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.)

Dormir is a stem-changing verb, meaning the vowel in the stem changes in certain conjugations. For the imperative mood, the o changes to ue.

Conjugations

Conjugations of Dormir (to sleep) in the Imperative Mood (Affirmative Commands) tense (Latin American 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 go to sleep or fall asleep, for example, ¡Duérmete ya! (Go to sleep now!)

Figurative meaning: To ignore or disregard something, for example, ¡Duérmete en esa idea! (Forget about that idea!)

Slang meaning: To stay calm or relax, often used to diffuse a tense situation, for example, ¡Duérmete un rato, viejo! (Chill out for a bit, man!)

Rude meaning: To shut up or be quiet, used in a derogatory way, for example, ¡Duérmete la boca! (Shut your mouth!)

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, los niños duerman temprano hoy. (Mom, have the kids go to sleep early today.)

Para estar en forma, duerma suficiente cada noche. (To stay in shape, get enough sleep every night.)

Oye, ¿puedes dormir un rato? Pareces cansado. (Hey, can you take a nap? You look tired.)

Después de un largo vuelo, lo mejor es dormir bien. (After a long flight, it’s best to get a good night’s sleep.)

¡Durmamos la siesta como los españoles! (Let’s take a siesta like the Spanish do!)

Los bebés duerman de 12 a 16 horas al día. (Babies should sleep 12 to 16 hours a day.)

Amigo, duerme un poco más los fines de semana. (Friend, sleep in a bit more on the weekends.)

Para el jet lag, duerma según el nuevo huso horario. (For jet lag, sleep according to the new time zone.)

¡Durmamos hasta tarde mañana, es domingo! (Let’s sleep in late tomorrow, it’s Sunday!)

Papá, ¿puedes dormir al bebé cantándole? (Dad, can you sing the baby to sleep?)

Antes de manejar, duerma bien por su seguridad. (Before driving, get plenty of sleep for your safety.)

¡No duermas demasiado o te sentirás peor! (Don’t sleep too much or you’ll feel worse!)

Después del parto, duerma cuando el bebé duerma. (After giving birth, sleep when the baby sleeps.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Dormir (to sleep) in the Imperative Mood (Affirmative Commands) tense (Latin American Spanish) with English Translations:

This post covers Latin American Spanish. For Castilian 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.