Acostar

Acostar is a Spanish verb meaning to lay someone or something down, or to put to bed. It is a transitive verb that requires a direct object, as in El enfermero acostó al paciente (The nurse laid the patient down). It is also used reflexively in acostarse, which means to lie down oneself or to go to bed, as in Me voy a acostar (I’m going to lie down).

In the present tense, acostar is a stem-changing verb with o-ue: yo acuesto, tú acuestas, él acuesta, nosotros acostamos, vosotros acostáis, ellos acuestan. Other tenses follow the regular -ar verb conjugation pattern, with acostado as the past participle and acostando as the gerund. The subjunctive forms include acueste, acuestes, acueste, acostemos, acostéis, acuesten. The imperative forms include acuéstate for the reflexive tú form, and acostad or acueste for usted and ustedes uses, depending on formality.

Usage notes: Acostar is commonly used to describe placing a person or animal in a horizontal position for rest or sleep, and can also refer to putting someone to bed at night. The reflexive acostarse is used for the subject’s own action or intention to sleep, such as Mañana me voy a acostar temprano. In many dialects, other expressions like dormir o ir a la cama are used, depending on region and context.

See also: acostar a alguien, acostarse.