Spanish verbs Dormir vs Dormirse (pronominal verbs)

In Spanish there is a difference between the verb dormir and dormirse. 

Dormir refers to "to sleep" while "dormirse" as a pronominal verb refers to the action of "going to sleep/falling asleep".

Let's see some examples to compare the difference:

Anoche dormí diez horas. Estaba muy cansada.Last night I slept ten hours. I was very tired.

A veces tengo que dormir en el sofá cuando mi mujer se enfada conmigo.Sometimes I have to sleep on the sofa when my wife gets cross with me.

El bebé se durmió enseguida. The baby went to/fell asleep straight away.

Mamá, no me puedo dormir. Mi hermano no deja de hacer ruido.Mama, I can't fall asleep. My brother won't stop making noises.

Notice how the first two sentences using "dormir" are referring to the ongoing action of sleeping, whilst the last two are referring to the process/sudden action of going to sleep/falling asleep.

Special note:

An equivalent to dormirse is "quedarse dormido-/a". For example:

Ella se durmió de repente.
Ella se quedó dormida de repente.
She suddenly fell asleep.

We never use verb "to fall" (caer) to express "falling asleep":

Ella se cayó dormida. 

Also note that "quedarse dormido/-a" can mean "to oversleep":

Perdona, llego un poco tarde, ¡me he quedado dormida!
Sorry, I'm a bit late, I overslept!

 

 

 

Want to make sure your Spanish sounds confident? We’ll map your knowledge and give you free lessons to focus on your gaps and mistakes. Start your Brainmap today »

Learn more about these related Spanish grammar topics

Examples and resources

Anoche dormí diez horas. Estaba muy cansada.Last night I slept ten hours. I was very tired.
A veces tengo que dormir en el sofá cuando mi mujer se enfada conmigo.Sometimes I have to sleep on the sofa when my wife gets cross with me.
El bebé se durmió enseguida. The baby went to/fell asleep straight away.
Mamá, no me puedo dormir. Mi hermano no deja de hacer ruido.Mama, I can't fall asleep. My brother won't stop making noises.
Let me take a look at that...