acostar Present Conjugation
acostar — to put to bed
Acostar is an O-to-UE stem-changer in the present tense: acuesto, acuestas, acuesta, acostamos, acostáis, acuestan.
acostar Present Forms
When to Use the Present
Use the present tense to talk about daily bedtime routines or the act of putting someone (like a child) to bed as a general habit.
Notes on acostar in the Present
This verb follows the O-to-UE stem-change pattern in all forms except nosotros and vosotros. This is sometimes called a 'boot verb' because of the shape it makes on a conjugation chart.
Example Sentences
Siempre acuesto a los niños a las ocho.
I always put the children to bed at eight.
yo
¿A qué hora acuestas al bebé?
What time do you put the baby to bed?
tú
Nosotros acostamos a los perros en la cocina.
We put the dogs to bed in the kitchen.
nosotros
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using 'acosto' instead of 'acuesto'.
Correct: acuesto
Why: The 'o' in the stem must change to 'ue' when it is stressed.
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Related Tenses
Preterite
yo: acosté
Acostar is regular in the preterite: acosté, acostaste, acostó, acostamos, acostasteis, acostaron.
Imperfect
yo: acostaba
Acostar is regular in the imperfect: acostaba, acostabas, acostaba, acostábamos, acostabais, acostaban.
Future
yo: acostaré
Acostar is regular in the future: acostaré, acostarás, acostará, acostaremos, acostaréis, acostarán.
Conditional
yo: acostaría
Acostar is regular in the conditional: acostaría, acostarías, acostaría, acostaríamos, acostaríais, acostarían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: acueste
Acostar has an O-to-UE stem change in the subjunctive: acueste, acuestes, acueste, acostemos, acostéis, acuesten.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: acostara
The imperfect subjunctive of acostar is regular: acostara, acostaras, acostara, acostáramos, acostarais, acostaran.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: acuesta
Use acuesta (tú), acueste (usted), and acostad (vosotros) to give orders to put someone to bed.
Negative Imperative
yo: no acuestes
Negative commands use the present subjunctive: no acuestes, no acueste, no acostemos, no acostéis, no acuesten.