The Present Tense of Dormir is used to describe actions happening right now or habitual actions, for example: Duermo ocho horas cada noche. (I sleep eight hours every night.)

Dormir is a stem-changing verb, meaning the vowel in the stem changes in certain conjugations. For the present tense, the ‘o’ changes to ‘ue’ in all forms except nosotros and vosotros.

Conjugations

Conjugations of Dormir (to sleep) in the Present Tense tense (Latin American Spanish):

Dormir generally means to sleep, but has several different meanings in the Present Tense, some of which might surprise you.

Literal meaning: To sleep or be sleeping, for example, Yo duermo ocho horas cada noche (I sleep eight hours every night).

Figurative meaning: To be inactive, lazy or procrastinating, for example, No te duermas en los laureles y sigue trabajando duro (Don’t rest on your laurels and keep working hard).

Slang meaning: To be unaware or oblivious to something, for example, Te duermes mucho, ¿no ves lo que está pasando? (You sleep a lot, don’t you see what’s going on?)

Idiomatic meaning: To spend the night somewhere, for example, Esta noche duermo en casa de mi amigo (Tonight I’m sleeping at my friend’s house).

Rude meaning: To have sex (vulgar), for example, Juan duerme con una chica diferente cada noche (Juan sleeps with a different girl every night).

Examples

Examples of Dormir in the Present Tense

Yo duermo ocho horas cada noche. (I sleep eight hours every night.)

¿Tú duermes bien por la noche? (Do you sleep well at night?)

Mi bebé duerme tranquilamente después de tomar su biberón. (My baby sleeps peacefully after having their bottle.)

Nosotros dormimos en una cabaña rústica durante nuestras vacaciones. (We slept in a rustic cabin during our vacation.)

Ellos duermen hasta tarde los fines de semana. (They sleep in late on weekends.)

Después de un largo día, duermo como un tronco. (After a long day, I sleep like a log.)

Mi compañero de cuarto duerme con una máscara para los ojos. (My roommate sleeps with an eye mask.)

¿Duermes bien en hoteles o prefieres dormir en tu propia cama? (Do you sleep well in hotels or do you prefer sleeping in your own bed?)

Los niños duermen toda la noche después de jugar al aire libre. (The kids sleep through the night after playing outdoors.)

Yo duermo mejor con la ventana abierta. (I sleep better with the window open.)

¿A qué hora duermen tus hijos por la noche? (What time do your kids go to sleep at night?)

Ella duerme con un ventilador encendido para el ruido blanco. (She sleeps with a fan on for white noise.)

Nosotros dormimos en una litera cuando vamos de campamento. (We sleep in bunk beds when we go camping.)

¿Duermes del lado izquierdo o del derecho de la cama? (Do you sleep on the left or right side of the bed?)

Mi abuela duerme una siesta todas las tardes. (My grandma takes a nap every afternoon.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Dormir (to sleep) in the Present Tense tense (Latin American Spanish) with English Translations:

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

Synonyms

The Present tense is also known as the Simple Present, Present Simple, Present Tense, or Present Indicative in English, and as Presente de Indicativo, Presente Simple, Tiempo Presente, or Indicativo Presente in Spanish.