Verb · stem change, o to ue
dormir
to sleep
The thing that catches people out
Two changes: duermo in the present, and durmió in the past, where o becomes u. dormirse is to fall asleep.
Present
What happens, and what is happening now.
| yo | duermo | |
| tú | duermes | |
| él, ella, usted | duerme | |
| nosotros | dormimos | |
| ellos, ustedes | duermen | |
| vosotros, Spain only | dormís |
Preterite, the finished past
Something that happened and is over: yesterday, last year, once.
| yo | dormí | |
| tú | dormiste | |
| él, ella, usted | durmió | |
| nosotros | dormimos | |
| ellos, ustedes | durmieron | |
| vosotros, Spain only | dormisteis |
Imperfect, the background past
What used to happen, or was going on when something else happened.
| yo | dormía | |
| tú | dormías | |
| él, ella, usted | dormía | |
| nosotros | dormíamos | |
| ellos, ustedes | dormían | |
| vosotros, Spain only | dormíais |
Future
Will do. In conversation, ir a plus the verb is more common: voy a comer.
| yo | dormiré | |
| tú | dormirás | |
| él, ella, usted | dormirá | |
| nosotros | dormiremos | |
| ellos, ustedes | dormirán | |
| vosotros, Spain only | dormiréis |
Present perfect
Have done. Used far more in Spain, where it covers today; most of Latin America uses the preterite there.
| yo | he dormido | |
| tú | has dormido | |
| él, ella, usted | ha dormido | |
| nosotros | hemos dormido | |
| ellos, ustedes | han dormido | |
| vosotros, Spain only | habéis dormido |
Other forms
The -ing form, the form that follows he, has and ha, and how to tell someone to do it.
| -ing form | durmiendo | |
| participle | dormido | |
| command, to tú | duerme | |
| command, to usted | duerma |
In a sentence
duermo ocho horas
I sleep eight hours
¿dormiste bien?
did you sleep well?