Conjugation of the Spanish Verb ‘Dormir’

The conjugation of dormir, which usually means to sleep, is irregular in that the stem of -o- becomes -ue- when stressed and sometimes becomes -u- when unstressed. The only other verb that follows the same pattern is the rarely used adormir, which means to calm or to cause sleep.

Irregular forms are shown below in boldface. Translations are given as a guide and in real life may vary with context.

Infinitive of Dormir

dormir (to sleep)

Gerund of Dormir

durmiendo (sleeping)

Participle of Dormir

dormido (slept)

Present Indicative of Dormir

yo duermo, tú duermes, usted/él/ella duerme, nosotros/as dormimos, vosotros/as dormís, ustedes/ellos/ellas duermen (I sleep, you sleep, he sleeps, etc.)

Preterite of Dormir

yo dormí, tú dormiste, usted/él/ella durmió, nosotros/as dormimos, vosotros/as dormisteis, ustedes/ellos/ellas durmieron (I slept, you slept, she slept, etc.)

Imperfect Indicative of Dormir

yo dormía, tú dormías, usted/él/ella dormía, nosotros/as dormíamos, vosotros/as dormíais, ustedes/ellos/ellas dormían (I used to sleep, you used to sleep, he used to sleep, etc.)

Future Indicative of Dormir

yo dormiré, tú dormirás, usted/él/ella dormirá, nosotros/as dormiremos, vosotros/as dormiréis, ustedes/ellos/ellas dormirán (I will sleep, you will sleep, he will sleep, etc.)

Conditional of Dormir

yo dormiría, tú dormirías, usted/él/ella dormiría, nosotros/as dormiríamos, vosotros/as dormiríais, ustedes/ellos/ellas dormirían (I would sleep, you would sleep, she would sleep, etc.)

Present Subjunctive of Dormir

que yo duerma, que tú duermas, que usted/él/ella duerma, que nosotros/as durmamos, que vosotros/as durmáis, que ustedes/ellos/ellas duerman (that I sleep, that you sleep, that she sleep, etc.)

Imperfect Subjunctive of Dormir

que yo durmiera (durmiese), que tú durmieras (durmieses), que usted/él/ella durmiera (durmiese), que nosotros/as durmiéramos (durmiésemos), que vosotros/as durmierais (durmieseis), que ustedes/ellos/ellas durmieran (durmiesen) (that I slept, that you slept, that he slept, etc.)

Imperative of Dormir

duerme (tú), no duermas (tú), duerma (usted), durmamos (nosotros/as), dormid (vosotros/as), no durmáis (vosotros/as), duerman (ustedes) (sleep, don't sleep, sleep, let's sleep, etc.)

Present Perfect Indicative of Dormir

yo he dormido, tú has dormido, usted/él/ella ha dormido, nosotros/as hemos dormido, vosotros habéis dormido, ustedes/ellos/ellas han dormido (I have played, you have played, she has played, etc.)

Pluperfect (Past Perfect Indicative) of Dormir

yo había dormido, tú había dormido, usted/él/ella había dormido, nosotros/as habíamos dormido, vosotros habíais dormido, ustedes/ellos/ellas habían dormido (that I had played, that you had played, that he had played, etc.)

Future Perfect Indicative of Dormir

yo habré dormido, tú habrás dormido, usted/él/ella habrá dormido, nosotros/as habremos dormido, vosotros habréis dormido, ustedes/ellos/ellas habrán dormido (I will have played, you will have played, she will have played, etc.)

Present Perfect Subjunctive of Dormir

yo haya dormido, tú hayas dormido, usted/él/ella haya dormido, nosotros/as hayamos dormido, vosotros hayáis dormido, ustedes/ellos/ellas hayan dormido (that I have played, that you have played, that he has played, etc.)

Past Perfect Subjunctive of Dormir

yo hubiera/hubiese dormido, tú hubieras/hubieses dormido, usted/él/ella hubiera/hubieses dormido, nosotros/as hubiéramos/hubiésemos dormido, vosotros hubierais/hubieseis dormido, ustedes/ellos/ellas hubieran/hubiesen dormido (that I had played, that you had played, that she had played, etc.)

Conditional Perfect of Dormir

yo habría dormido, tú habrías dormido, usted/él/ella habría dormido, nosotros/as habríamos dormido, vosotros habríais dormido, ustedes/ellos/ellas habrían dormido (I would have played, you would have played, he would have played, etc.)

Progressive Tenses of Dormir

The many progressive tenses use the appropriate form of estar followed by the gerund, durmiendo.

Sample Sentences Showing Conjugation of Dormir

La pequeña ha decidido que quiere dormir en la cama conmigo. (The little girl has decided she wants to sleep in the bed with me. Infinitive.)

No sé lo que pasó; estaba durmiendo. (I don't know what happened; I was sleeping. Gerund.)

Los niños de ahora duermen menos que los de hace veinte años. (Today's children sleep less than those of 20 years ago. Present indicative.)

Se durmieron mientras tomaban el sol. (They fell asleep while sunbathing. Preterite.)

Espero que duermas bien, mi amor, y que pienses en mí también. (I hope that you sleep well, my love, and that you think about me too. Present subjunctive.)

¿Habré estado durmiendo mientras los otros sufrían? (Will I have been sleeping while there others were suffering? Future perfect progressive.)

Me recomendó que no durmiera en el suelo. (She recommended that I don't sleep on the floor. Imperfect subjunctive.)

¡Duérmete ahorita! (Go to sleep right now! Imperative.)