acostarse Preterite Conjugation
acostarse — to go to bed
The preterite of acostarse is regular in its endings but requires reflexive pronouns: me acosté, te acostaste, se acostó.
acostarse Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
Use the preterite to talk about the specific moment you went to bed last night or on a particular date. It treats the action as a completed event in the past.
Notes on acostarse in the Preterite
Unlike the present tense, there is no stem change (o > ue) in the preterite. It follows the regular -ar pattern for the verb 'acostar' while keeping the reflexive pronouns.
Example Sentences
Anoche me acosté a las once.
Last night I went to bed at eleven.
yo
¿Te acostaste tarde ayer?
Did you go to bed late yesterday?
tú
Se acostaron muy temprano después del viaje.
They went to bed very early after the trip.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Me acuesté a las diez.
Correct: Me acosté a las diez.
Why: Learners often try to apply the O>UE stem change from the present tense to the preterite, but it doesn't apply here.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: me acuesto
Acostarse is a stem-changing (o > ue) reflexive verb: me acuesto, te acuestas, se acuesta.
Imperfect
yo: me acostaba
The imperfect of acostarse is regular: me acostaba, te acostabas, se acostaba.
Future
yo: me acostaré
The future tense is regular for acostarse: me acostaré, te acostarás, se acostará.
Conditional
yo: me acostaría
The conditional is regular for acostarse: me acostaría, te acostarías, se acostaría.
Present Subjunctive
yo: me acueste
The present subjunctive of acostarse features the O>UE stem change: me acueste, te acuestes, se acueste.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: me acostara
The imperfect subjunctive is based on the preterite stem: me acostara, te acostaras, se acostara.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: acuéstate
The imperative for acostarse attaches the pronoun to the end: acuéstate, acuéstese, acostémonos.
Negative Imperative
yo: no te acuestes
The negative imperative uses the present subjunctive: no te acuestes, no se acueste.