with preterite forms, which refer to a single completed event in the past. Moreover, we use an imperfect tense to describe a past action or state which is incomplete. Therefore, we use imperfect tense to talk about repeated or ongoing actions that happened frequently in the past. However, there is no stem change for this verb in the imperfect tense. As a result, it differs from preterite forms, which refer to a single completed past event.

Therefore, let us see the resulting acostarse conjugation imperfect.

VERB: acostarse (ah-kohs-TAHR-seh) – to go to bed

Acostarse Reflexive Conjugation Subjunctive

The English subjunctive is a special and relatively rare verb form because it expresses something desired or imagined. We use the subjunctive mainly when talking about events that are not certain to happen. For example, we use the subjunctive when talking about events that somebody: wants to happen, anticipates will happen or imagines happening. Therefore, you can use acostarse to tell someone that you hope, wish, want, or doubt that they go to bed.

Therefore, let us see the resulting conjugation.

VERB: acostarse (ah-kohs-TAHR-seh) – to go to bed

Conclusion

In conclusion, we are going to discuss the importance of acostarse reflexive conjugation. Thus, it is a reflexive verb in Spanish.Therefore, reflexive verbs suggest that the verb’s action stays with the subject (yo, t, él, ella, nosotros, ustedes, ellos, ellas), or that the action affects them in some way. In other words, the action is reflexive, meaning it is carried out on the subject (person). Firstly, it is a crucial part of our daily life conversations, therefore important to Spanish speakers. Secondly, if one wishes to talk to Spanish speakers about the verb ‘acostarse’, which means ‘ to go to bed’, they have to know the rules of conjugation. However, acostarse reflexive conjugation can be different depending on factors like tenses and sentence type.

For example, we use the subjunctive when talking about events that somebody: wants to happen, anticipates will happen or imagines happening. Similarly, we use an imperfect tense to describe a past action or state which is incomplete. Likewise, the term ‘Imperative’ refers to a sentence that is used to convey a command, a request, or a forbiddance. Also, Spanish preterite tense is used to describe actions completed in the past.

F.A.Q s

What is the difference between Acostarse and acostar?

Ans. Though the two words might seem similar, they have different meanings. Therefore, both the mentioned words are different. Therefore, “Acostar” is a transitive verb which is often translated as “to put to bed”. On the other hand, “acostarse” is a reflexive verb which is often translates as “to go to bed”.

What are reflexive verbs in Spanish?

Ans. Reflexive verbs indicate that the action of the verb remains with the subject (yo, tú, él, ella, nosotros, ustedes, ellos, ellas), or they are at least somehow affected by the action.

How do you conjugate reflexive verbs in Spanish?

Ans. Conjugate a reflexive verb in the same way, as you would a regular verb. Remember that the subject is doing the verb to themselves, so you would conjugate in that form. For example, in “me peino” (I comb myself) the conjugation of peino is in the first-person singular as is the pronoun

What is the Acostarse reflexive conjugation in preterite?

Ans. However, as indicated by the -se in the infinitive, the verb acostarse is pronominal. This means that we’ll need to add a pronoun in front of it, depending on the person, when we conjugate it.

Is Acostarse a stem changer?

Ans. Acostarse is a stem-changing verb, so its stem vowel changes in the present. Therefore, to conjugate it, we use the irregular stem acuest- for all forms. However, not for nosotros/as and vosotros/as, which keep the regular stem acost-.

What is acostarse reflexive conjugation in imperfect tense?

Ans. However, there is an imperfect root of Acostarse, which is ‘acostaba’. Therefore, the imperfect tense is rarely irregular and can be easily conjugated from this form, which is the yo, and él/ella conjugation.