The preterite of dormirse is used to express a specific instance of falling asleep in the past, for example Me dormí durante la película (I fell asleep during the movie). This reflexive verb emphasizes the completed action of falling asleep at a particular moment.

This verb follows the o to u stem-changing pattern in the preterite, but only in the third person singular and plural forms. Additionally, as a reflexive verb, it requires the appropriate reflexive pronoun with each conjugation.

Conjugations

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

The preterite of dormirse expresses a completed action of falling asleep in the past.

To fall asleep: Describes the moment of falling asleep, for example Me dormí durante la película (I fell asleep during the movie) or Se durmió temprano anoche (He/she fell asleep early last night).

To drift off: Used for gradually falling asleep, for example Me dormí en el sofá leyendo (I drifted off on the couch while reading).

Examples

Examples of Dormirse in the Preterite (Past) Tense

Me dormí durante la película. (I fell asleep during the movie.)

Te dormiste en clase. (You fell asleep in class.)

El bebé se durmió en mis brazos. (The baby fell asleep in my arms.)

Nos dormimos tarde anoche. (We fell asleep late last night.)

Los niños se durmieron después del cuento. (The children fell asleep after the story.)

Me dormí en el autobús. (I fell asleep on the bus.)

Te dormiste en la reunión importante. (You fell asleep in the important meeting.)

Mi abuelo se durmió en su sillón favorito. (My grandfather fell asleep in his favorite armchair.)

Nos dormimos bajo las estrellas. (We fell asleep under the stars.)

Los pasajeros se durmieron durante el vuelo. (The passengers fell asleep during the flight.)

Me dormí escuchando música. (I fell asleep listening to music.)

Te dormiste en la playa. (You fell asleep at the beach.)

La paciente se durmió después de tomar la medicina. (The patient fell asleep after taking the medicine.)

Nos dormimos inmediatamente. (We fell asleep immediately.)

Los estudiantes se durmieron durante el examen. (The students fell asleep during the exam.)

Conjugations with English Translations

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

This post covers Latin American Spanish. For Castilian 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.