Despertarse Conjugation | How to Conjugate Despertarse in Spanish

Despertarse means “to wake up.” You will learn its pronominal clitics, the e → ie change in stressed present forms, regular past and future families, and correctly written commands.

Despertarse conjugation at a glance

Verb type: Irregular. Despertarse is pronominal, so finite forms require me, te, se, nos, os, se — the person-matched unstressed pronouns. The main stem change is e → ie in stressed present forms: me despierto — “I wake up” — but nos despertamos — “we wake up.”

Despertarse gerund, past participle, and infinitive

The infinitive keeps se — the pronominal marker — while the gerund may carry an attached person-matched clitic. Compound non-finite forms attach the clitic to haber — “to have” as an auxiliary. The participle itself remains invariant in compound forms.

Form	Spanish	Natural English guide
Infinitive	despertarse	to wake up
Gerund	despertándose	waking up
Past participle	despertado	woken
Compound infinitive	haberse despertado	to have woken up
Compound gerund	habiéndose despertado	having woken up

Despertarse meaning and essential uses

Despertarse — “to wake up” — describes the subject coming out of sleep. The person-matched clitic is part of the target verb: Me despierto a las siete. — “I wake up at seven.”

With non-finite forms, pronoun placement follows normal clitic rules. Both me estoy despertando — “I am waking up” — and estoy despertándome — “I am waking up” — are possible; both me voy a despertar — “I am going to wake up” — and voy a despertarme — “I am going to wake up” — are possible.

Despertarse irregular conjugation patterns

The present indicative changes e → ie when the stem is stressed: me despierto, te despiertas, se despierta, se despiertan — “I wake up, you wake up, he/she wakes up, they wake up.” The nosotros/nosotras and vosotros/vosotras forms keep despert-.

The same present-subjunctive split appears in me despierte — “that I wake up” — versus nos despertemos — “that we wake up.” The preterite and imperfect are regular for an -AR verb; the gerund despertando — “waking” — and participle despertado — “woken” — are regular.

Despertarse indicative and periphrastic conjugations

Despertarse present tense conjugation

Present indicative (el presente de indicativo) — Use it for current actions, habits, facts, and contextually near-future events. The stressed stem changes e → ie except in the nosotros/nosotras and vosotros/vosotras forms. The required pronominal clitic precedes the finite verb and agrees with the subject.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	me despierto	I wake up
Tú — you, singular informal	te despiertas	you wake up
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	se despierta	he / she wakes up; you wake up (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	nos despertamos	we wake up
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	os despertáis	you wake up (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	se despiertan	they wake up; you wake up (plural)

• Me despierto temprano entre semana. — I wake up early on weekdays.

Despertarse preterite conjugation

Preterite (el pretérito perfecto simple / pretérito indefinido) — Use it for completed or bounded past events. The table uses the verified -AR preterite family. The required pronominal clitic precedes the finite verb and agrees with the subject.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	me desperté	I woke up
Tú — you, singular informal	te despertaste	you woke up
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	se despertó	he / she woke up; you woke up (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	nos despertamos	we woke up
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	os despertasteis	you woke up (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	se despertaron	they woke up; you woke up (plural)

• Ayer me desperté antes de la alarma. — Yesterday I woke up before the alarm.

Despertarse imperfect conjugation

Imperfect (el pretérito imperfecto) — Use it for habitual, background, descriptive, or ongoing past situations. The table uses the regular -AR imperfect family. The required pronominal clitic precedes the finite verb and agrees with the subject.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	me despertaba	I used to wake up / was waking up
Tú — you, singular informal	te despertabas	you used to wake up / were waking up
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	se despertaba	he / she used to wake up / was waking up; you used to wake up / were waking up (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	nos despertábamos	we used to wake up / were waking up
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	os despertabais	you used to wake up / were waking up (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	se despertaban	they used to wake up / were waking up; you used to wake up / were waking up (plural)

• De niño me despertaba con cualquier ruido. — As a child, I used to wake up at any noise.

Despertarse present progressive

Present progressive — This verbal periphrasis focuses on an action or process in progress. Form it with present estar — “to be” — plus despertando — “waking,” with the clitic before the finite auxiliary in the main table.

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

• Me estoy despertando poco a poco. — I am waking up gradually.

Despertarse near future conjugation

Near future — This verbal periphrasis expresses a plan, intention, or expected event. Form it with present ir — “to go” — plus a — “to” — and despertar — “to wake,” with the clitic before ir in the main table.

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

• Me voy a despertar a las seis. — I am going to wake up at six.

Despertarse future tense conjugation

Simple future (el futuro simple) — Use it for future reference and, where context supports it, probability. The endings attach to the full infinitive; this verb has no special future or conditional stem.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	me despertaré	I will wake up
Tú — you, singular informal	te despertarás	you will wake up
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	se despertará	he / she will wake up; you will wake up (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	nos despertaremos	we will wake up
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	os despertaréis	you will wake up (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	se despertarán	they will wake up; you will wake up (plural)

• Mañana me despertaré más temprano. — Tomorrow I will wake up earlier.

Despertarse conditional conjugation

Conditional (el condicional simple) — Use it for hypothetical outcomes, softened statements, or other conditional meanings supported by context. The endings attach to the full infinitive; this verb has no special future or conditional stem.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	me despertaría	I would wake up
Tú — you, singular informal	te despertarías	you would wake up
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	se despertaría	he / she would wake up; you would wake up (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	nos despertaríamos	we would wake up
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	os despertaríais	you would wake up (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	se despertarían	they would wake up; you would wake up (plural)

• Me despertaría antes si fuera necesario. — I would wake up earlier if necessary.

Despertarse present perfect conjugation

Present perfect (el pretérito perfecto compuesto) — Use it for completed events connected to a present reference frame; its distribution varies across Spanish-speaking regions. Form it with the appropriate form of haber — “to have” as an auxiliary — plus the invariant participle despertado — “woken.”

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

• Hoy me he despertado descansado. — Today I have woken up rested.

Despertarse past perfect conjugation

Past perfect (el pretérito pluscuamperfecto) — Use it for an event completed before another past reference point. Form it with the appropriate form of haber — “to have” as an auxiliary — plus the invariant participle despertado — “woken.”

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

• Ya nos habíamos despertado cuando llamaste. — We had already woken up when you called.

Despertarse future perfect conjugation

Future perfect (el futuro perfecto) — Use it for an event expected to be completed before a future reference point. Form it with the appropriate form of haber — “to have” as an auxiliary — plus the invariant participle despertado — “woken.”

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

• Para las siete todos se habrán despertado. — By seven everyone will have woken up.

Despertarse conditional perfect conjugation

Conditional perfect (el condicional compuesto) — Use it for a hypothetical completed outcome. Form it with the appropriate form of haber — “to have” as an auxiliary — plus the invariant participle despertado — “woken.”

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

• Me habría despertado con una alarma más fuerte. — I would have woken up with a louder alarm.

Despertarse subjunctive conjugations

Despertarse present subjunctive conjugation

Present subjunctive (el presente de subjuntivo) — Use it in subordinate contexts involving wishes, influence, emotion, doubt or denial, evaluation, necessity, possibility, or non-specific reference. The stem uses despiert- where stressed and despert- in nosotros/nosotras and vosotros/vosotras forms; the clitic precedes the finite verb.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	me despierte	that I wake up
Tú — you, singular informal	te despiertes	that you wake up
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	se despierte	that he / she wake up; that you wake up (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	nos despertemos	that we wake up
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	os despertéis	that you wake up (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	se despierten	that they wake up; that you wake up (plural)

• Espero que te despiertes a tiempo. — I hope you wake up on time.

Despertarse 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; do not treat the two series as mechanically interchangeable in every special construction. These forms are built from the preterite third-person plural family; the main table shows the -ra series. The required pronominal clitic precedes the finite verb and agrees with the subject.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	me despertara	that I woke up
Tú — you, singular informal	te despertaras	that you woke up
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	se despertara	that he / she woke up; that you woke up (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	nos despertáramos	that we woke up
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	os despertarais	that you woke up (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	se despertaran	that they woke up; that you woke up (plural)

• Querían que nos despertáramos antes del amanecer. — They wanted us to wake up before dawn.
• Preferían que te despertases sin alarma. — They preferred that you wake up without an alarm.

Despertarse 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 and is included here as a reference system. These reference forms share the same historical stem family as the imperfect subjunctive. The required pronominal clitic precedes the finite verb and agrees with the subject.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	me despertare	if / when I should wake up
Tú — you, singular informal	te despertares	if / when you should wake up
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	se despertare	if / when he / she should wake up; if / when you should wake up (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	nos despertáremos	if / when we should wake up
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	os despertareis	if / when you should wake up (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	se despertaren	if / when they should wake up; if / when you should wake up (plural)

• Quien se despertare durante la guardia deberá avisar. — Whoever should wake up during the watch must report it.

Despertarse 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. Form it with the appropriate form of haber — “to have” as an auxiliary — plus the invariant participle despertado — “woken.”

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

• Me alegra que te hayas despertado mejor. — I am glad that you have woken up feeling better.

Despertarse 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. Form it with the appropriate form of haber — “to have” as an auxiliary — plus the invariant participle despertado — “woken.”

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

• Si me hubiera despertado antes, habría visto el amanecer. — If I had woken up earlier, I would have seen the sunrise.
• Si te hubieses despertado a tiempo, habrías tomado el tren. — If you had woken up on time, you would have caught the train.

Despertarse future perfect subjunctive conjugation

Future perfect subjunctive (el futuro perfecto de subjuntivo) — Rare in modern everyday Spanish. It is a reference form used mainly in formal, legal, literary, or historical contexts. Form it with the appropriate form of haber — “to have” as an auxiliary — plus the invariant participle despertado — “woken.”

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

• Si se hubieren despertado antes de la señal, deberán permanecer en sus puestos. — If they should have woken up before the signal, they must remain at their posts.

Despertarse imperative and commands

Commands address another person directly. Spanish uses different morphological sources depending on person and polarity; the nosotros/nosotras row is a present-subjunctive form used with exhortative “let’s…” value.

Despertarse affirmative commands

In affirmative pronominal commands, attach the clitic and recompute the written accent of the resulting word. The nosotros/nosotras form loses the final -s before nos, and the ordinary vosotros/vosotras form loses -d before os.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Tú — you, singular informal	despiértate	wake up
Usted — you, singular formal	despiértese	wake up (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we; let’s…	despertémonos	let’s wake up
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	despertaos	wake up (plural, mainly Spain)
Ustedes — you, plural	despiértense	wake up (plural)

• Despiértate a las siete. — Wake up at seven.

Despertarse negative commands

Negative commands use subjunctive-based forms, and the pronominal clitic precedes the verb after no — “not / do not.”

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Tú — you, singular informal	no te despiertes	do not wake up
Usted — you, singular formal	no se despierte	do not wake up (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we; let’s…	no nos despertemos	let’s not wake up
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	no os despertéis	do not wake up (plural, mainly Spain)
Ustedes — you, plural	no se despierten	do not wake up (plural)

• No te despiertes todavía. — Do not wake up yet.

Common constructions with Despertarse

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

• despertarse a + time. — to wake up at a stated time.
• despertarse con + sound or sensation. — to wake up because of / with a sound or sensation.
• despertarse temprano / tarde. — to wake up early / late.

Example sentences with Despertarse

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

• Me despierto a las seis y media. — I wake up at six thirty.
• Nos despertamos con el ruido de la lluvia. — We wake up to the sound of the rain.
• Ayer se despertó muy tarde. — Yesterday he / she woke up very late.
• Espero que no te despiertes durante la noche. — I hope you do not wake up during the night.
• Ya me he despertado. — I have already woken up.
• Despiértate cuando suene la alarma. — Wake up when the alarm rings.

Regional and usage notes for Despertarse

The core tables retain tú, usted, vosotros/vosotras, and ustedes for project comparability. In regions using voseo, present-indicative and affirmative-command forms can differ from the core tú forms. The verified regional forms below supplement rather than replace the main paradigm.

• Vos te despertás temprano. — You wake up early. (voseo)
• Despertate a las siete. — Wake up at seven. (affirmative vos command)

For despertarse, track two things at once: the person-matched clitic and the present-family stem change. Keep despiert- in the stressed present forms, despert- where the stem is unstressed, and recompute accents when clitics attach.