acostó

Acosté is a form of two related Spanish verbs, acostar and acostarse. As the first-person singular preterite of acostar, it means “I laid down [someone or something].” It is used with a direct object, for example: “Acosté al niño en la cama” (I laid the child down in bed). The reflexive counterpart, acostarse, means “to go to bed” or “to lie down” oneself, and its first-person preterite is me acosté, not acosté.

Conjugation notes. The verb acostar (transitive) has the preterite forms: acosté, acostaste, acostó, acostamos, acostasteis, acostaron. The reflexive verb acostarse (with reflexive pronouns) has: me acosté, te acostaste, se acostó, nos acostamos, os acostasteis, se acostaron. The key distinction is that acostar requires an object to lay down (a person or animal), whereas acostarse describes the action of going to bed or lying down oneself.

Usage. Acostar is common in medical, caregiving, and family contexts, as in “El enfermero acostó al paciente” (The nurse laid the patient down). Acostarse is used for personal routines: “Me acosté temprano” (I went to bed early) or “¿Ya te acostaste?” (Have you gone to bed yet?). Regional variations exist in formality and frequency, but both verbs share the same root and related meanings.

Etymology and related forms. Acostar and acostarse derive from the same Proto-Romance root as other Romance verbs meaning to place or to lay down. The forms with and without the reflexive pronoun reflect standard Spanish verb conjugation patterns.

See also: acostar a alguien, acostarse para dormir, preterite verb forms.