The subjuntivo presente of Dormirse is used to express desires, doubts, or hypothetical situations related to falling asleep, for example: Espero que te duermas pronto. (I hope you fall asleep soon.)

This is a stem-changing verb, where the ‘o’ changes to ‘ue’ in all forms except nosotros and vosotros. The conjugations follow the regular pattern for -ir verbs in the subjunctive mood.

Conjugations

Conjugations of Dormirse (to fall asleep) in the Subjunctive Mood tense (Castilian Spanish):

Dormirse generally means “to fall asleep”, but has several different meanings in the Subjunctive Mood, some of which might surprise you.

To fall asleep: This is the most common meaning, for example, Espero que no te duermas durante la película (I hope you don’t fall asleep during the movie).

To become numb: Used figuratively to describe a body part losing sensation, for example, Me duele el pie y temo que se me duerma (My foot hurts and I’m afraid it will go numb).

To lose focus (colloquial): In informal contexts, it can mean to become distracted or lose concentration, for example, No te duermas en clase que es importante (Don’t zone out in class because it’s important).

To slack off (colloquial): Similarly, it can imply laziness or lack of effort, for example, Ojalá que no os durmáis en los entrenamientos (I hope you don’t slack off during training).

Examples

Examples of Dormirse in the Subjunctive Mood

Espero que no te duermas durante la película. (I hope you don’t fall asleep during the movie.)

Es importante que me duerma temprano para estar descansado mañana. (It’s important that I go to sleep early to be rested tomorrow.)

Mis padres quieren que nos durmamos antes de la medianoche. (My parents want us to go to sleep before midnight.)

El médico recomienda que el bebé se duerma a una hora razonable. (The doctor recommends that the baby goes to sleep at a reasonable hour.)

Ojalá que los niños se duerman pronto para que podamos relajarnos. (Hopefully the kids will fall asleep soon so we can relax.)

Es una lástima que os durmáis tan tarde por las noches. (It’s a shame that you all go to sleep so late at night.)

Prefiero que se duerma después de leer un libro, no viendo la televisión. (I prefer that he/she goes to sleep after reading a book, not watching TV.)

Aunque estés cansado, no quiero que te duermas en clase. (Even if you’re tired, I don’t want you to fall asleep in class.)

Es fundamental que los atletas se duerman bien antes de una competencia. (It’s essential that athletes get a good sleep before a competition.)

Tal vez sería mejor que me duerma un poco más temprano esta noche. (Maybe it would be better if I went to sleep a little earlier tonight.)

Insisto en que los niños se duerman a las 9 pm durante la semana escolar. (I insist that the kids go to sleep at 9 pm during the school week.)

¿Crees que nos durmamos antes de la una de la mañana? Tengo mucho sueño. (Do you think we’ll fall asleep before 1 am? I’m so sleepy.)

Mamá dice que si me duermo tarde, no podré despertarme temprano. (Mom says that if I go to sleep late, I won’t be able to wake up early.)

Aunque te duermas en el avión, trata de no roncar mucho. (Even if you fall asleep on the plane, try not to snore too much.)

Sería genial que se duerman temprano para poder salir mañana. (It would be great if they went to sleep early so we can go out tomorrow.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Dormirse (to fall asleep) in the Subjunctive Mood tense (Castilian Spanish) with English Translations:

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

Synonyms

The Subjunctive mood is also known as the Simple Subjunctive, Subjunctive Present, or Present Subjunctive Mood in English, and as Presente de Subjuntivo, Subjuntivo Presente, Presente del Modo Subjuntivo, or Tiempo Presente del Subjuntivo in Spanish.