Despertar vs despertarse

Question

Hi, is despertar (Desperté) ever used for “I woke up”? I’ve seen it that way on some dictionary sites and wondered if it’s a mistake. Eg:

I woke up one morning with a sharp pain in my ear.Desperté una mañana con un dolor agudo en mi oído.

Many thanks,

Shirley.

Accepted Answer

Hola Shirley
Generally we use it pronominally "despertarse" but you may see it sometimes in some written texts or in songs for example without the pronouns. 
You can also use despertar as a transitive verb when you want to say "to wake someone up"'; in that case you can't use the reflexive pronoun, you would say for example:
Desperté a mi hija a las 8 para ir al colegio.
I woke my daughter up at 8 to go to school.
Saludos
Inma