Me despierto vs despertarme

Question

Just hoping someone can explain the difference between me despierto and despertarme? Whether one is used in another country more than the other or in certain situations etc...Ps I'm travelling to Spain.

Thanks.

Welcome to SpanishDict. Please add your language proficiency to your profile. - rac1, May 19, 2015

Answer 1

Me despierto and despertarme

Despertarme is an infinitive- it is not conjugated, it means “to wake (me/myself) up”.

Me despierto is conjugated- it means I wake (myself) up .

In a given clause, one verb is the primary verb and it is conjugated to the subject. If another verb in the same clause is conjugated, often the second will be in the infinitive-

Normalmente me despierto a las cinco- Normally I wake (myself) up at five.

Mañana tengo que despertarme a las cuatro- tomorrow I have to wake (myself) up at four.

Mañana tienes que despertarme a las cuatro- tommorrow you have to wake me up at four.

Mañana tienes que despertarte a las cuatro- tommorrow you have to wake (yourself) up at four.

Normalmente me despiertas a las cinco- Normally you wake me up at five.

Normalmente te despierto a las cinco- Normally I wake you up at five.

Note in the second sentence we use “to” in English to signal the second is an unconjugated secondary verb- in Spanish that is accomplished by using the infinitive without the need of an extra word.

professor bosque! - Sassette, May 19, 2015

Very good answer,Bosque :) - FELIZ77, May 19, 2015

Bosque, there is a typo on the first line of the last paragraph: we us "to" ...should be we USE "to" in English etc...I hope this helps :) - FELIZ77, May 19, 2015

I fixed it, thanks, Feliz. :) - bosquederoble, May 19, 2015

Thanks Bosque. Great answer, you've made it very clear to understand! - hammer7777777, May 19, 2015

De nada. :) - bosquederoble, May 20, 2015

Answer 2

Me despierto:

• Mañana me despierto temprano.
• Mañana me despierto tarde porque es domingo.

Despertarme:

• ¿Puedes despertarme temprano mañana por favor?
• ¿Puedes despertarme mañana a las 9:00 a. m. por favor?
• ¡Mañana sí lograré despertarme temprano!
• Como tuve un día muy largo, tuve que despertarme a las 3:00 a. m.

thank you crucesignatus :) - hammer7777777, May 19, 2015