The Imperfect Tense of acostar is used to describe ongoing or repeated actions in the past, for example, Me acostaba temprano cuando era niño. (I used to go to bed early when I was a child.)

Acostar is a regular -ar verb, so its conjugations in the Imperfect Tense follow the typical pattern for this verb type.

Conjugations

Conjugations of Acostar (to put to bed) in the Imperfect Tense tense (Latin American Spanish):

The imperfect tense of acostar is used to describe ongoing or repeated actions in the past.

To go to bed: For example, Cuando era niño, me acostaba a las 8 de la noche. (When I was a child, I used to go to bed at 8 pm.)

To lie down: For example, Mi abuela se acostaba después de la novela. (My grandma would lie down after the soap opera.)

To put someone/something to bed (transitive): For example, Todas las noches acostaba a mis hijos. (Every night I would put my kids to bed.)

To lean or tilt (colloquial): For example, El borracho se acostaba contra la pared. (The drunk guy was leaning against the wall.)

To have sex (vulgar): For example, Juan se acostaba con todas las chicas. (Juan used to sleep with all the girls.)

Examples

Examples of Acostar in the Imperfect Tense

Cuando era niño, acostaba a mis muñecos después de jugar con ellos. (When I was a child, I would put my dolls to bed after playing with them.)

Mi abuela acostaba a los nietos temprano para que pudieran descansar bien. (My grandmother would put the grandchildren to bed early so they could rest well.)

En el hotel, acostábamos a los niños primero antes de bajar a cenar. (At the hotel, we would put the kids to bed first before going down to dinner.)

Antes de salir, acostaba al perro en su camita. (Before going out, I would put the dog in his bed.)

Mis padres acostaban a mis hermanos menores todas las noches. (My parents would put my younger siblings to bed every night.)

Cuando acostaba al bebé, le cantaba una canción de cuna. (When I put the baby to bed, I would sing a lullaby.)

En la guardería, las maestras acostaban a los niños para la siesta después del almuerzo. (At the daycare, the teachers would put the kids down for a nap after lunch.)

Después de un largo día de viaje, acostábamos a los niños temprano para que descansaran. (After a long day of traveling, we would put the kids to bed early so they could rest.)

Cuando acostaba a mi hijo, le leía un cuento antes de apagar la luz. (When I put my son to bed, I would read him a story before turning off the light.)

En el hospital, las enfermeras acostaban a los pacientes temprano para que pudieran descansar. (At the hospital, the nurses would put the patients to bed early so they could rest.)

Mis abuelos acostaban a sus mascotas en sus camitas antes de irse a dormir. (My grandparents would put their pets in their beds before going to sleep.)

Cuando acostaba a mi hija, le daba un beso de buenas noches. (When I put my daughter to bed, I would give her a good night kiss.)

En el campamento, los consejeros acostaban a los niños temprano para que pudieran levantarse con energía por la mañana. (At the camp, the counselors would put the kids to bed early so they could wake up energized in the morning.)

Antes de irme a trabajar, acostaba al gato en su cama para que durmiera tranquilo. (Before going to work, I would put the cat in his bed so he could sleep peacefully.)

Cuando acostábamos a los niños, les dábamos un vaso de leche tibia para que durmieran mejor. (When we put the kids to bed, we would give them a glass of warm milk so they could sleep better.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Acostar (to put to bed) in the Imperfect Tense tense (Latin American Spanish) with English Translations:

This post covers Latin American Spanish. For Castilian Spanish, click here

Synonyms

The Imperfect tense is also known as the Past Imperfect, Descriptive Past, Past Progressive, or Imperfect Indicative in English, and as Pretérito Imperfecto, Copretérito, Imperfecto de Indicativo, or Pasado Descriptivo in Spanish.