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SPANISH VERB

acercarse

to go near, to approach

  • #127 most used
  • Regular -ar verb
  • Gerund: acercándose
  • Past participle: acercado

Conjugation

Tap any form to hear it. The part that changes is in colour.

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

  1. yo I go near
  2. tú you go near
  3. usted, él, ella he/she goes near
  4. nosotros we go near
  5. vosotros Spain you all go near
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they go near

Past

Pretérito indefinido · finished actions

  1. yo I went near
  2. tú you went near
  3. usted, él, ella he/she went near
  4. nosotros we went near
  5. vosotros Spain you all went near
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they went near

Imperfect

Pretérito imperfecto · “used to” and “was …ing”

  1. yo I used to go near
  2. tú you used to go near
  3. usted, él, ella he/she used to go near
  4. nosotros we used to go near
  5. vosotros Spain you all used to go near
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they used to go near

Future

Futuro · plans and promises; in speech, “voy a hablar” is just as common

  1. yo I will go near
  2. tú you will go near
  3. usted, él, ella he/she will go near
  4. nosotros we will go near
  5. vosotros Spain you all will go near
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they will go near

Conditional

Condicional · “would”

  1. yo I would go near
  2. tú you would go near
  3. usted, él, ella he/she would go near
  4. nosotros we would go near
  5. vosotros Spain you all would go near
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they would go near

Present subjunctive

Presente de subjuntivo · wishes, doubts, “que …”

  1. yo (that) I go near
  2. tú (that) you go near
  3. usted, él, ella (that) he/she go near
  4. nosotros (that) we go near
  5. vosotros Spain (that) you all go near
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas (that) they go near

Past subjunctive

Imperfecto de subjuntivo · “if I were”, “si …”

  1. yo (if) I went near
  2. tú (if) you went near
  3. usted, él, ella (if) he/she went near
  4. nosotros (if) we went near
  5. vosotros Spain (if) you all went near
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas (if) they went near

Imperative

Imperativo · requests and orders; a negative one uses the subjunctive (no hables)

  1. tú go near!
  2. usted go near! (formal)
  3. nosotros go near! (let’s)
  4. vosotros Spain go near! (all of you)
  5. ustedes go near! (all of you)

How to use acercarse

One sentence for each tense, the way people say it.

  1. Present

    Ya se acerca la Navidad y no tengo regalos.

    Christmas is getting close and I have no gifts.

  2. Past

    Me acerqué a preguntarle la hora al policía.

    I went up to ask the policeman the time.

  3. Imperfect

    Los niños se acercaban a ver al elefante.

    The kids were going up to see the elephant.

  4. Future

    El huracán se acercará a la costa mañana.

    The hurricane will approach the coast tomorrow.

  5. Conditional

    Yo no me acercaría tanto al borde.

    I wouldn't go so close to the edge.

  6. Present subjunctive

    No dejes que el perro se acerque al bebé.

    Don't let the dog get near the baby.

  7. Past subjunctive

    Le pedí que se acercara para oír mejor.

    I asked him to come closer to hear better.

  8. Imperative

    Acérquese, señora, aquí hay un lugar libre.

    Come closer, ma'am, there's a free seat here.

Good to know

  • "Acercarse a" is to go up to: me acerqué a la ventana.

Where you hear acercarse

The lessons that teach a form of it, and how they say it.

Spanish · Intermediate Level 1

  • Me acerco a la ventana para ver mejor. I go nearer the window to see better.
  • Me acerqué a la puerta. I went up to the door.
  • Me acercaré para escuchar. I'll move closer to listen.
23
The Canyon

Intermediate Level 1 · no se acerquen

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Verbs like this one

The same pattern, on other verbs: regular -ar verb.