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Conjugation Chart

“Despertarse” (to wake up) in the Preterite (Past) Tense

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Understanding the Preterite (Past) Tense of “Despertarse”

The preterite of despertarse is used to express when someone woke up at a specific moment in the past. For example, “I woke up at 7 AM yesterday” – “Me desperté a las 7 ayer.”

This is a regular -ar reflexive verb in the preterite tense. Remember to include the appropriate reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se) before the conjugated verb form.

How to Use Despertarse in the Preterite (Past) Tense

The Preterite of despertarse expresses the moment of waking up.

To wake up: Indicates the specific moment of awakening, for example Me desperté a las seis (I woke up at six), or Se despertaron con el ruido (They woke up with the noise).

To become aware: Used figuratively for realizing something, for example Se despertó a la realidad (They woke up to reality).

Real Life Examples of Despertarse in the Preterite (Past) Tense

Me desperté temprano para ir al aeropuerto. (I woke up early to go to the airport.)

¿A qué hora te despertaste ayer? (What time did you wake up yesterday?)

Se despertó con el ruido de la tormenta. (He/she woke up with the noise of the storm.)

Nos despertamos al amanecer. (We woke up at dawn.)

Los niños se despertaron emocionados en Navidad. (The children woke up excited on Christmas.)

Me desperté con dolor de cabeza. (I woke up with a headache.)

Te despertaste de mal humor. (You woke up in a bad mood.)

Se despertó sobresaltado por el sueño. (He woke up startled from the dream.)

Nos despertamos con el olor a café. (We woke up to the smell of coffee.)

Se despertaron tarde para la reunión. (They woke up late for the meeting.)

Me desperté antes que sonara la alarma. (I woke up before the alarm went off.)

¿Por qué te despertaste tan temprano? (Why did you wake up so early?)

Se despertó en medio de la noche. (He/she woke up in the middle of the night.)

Nos despertamos con el canto de los pájaros. (We woke up to the birds singing.)

Se despertaron con mucha energía. (They woke up with a lot of energy.)

Conjugation Chart with English Translations

Conjugations of Despertarse (to wake up) in the Preterite (Past) Tense (Castilian Spanish) with English Translations:

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

Synonyms

The Preterite tense is also known as the Simple Past, Past Simple, Definite Past, Absolute Past, or Past Tense Indicative in English, and as Pretérito Perfecto Simple, Pretérito Indefinido, Pretérito Simple, Pasado Simple, or Pretérito de Indicativo in Spanish.