Acercarse Conjugation | How to Conjugate Acercarse in Spanish

Acercarse means “to approach,” “to come closer,” or figuratively “to move toward.” You will learn its pronominal clitics, c → qu spelling change before e, verbal-periphrasis placement, and commands.

Acercarse conjugation at a glance

Verb type: Irregular. Acercarse is pronominal and keeps a person-matched clitic. Its key spelling alternation is c → qu before e, as in me acerqué and me acerque.

Acercarse gerund, past participle, and infinitive

The pronominal infinitive keeps se — the pronominal marker. The gerund can carry an attached clitic, and compound non-finite forms combine the clitic with haber — “to have” as an auxiliary. The participle acercado remains invariant in compound forms.

Form	Spanish	Natural English guide
Infinitive	acercarse	to approach / come closer
Gerund	acercándose	approaching / coming closer
Past participle	acercado	approached / moved closer
Compound infinitive	haberse acercado	to have approached / come closer
Compound gerund	habiéndose acercado	having approached / come closer

Acercarse meaning and essential uses

Acercarse is the pronominal form used when the subject themself moves nearer: Me acerco a la puerta. — “I approach the door.” The person-matched clitic is me, te, se, nos, os, se.

RAE also records figurative approaches and things drawing near in time: Se acercan las vacaciones. — “The holidays are approaching.” The usual destination or target is introduced by a.

Acercarse irregular conjugation patterns

Most finite forms use acerc- plus the required clitic. Before e, spelling changes to acerqu-: me acerqué — “I approached” — and present subjunctive me acerque / te acerques / nos acerquemos.

Affirmative commands attach the clitic: acércate, acérquese, acerquémonos, acercaos, acérquense. Negative commands keep the clitic before the verb: no te acerques, no se acerque, no nos acerquemos, no os acerquéis, no se acerquen.

Acercarse indicative and periphrastic conjugations

Acercarse present tense conjugation

Present indicative (el presente de indicativo) — Use it for current situations, habits, facts, and contextually near-future reference. The table uses the verified paradigm.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	me acerco	I approach / come closer
Tú — you, singular informal	te acercas	you approach / come closer
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	se acerca	he / she approaches / comes closer; you approach / come closer (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	nos acercamos	we approach / come closer
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	os acercáis	you approach / come closer (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	se acercan	they approach / come closer; you approach / come closer (plural)

• Me acerco a la ventana. — I approach the window.

Acercarse preterite conjugation

Preterite (el pretérito perfecto simple / pretérito indefinido) — Use it for completed or bounded past events. The first-person singular is me acerqué, with c → qu before e.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	me acerqué	I approached / came closer
Tú — you, singular informal	te acercaste	you approached / came closer
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	se acercó	he / she approached / came closer; you approached / came closer (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	nos acercamos	we approached / came closer
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	os acercasteis	you approached / came closer (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	se acercaron	they approached / came closer; you approached / came closer (plural)

• Ayer me acerqué a la oficina. — Yesterday I went over to the office.

Acercarse imperfect conjugation

Imperfect (el pretérito imperfecto) — Use it for habitual, descriptive, background, or ongoing past situations. The clitic precedes the finite form of haber, followed by invariant acercado.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	me acercaba	I used to approach / come closer / was approaching / coming closer
Tú — you, singular informal	te acercabas	you used to approach / come closer / were approaching / coming closer
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	se acercaba	he / she used to approach / come closer / was approaching / coming closer; you used to approach / come closer / were approaching / coming closer (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	nos acercábamos	we used to approach / come closer / were approaching / coming closer
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	os acercabais	you used to approach / come closer / were approaching / coming closer (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	se acercaban	they used to approach / come closer / were approaching / coming closer; you used to approach / come closer / were approaching / coming closer (plural)

• Antes nos acercábamos al mercado a pie. — We used to walk over to the market.

Acercarse present progressive

Present progressive — This verbal periphrasis focuses on an action or process in progress. The main table places the clitic before estar. Attaching it to the gerund is also standard: estoy acercándome — “I am approaching.”

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	me estoy acercando	I am approaching / coming closer
Tú — you, singular informal	te estás acercando	you are approaching / coming closer
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	se está acercando	he / she is approaching / coming closer; you are approaching / coming closer (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	nos estamos acercando	we are approaching / coming closer
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	os estáis acercando	you are approaching / coming closer (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	se están acercando	they are approaching / coming closer; you are approaching / coming closer (plural)

• Me estoy acercando a la entrada. — I am approaching the entrance.

Acercarse near future conjugation

Near future — This verbal periphrasis expresses an intention, plan, or expected event. The main table places the clitic before ir. Attaching it to the infinitive is also standard: voy a acercarme — “I am going to approach.”

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	me voy a acercar	I am going to approach / come closer
Tú — you, singular informal	te vas a acercar	you are going to approach / come closer
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	se va a acercar	he / she is going to approach / come closer; you are going to approach / come closer (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	nos vamos a acercar	we are going to approach / come closer
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	os vais a acercar	you are going to approach / come closer (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	se van a acercar	they are going to approach / come closer; you are going to approach / come closer (plural)

• Me voy a acercar a la recepción. — I am going to go over to reception.

Acercarse future tense conjugation

Simple future (el futuro simple) — Use it for future reference and, where useful, probability. The table uses the verified paradigm.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	me acercaré	I will approach / come closer
Tú — you, singular informal	te acercarás	you will approach / come closer
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	se acercará	he / she will approach / come closer; you will approach / come closer (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	nos acercaremos	we will approach / come closer
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	os acercaréis	you will approach / come closer (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	se acercarán	they will approach / come closer; you will approach / come closer (plural)

• Nos acercaremos después de comer. — We will come closer after lunch.

Acercarse conditional conjugation

Conditional (el condicional simple) — Use it for hypothetical outcomes, softened statements, or related conditional meanings. The table uses the verified paradigm.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	me acercaría	I would approach / come closer
Tú — you, singular informal	te acercarías	you would approach / come closer
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	se acercaría	he / she would approach / come closer; you would approach / come closer (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	nos acercaríamos	we would approach / come closer
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	os acercaríais	you would approach / come closer (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	se acercarían	they would approach / come closer; you would approach / come closer (plural)

• Me acercaría a preguntar si tuviera tiempo. — I would go over to ask if I had time.

Acercarse present perfect conjugation

Present perfect (el pretérito perfecto compuesto) — Use it for completed events connected to a present reference frame; regional distribution varies. The clitic precedes the finite form of haber, followed by invariant acercado.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	me he acercado	I have approached / come closer
Tú — you, singular informal	te has acercado	you have approached / come closer
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	se ha acercado	he / she has approached / come closer; you have approached / come closer (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	nos hemos acercado	we have approached / come closer
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	os habéis acercado	you have approached / come closer (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	se han acercado	they have approached / come closer; you have approached / come closer (plural)

• Me he acercado varias veces hoy. — I have gone over several times today.

Acercarse past perfect conjugation

Past perfect (el pretérito pluscuamperfecto) — Use it for an event completed before another past reference point. The clitic precedes the finite form of haber, followed by invariant acercado.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	me había acercado	I had approached / come closer
Tú — you, singular informal	te habías acercado	you had approached / come closer
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	se había acercado	he / she had approached / come closer; you had approached / come closer (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	nos habíamos acercado	we had approached / come closer
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	os habíais acercado	you had approached / come closer (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	se habían acercado	they had approached / come closer; you had approached / come closer (plural)

• Ya nos habíamos acercado cuando llamó. — We had already come closer when he / she called.

Acercarse future perfect conjugation

Future perfect (el futuro perfecto) — Use it for an event expected to be completed before a future reference point. The clitic precedes the finite form of haber, followed by invariant acercado.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	me habré acercado	I will have approached / come closer
Tú — you, singular informal	te habrás acercado	you will have approached / come closer
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	se habrá acercado	he / she will have approached / come closer; you will have approached / come closer (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	nos habremos acercado	we will have approached / come closer
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	os habréis acercado	you will have approached / come closer (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	se habrán acercado	they will have approached / come closer; you will have approached / come closer (plural)

• Para entonces se habrán acercado todos. — By then everyone will have approached.

Acercarse conditional perfect conjugation

Conditional perfect (el condicional compuesto) — Use it for a hypothetical completed outcome. The clitic precedes the finite form of haber, followed by invariant acercado.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	me habría acercado	I would have approached / come closer
Tú — you, singular informal	te habrías acercado	you would have approached / come closer
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	se habría acercado	he / she would have approached / come closer; you would have approached / come closer (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	nos habríamos acercado	we would have approached / come closer
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	os habríais acercado	you would have approached / come closer (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	se habrían acercado	they would have approached / come closer; you would have approached / come closer (plural)

• Me habría acercado antes sin la lluvia. — I would have come over earlier without the rain.

Acercarse subjunctive conjugations

Acercarse present subjunctive conjugation

Present subjunctive (el presente de subjuntivo) — Use it in subordinate environments involving wishes, influence, emotion, doubt or denial, evaluation, necessity, possibility, or non-specific reference. The entire present-subjunctive family uses acerqu-, with the person-matched clitic before the finite verb.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	me acerque	that I approach / come closer
Tú — you, singular informal	te acerques	that you approach / come closer
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	se acerque	that he / she approach / come closer; that you approach / come closer (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	nos acerquemos	that we approach / come closer
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	os acerquéis	that you approach / come closer (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	se acerquen	that they approach / come closer; that you approach / come closer (plural)

• Quiero que te acerques un poco. — I want you to come a little closer.

Acercarse imperfect subjunctive conjugation

Imperfect subjunctive (el imperfecto de subjuntivo) — The main table uses the -ra series. The accepted -se series is also valid in many contexts and is demonstrated after the table. The clitic precedes the finite form of haber, followed by invariant acercado.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	me acercara	that I approached / came closer
Tú — you, singular informal	te acercaras	that you approached / came closer
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	se acercara	that he / she approached / came closer; that you approached / came closer (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	nos acercáramos	that we approached / came closer
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	os acercarais	that you approached / came closer (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	se acercaran	that they approached / came closer; that you approached / came closer (plural)

• Preferían que nos acercáramos a la entrada. — They preferred that we move closer to the entrance.
• Era mejor que te acercases a recepción. — It was better for you to go over to reception.

Acercarse future subjunctive conjugation

Future subjunctive (el futuro de subjuntivo) — Rare in modern everyday Spanish. It survives mainly in formal, legal, proverbial, literary, or historical contexts. These rare reference forms belong mainly to formal, legal, proverbial, literary, or historical registers.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	me acercare	if / when I should approach / come closer
Tú — you, singular informal	te acercares	if / when you should approach / come closer
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	se acercare	if / when he / she should approach / come closer; if / when you should approach / come closer (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	nos acercáremos	if / when we should approach / come closer
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	os acercareis	if / when you should approach / come closer (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	se acercaren	if / when they should approach / come closer; if / when you should approach / come closer (plural)

• Quien se acercare a la zona restringida deberá identificarse. — Whoever should approach the restricted area must identify themselves.

Acercarse present perfect subjunctive conjugation

Present perfect subjunctive (el pretérito perfecto de subjuntivo) — Use it when a completed event appears inside a present- or future-oriented subjunctive environment. The clitic precedes the finite form of haber, followed by invariant acercado.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	me haya acercado	that I have approached / come closer
Tú — you, singular informal	te hayas acercado	that you have approached / come closer
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	se haya acercado	that he / she has approached / come closer; that you have approached / come closer (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	nos hayamos acercado	that we have approached / come closer
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	os hayáis acercado	that you have approached / come closer (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	se hayan acercado	that they have approached / come closer; that you have approached / come closer (plural)

• Me alegra que te hayas acercado. — I am glad that you came over.

Acercarse past perfect subjunctive conjugation

Past perfect subjunctive (el pluscuamperfecto de subjuntivo) — The main table uses hubiera; hubiese is an accepted auxiliary alternative in many contexts and is demonstrated after the table. The clitic precedes the finite form of haber, followed by invariant acercado.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	me hubiera acercado	that I had approached / come closer
Tú — you, singular informal	te hubieras acercado	that you had approached / come closer
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	se hubiera acercado	that he / she had approached / come closer; that you had approached / come closer (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	nos hubiéramos acercado	that we had approached / come closer
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	os hubierais acercado	that you had approached / come closer (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	se hubieran acercado	that they had approached / come closer; that you had approached / come closer (plural)

• Si me hubiera acercado antes, habría oído mejor. — If I had moved closer earlier, I would have heard better.
• Si te hubieses acercado a la mesa, habrías visto el documento. — If you had approached the table, you would have seen the document.

Acercarse future perfect subjunctive conjugation

Future perfect subjunctive (el futuro perfecto de subjuntivo) — Rare in modern everyday Spanish. Treat it as a formal or historical reference form, not an everyday conversational target. The clitic precedes the finite form of haber, followed by invariant acercado.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	me hubiere acercado	if / when I should have approached / come closer
Tú — you, singular informal	te hubieres acercado	if / when you should have approached / come closer
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	se hubiere acercado	if / when he / she should have approached / come closer; if / when you should have approached / come closer (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	nos hubiéremos acercado	if / when we should have approached / come closer
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	os hubiereis acercado	if / when you should have approached / come closer (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	se hubieren acercado	if / when they should have approached / come closer; if / when you should have approached / come closer (plural)

• Si se hubieren acercado al límite, deberán retroceder. — If they should have approached the boundary, they must move back.

Acercarse imperative and commands

Commands address another person directly. The nosotros/nosotras row is a present-subjunctive form used with exhortative “let’s…” value.

Acercarse affirmative commands

In affirmative pronominal commands, attach the clitic and recompute accentuation. The nosotros/nosotras form loses final -s before nos, and the usual vosotros/vosotras form loses -d before os.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Tú — you, singular informal	acércate	approach
Usted — you, singular formal	acérquese	approach (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we; let’s…	acerquémonos	let’s approach
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	acercaos	approach (plural, mainly Spain)
Ustedes — you, plural	acérquense	approach (plural)

• Acércate un poco, por favor. — Come a little closer, please.

Acercarse negative commands

Negative commands use subjunctive-based forms, with no before the person-matched clitic and the verb.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Tú — you, singular informal	no te acerques	do not approach
Usted — you, singular formal	no se acerque	do not approach (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we; let’s…	no nos acerquemos	let’s not approach
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	no os acerquéis	do not approach (plural, mainly Spain)
Ustedes — you, plural	no se acerquen	do not approach (plural)

• No te acerques al borde. — Do not approach the edge.

Common constructions with Acercarse

These patterns show sentence frames that materially affect how the target verb is used.

• acercarse a + person / place / object. — to approach / come closer to someone or something.
• acercarse para + infinitive. — to come closer in order to do something.
• se acerca una fecha / evento. — a date or event is approaching.

Example sentences with Acercarse

These examples reinforce the target verb across useful forms and contexts already taught in the lesson.

• Voy a acercarme a preguntar. — I am going to go over and ask.
• Estamos acercándonos a la estación. — We are approaching the station.
• ¿Puedes acercarte un momento? — Can you come over for a moment?
• Espero que te acerques a la mesa. — I hope you come closer to the table.
• Se acerca el invierno. — Winter is approaching.
• Acérquense a la entrada, por favor. — Please approach the entrance.

Regional and usage notes for Acercarse

The core tables retain tú, usted, vosotros/vosotras, and ustedes for project comparability. Voseo changes some second-person singular forms in regions where vos — “you, singular informal” — is used.

• Vos te acercás a la puerta. — You approach the door. (voseo)
• Acercate un poco. — Come a little closer. (affirmative vos command)

Acercarse combines pronominal clitics with the spelling rule c → qu before e. Pay special attention to me acerqué, present subjunctive acerqu-, and attached-clitic commands such as acércate / acerquémonos / acercaos.