despierta vs despierto

Question

Is there a feminine and masculine in this context?

I remember saying sonoliento once, and a friend corrected me saying sonolienta.

Answer 1

When despierto, -a is used as an adjective meaning awake, yes it needs to agree in gender with the noun it modifies.

If used strictly as the past participle of the verb despertar, I think it would not take a feminine ending. However the past participle used with helping verbs is despertado, not despierto (Thanks, Luis):

La mujer se había despertado temprano. (The woman had awakened early).

AND

La mujer fue despertada temprano por la tormenta. (The woman was awakened early because of the storm.) In the passive (formal) construction using ser, the participle agrees with the noun.

...había despertado.... Saludos. - LuisCache, Jul 21, 2011

According to the R A E, despierto is not a pp - lorenzo9, Jul 21, 2011

OK, thank you. In the dictionary here, both despierto and despertatado are shown as past participles for despertar. I'll leave this as is for now, awaiting further input. Thank you, I appreciate the comments. - Jeremias, Jul 21, 2011

But Luis, as you are a fluent Spanish speaker, I'm betting you're correct! - Jeremias, Jul 21, 2011

Despertar has a regular participle (despertado) used in the conjugation, and an irregular participle (despierto) used as an adjective. Saludos. - LuisCache, Jul 21, 2011

You say, for instance, La mujer había despertado. But: La mujer estaba despierta. - LuisCache, Jul 21, 2011

Gracias Luis, No había sido despertado a estas diferencias, pero ya estoy despierto a las matices inherente en ellas. - Jeremias, Jul 21, 2011

Answer 2

Despierto, despierta can be also the participle of the verb despertar. As a participle, It can be used as adjective.

Estoy despierto. Estoy despierta. (I am awake).

Despierta can be also the imperative form of the verb despertar, to make a command:

Despierta! (Wake up!)

Answer 3

No, despierta and despierto are different conjugations of the verb despertar.

Hmm... I'm looking forward to figuring this out, L! - Jeremias, Jul 21, 2011

Answer 4

One is feminine (sonolieñta) and one is masculine (sonolieñto). You are female, so therefore, you would use "sonolieñta".

However, "despierta" and "despierto" are verbs. They are forms of the verb "despertar", which means "to awaken/wake up". Verbs do not change to match gender.

"Despierto" is the yo form of the verb "despertar" in the present tense (indicative mood).

"Despierta" is the él/ella/usted form of the verb "despertar" in the present tense (indicative mood).

Despierto can also be an adjective meaning "awake". Since it's an adjective, it can change with gender/number.