The Imperative Mood (Affirmative Commands) of Acostarse is used to give direct orders or instructions for someone to go to bed or lie down, for example Acuéstate temprano esta noche. (Go to bed early tonight.)

This verb follows the o to ue stem-changing conjugation pattern, where the ‘o’ in the stem changes to ‘ue’ in certain conjugations.

Conjugations

Conjugations of Acostarse (to go to bed) in the Imperative Mood (Affirmative Commands) tense (Castilian Spanish):

Acostarse generally means to lie down or go to bed, but has several different meanings in the Imperative Mood (Affirmative Commands), some of which might surprise you.

Literal meaning: To lie down, for example, ¡Acuéstate en la cama! (Lie down on the bed!)

To go to bed: To retire for the night, for example, ¡Acuéstate ya, que es muy tarde! (Go to bed now, it’s very late!)

To have sex (vulgar): Used colloquially to mean having sexual intercourse, for example, ¡Acuéstate conmigo! (Have sex with me!)

To give up (figurative): To stop trying or resign, for example, ¡No te acuestes todavía, sigue intentándolo! (Don’t give up yet, keep trying!)

To calm down (colloquial): To relax or take it easy, for example, ¡Acuéstate un poco y no te estreses tanto! (Calm down a bit and don’t stress so much!)

Examples

Examples of Acostarse in the Imperative Mood (Affirmative Commands)

¡Acuéstate y descansa un rato! (Lie down and rest for a bit!)

Señor, por favor acuéstese en la camilla para el examen. (Sir, please lie down on the examination table for the exam.)

Niños, ya es tarde. Acostémonos para estar listos mañana. (Kids, it’s late. Let’s go to bed to be ready for tomorrow.)

¡Oye, acostaos un ratito! ¡Estáis muy inquietos! (Hey, lie down for a little while! You’re too restless!)

Damas y caballeros, por su seguridad, acuéstense y abróchense los cinturones. (Ladies and gentlemen, for your safety, lie down and fasten your seatbelts.)

Mamá: “Hijo, ya es muy tarde, acuéstate.” (Mom: “Son, it’s very late, go to bed.”)

El instructor de yoga dice: “Acostémonos en la posición de relajación.” (The yoga instructor says: “Let’s lie down in the relaxation pose.”)

En el hospital: “Por favor acuéstese aquí para tomar una siesta.” (At the hospital: “Please lie down here to take a nap.”)

¡Acostaos un rato, chicos! ¡Habéis estado jugando todo el día! (Lie down for a bit, guys! You’ve been playing all day!)

Antes del masaje: “Por favor, acuéstese boca abajo en la camilla.” (Before the massage: “Please lie down face down on the table.”)

En la playa: “¡Acuéstate y toma un poco de sol!” (At the beach: “Lie down and get some sun!”)

En el avión: “Señoras y señores, acuéstense y abróchense los cinturones, vamos a aterrizar.” (On the plane: “Ladies and gentlemen, lie down and fasten your seatbelts, we’re about to land.”)

Papá: “Hijitos, ya es muy tarde, acostémonos.” (Dad: “Kids, it’s very late, let’s go to bed.”)

En el camping: “¡Acostaos en las bolsas de dormir, hace frío!” (At the campsite: “Get into your sleeping bags, it’s cold out!”)

El doctor: “Para revisarlo mejor, acuéstese en la camilla por favor.” (The doctor: “To examine you better, please lie down on the examination table.”)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Acostarse (to go to bed) in the Imperative Mood (Affirmative Commands) tense (Castilian Spanish) with English Translations:

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

Synonyms

The Imperative mood is also known as the Command Form, Affirmative Command Mood, or Direct Command Form in English, and as Modo Imperativo, Imperativo Afirmativo, Mandatos Afirmativos, or Forma de Mandato in Spanish.