The Imperative Mood (Affirmative Commands) of acostar is used to give direct orders or instructions related to lying down or going to bed, for example Acuéstate temprano esta noche. (Go to bed early tonight.)

This is a stem-changing verb, where the ‘o’ changes to ‘ue’ in certain conjugations. The stem change occurs in all forms except the nosotros and vosotros forms.

Conjugations

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

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

To put someone to bed: For example, Acuesta al bebé en su cuna. (Put the baby to bed in their crib.)

To lie down: For example, Acuéstate y descansa un rato. (Lie down and rest for a while.)

To go to bed (reflexive): For example, Acuéstate temprano hoy. (Go to bed early today.)

To have sex (vulgar): For example, ¡Acuéstate conmigo! (Have sex with me!)

Examples

Examples of Acostar in the Imperative Mood (Affirmative Commands)

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

Antes de salir, acuesten a los niños. (Put the kids to bed before going out.)

Por favor, acuéstense en las camillas para el examen físico. (Please lie down on the examination tables for the physical exam.)

Mamá, acuéstame y léeme un cuento antes de dormir. (Mom, put me to bed and read me a story before I sleep.)

Después de un día tan ajetreado, acuéstense temprano. (After such a busy day, go to bed early.)

Cuando estés cansado, acuéstate un ratito. (When you’re tired, lie down for a little while.)

Niños, acuéstense ahora mismo. ¡Es muy tarde! (Kids, go to bed right now. It’s very late!)

Bebé, acuéstate tranquilo y duerme. Mamá está aquí. (Baby, lie down calmly and sleep. Mommy is here.)

Antes del masaje, acuéstese boca abajo en la camilla. (Before the massage, lie face down on the table.)

¡Acuéstense todos! ¡Vamos a jugar a las adivinanzas! (Everyone lie down! We’re going to play riddles!)

Cuando tengas el resfriado, acuéstate y toma mucho líquido. (When you have a cold, lie down and drink plenty of fluids.)

En la playa, acuéstense a tomar el sol un rato. (At the beach, lie down and sunbathe for a while.)

Hijos, acuéstense temprano para estar frescos mañana. (Kids, go to bed early to be fresh tomorrow.)

Después del ejercicio, acuéstense y estiren bien. (After exercising, lie down and stretch properly.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Acostar (to put 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.