The Imperfect Tense of Dormirse is used to describe actions that were ongoing or repeated in the past, for example, Me dormía temprano cuando era niño. (I would fall asleep early when I was a child.)

Dormirse is a regular -ir verb, so its Imperfect Tense conjugations follow the typical pattern for that verb type.

Conjugations

Conjugations of Dormirse (to fall asleep) in the Imperfect Tense tense (Latin American Spanish):

The imperfect tense of dormirse is used to describe an ongoing or repeated action in the past, or to set the scene for another past action.

To fall asleep: For example, Cuando era niño, me dormía temprano. (When I was a child, I would fall asleep early.)

To be sleepy or drowsy: For example, Me dormía en clase porque no dormía bien por las noches. (I would get sleepy in class because I didn’t sleep well at night.)

To become numb or lose sensation (colloquial): For example, Después de estar sentado tanto tiempo, se me durmieron las piernas. (After sitting for so long, my legs fell asleep.)

To slack off or become complacent (idiomatic): For example, No te duermas en los laureles, todavía queda mucho trabajo por hacer. (Don’t rest on your laurels, there’s still a lot of work to be done.)

Examples

Examples of Dormirse in the Imperfect Tense

Cuando era niño, me dormía temprano todos los días. (When I was a child, I would fall asleep early every day.)

Mi abuela se dormía en el sofá mientras veía la telenovela. (My grandmother would fall asleep on the couch while watching the soap opera.)

En los viajes largos, el bebé se dormía en el auto. (On long trips, the baby would fall asleep in the car.)

Después de trabajar todo el día, me dormía como un tronco. (After working all day, I would sleep like a log.)

Ella se dormía tarde porque estaba enganchada a las redes sociales. (She would fall asleep late because she was hooked on social media.)

En la playa, nos dormíamos bajo el sol caliente. (At the beach, we would fall asleep under the hot sun.)

Durante las clases aburridas, me dormía sin darme cuenta. (During boring classes, I would fall asleep without realizing it.)

Cuando estaba enfermo, me dormía a cualquier hora del día. (When I was sick, I would fall asleep at any time of the day.)

Después de una noche de fiesta, se dormía hasta tarde al día siguiente. (After a night of partying, he would sleep in late the next day.)

En el avión, se dormían antes de despegar. (On the plane, they would fall asleep before taking off.)

Cuando era bebé, se dormía al instante en los brazos de su madre. (When he was a baby, he would fall asleep instantly in his mother’s arms.)

Después de estudiar toda la noche, me dormía en la biblioteca. (After studying all night, I would fall asleep in the library.)

En las reuniones largas, se dormían sin darse cuenta. (In long meetings, they would fall asleep without realizing it.)

Cuando estaba estresado, me dormía tarde y despertaba temprano. (When I was stressed, I would fall asleep late and wake up early.)

Después de una comida pesada, se dormían en el sofá. (After a heavy meal, they would fall asleep on the couch.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Dormirse (to fall asleep) in the Imperfect Tense tense (Latin American Spanish) with English Translations:

This post covers Latin American Spanish. For Castilian 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.