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 (Castilian Spanish):

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

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

To put someone or something to bed: For example, Todas las noches, mi madre nos acostaba temprano. (Every night, my mother put us to bed early.)

To lie down: For example, Después de trabajar todo el día, me acostaba en el sofá a descansar. (After working all day, I would lie down on the couch to rest.)

To lean or tilt something: For example, Acostaba la escalera contra la pared para pintar el techo. (I would lean the ladder against the wall to paint the ceiling.)

Slang: To have sex: For example, Cuando era joven, me acostaba con muchas chicas. (When I was young, I used to sleep with many girls.) Note: This usage is considered vulgar.

Examples

Examples of Acostar in the Imperfect Tense

Yo acostaba a mi hijo todas las noches antes de irme a la cama. (I used to put my son to bed every night before going to bed myself.)

Cuando era niño, mis padres acostaban a mis hermanos y a mí a las ocho de la noche. (When I was a child, my parents used to put my siblings and me to bed at 8 pm.)

Antes de salir de viaje, acostábamos al perro temprano para que durmiera bien. (Before going on a trip, we used to put the dog to bed early so he would sleep well.)

Mi abuela acostaba a mis primos pequeños mientras mis tíos trabajaban. (My grandmother used to put my little cousins to bed while my aunts and uncles were at work.)

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

Cuando acostábamos a nuestro bebé, le cantábamos una canción de cuna. (When we used to put our baby to bed, we would sing a lullaby.)

Mis abuelos acostaban temprano a sus nietos cuando se quedaban en su casa. (My grandparents used to put their grandchildren to bed early when they stayed at their house.)

En el campamento de verano, los consejeros acostaban a los campistas a las nueve de la noche. (At the summer camp, the counselors used to put the campers to bed at 9 pm.)

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

Mis padres acostaban a mis hermanos y a mí temprano los días de escuela. (My parents used to put my siblings and me to bed early on school nights.)

En el hospital, las enfermeras acostaban a los pacientes a una hora razonable para que descansaran. (At the hospital, the nurses used to put the patients to bed at a reasonable hour so they could rest.)

Cuando acostábamos a nuestro hijo, le dábamos un beso de buenas noches. (When we used to put our son to bed, we would give him a good night kiss.)

Mi tía acostaba a sus hijos temprano para poder pasar tiempo con su esposo por la noche. (My aunt used to put her kids to bed early so she could spend time with her husband at night.)

Cuando acostábamos a nuestro perro, le dábamos una golosina especial. (When we used to put our dog to bed, we would give him a special treat.)

Conjugations with English Translations

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

This post covers Castilian Spanish. For Latin American 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.