caerse

Caerse is a Spanish verb that means to fall down or to tumble. It is used both literally, to describe a person or object losing balance and dropping, and figuratively, to express becoming overwhelmed, losing control of a situation, or failing in a task.

Etymology and use

Caerse is the reflexive form of caer, the verb meaning to fall. The reflexive pronoun se indicates that the subject experiences the action, which is common in Spanish for events that happen to the subject or that occur unintentionally. The verb shares the irregular stems and many irregular forms of caer, and its conjugation includes both the standard reflexive pronouns and the irregular vowel changes of caer.

Conjugation overview

In the present indicative, the forms are me caigo, te caes, se cae, nos caemos, os caéis, se caen. The preterite forms are me caí, te caíste, se cayó, nos caímos, os caísteis, se cayeron. The imperfect is caía, caías, caía, caíamos, caíais, caían, with the reflexive pronoun as usual (me caía, te caías, etc.). The future forms are me caeré, te caerás, se caerá, nos caeremos, os caeréis, se caerán. The verb can also appear in the subjunctive (caiga, caigas, caiga, caigamos, caigáis, caigan) and other tenses following the same irregular pattern as caer.

Usage notes

Caerse is frequently used with the se accidental construction to describe unintended events, especially physical mishaps: Se me cayó la taza (The cup fell from my hand). It is common to combine caerse with adverbs or prepositional phrases to specify the manner of the fall, such as caerse al suelo (to fall to the floor) or caerse de sueño (to be exhausted). It can also appear in idioms like caerse de risa (to laugh a lot) or caerse de sueño (to be very sleepy).