The Imperative Mood (Affirmative Commands) of Dormir is used to give direct orders or instructions related to sleeping, for example Duerme bien esta noche. (Sleep well tonight.)

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

Conjugations

Conjugations of Dormir (to sleep) in the Imperative Mood (Affirmative Commands) tense (Castilian Spanish):

Dormir generally means “to sleep”, but has several different meanings in the Imperative Mood (Affirmative Commands), some of which might surprise you.

Literal meaning: To instruct someone to go to sleep or rest, for example, ¡Duerme bien! (Sleep well!)

Figurative meaning: To ignore or disregard something, for example, ¡Duérmete en los laureles! (Don’t rest on your laurels!)

Slang meaning: To spend the night somewhere, often implying sexual connotations, for example, ¡Duérmete conmigo esta noche! (Sleep with me tonight!)

Idiomatic meaning: To be unaware or oblivious to something, for example, ¡No te duermas en esa situación! (Don’t sleep on that situation!)

Examples

Examples of Dormir in the Imperative Mood (Affirmative Commands)

¡Duerme bien esta noche! (Get a good night’s sleep tonight!)

Antes del examen, durmamos por lo menos 8 horas. (Before the exam, let’s get at least 8 hours of sleep.)

Mamá, duerma un poco más. Yo me encargo de los niños. (Mom, get some more sleep. I’ll take care of the kids.)

Oye Juan, ¿por qué no duermes una siesta? Te ves cansado. (Hey Juan, why don’t you take a nap? You look tired.)

Después de un largo día de trabajo, duerman bien para recargar energías. (After a long day at work, get a good night’s sleep to recharge.)

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

Amigos, dormid temprano hoy para estar frescos mañana. (Friends, get to bed early tonight to be fresh tomorrow.)

Antes del viaje, duerman bien para no sentirse cansados. (Before the trip, get plenty of sleep so you don’t feel tired.)

Compañeros, durmamos lo suficiente para rendir al máximo. (Colleagues, let’s get enough sleep to perform at our best.)

Oye, ¿por qué no duermes un rato? Te ves agotado. (Hey, why don’t you get some sleep? You look exhausted.)

Papá, duerma un poco más. Yo preparo el desayuno. (Dad, get some more sleep. I’ll make breakfast.)

Equipo, durmamos bien para el gran día de mañana. (Team, let’s get a good night’s sleep for the big day tomorrow.)

Amigos, después de la fiesta, duerman un buen rato. (Friends, after the party, get some good sleep.)

Bebé, duerme tranquilo. Mamá está aquí contigo. (Baby, sleep peacefully. Mommy’s here with you.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Dormir (to sleep) 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.