Learn Hardcore Spanish (Spain): Me despierto temprano en mi cama y a veces sueño con la playa. - I wake up early in my bed, and sometimes I dream about the beach.

Me despierto = I wake up (myself).
Despierto (without the reflexive) is transitive: I wake someone/something up, e.g., Despierto a mi hermano.
Despierto is also an adjective meaning “awake”: Estoy despierto/despierta.

Do I need to say yo me despierto, or is yo optional?

Yo is optional because the verb ending already shows the subject.

Neutral: Me despierto temprano.
With emphasis/contrast: Yo me despierto temprano, pero ella no.

What’s the difference between despertarse and despertar? How do I say “I wake my brother up”?

Despertarse = to wake up (oneself): Me despierto.
Despertar = to wake (someone) up: Despierto a mi hermano or Lo despierto.

Where can the pronoun go with other verb forms? Is me voy a despertar the same as voy a despertarme?

Yes, both are correct. Placement rules:

With an infinitive/gerund: either before the auxiliary or attached to the end: Me voy a despertar / Voy a despertarme; Me estoy despertando / Estoy despertándome.
Affirmative commands: attach it: ¡Despiértate!
Negative commands: place before: No te despiertes.

Is the position of temprano okay here? Could I put it somewhere else?

Yes. Common placements:

After the verb: Me despierto temprano.
At the start for emphasis: Temprano, me despierto.
Putting it at the very end after a long phrase can sound less natural: Me despierto en mi cama temprano is possible but not the smoothest.

What’s the difference between temprano, pronto, and madrugar?

Temprano = early (time of day): Me despierto temprano.
Pronto = soon/early in the sense of “soon”: Vuelvo pronto (I’ll be back soon).
Madrugar = to get up very early (at dawn-ish): Madrugo todos los días.

Should it be en la cama instead of en mi cama? Which sounds more natural in Spain?

Both work. En la cama is the neutral, general way to say “in bed.” En mi cama emphasizes it’s your bed (e.g., contrasting with a hotel, sofa, or someone else’s bed). If there’s no contrast, Spaniards often just say en la cama.

Can you say en cama without the article?

You’ll hear both, but in Spain en la cama is more common in neutral contexts. En cama appears in set phrases or to stress the state (often illness), e.g., Estuvo en cama dos días.

Why is it sueño con and not sueño de or sueño sobre?

After soñar (to dream), Spanish uses the preposition con for “about/of”: Sueño con la playa.
Use soñar que when followed by a clause: Sueño que estoy en la playa.
De/sobre here is unnatural.

Does sueño mean “I dream” or “sleepiness”? How do I say “I’m sleepy”?

Both exist:

Verb: Sueño = I dream.
Noun: el sueño = sleep/drowsiness or a dream.
To say “I’m sleepy,” use the idiom Tengo sueño (literally “I have sleepiness”).

Is there an accent in sueño? What’s the difference between sueño and sueno?

Sueño uses the Spanish letter ñ (a different letter from n), not an accent mark on a vowel.

Sueño (with ñ) = I dream / dream.
Sueno (with n) comes from sonar and means “I sound/ring.”

Can I move a veces to other positions? Is A veces sueño con la playa also correct?

Yes. Common positions:

At the start: A veces sueño con la playa.
Before the verb chunk: … y a veces sueño con…
At the end: Sueño con la playa a veces (acceptable, slightly less common).
Avoid splitting set phrases unnecessarily.

Do I need a comma before y in this sentence?

No. In Spanish, there’s usually no comma before y (and), unless you’re inserting a parenthetical or avoiding ambiguity. The original punctuation is fine.

Why is it la playa with the article? Could I say una playa or omit the article?

Spanish often uses the definite article for general nouns: Sueño con la playa = I dream about the beach (in general).

Sueño con una playa = I dream about a (particular, unspecified) beach.
Omitting the article (con playa) is ungrammatical here.

Is despierto also an adjective? How do I say “I am awake early”?

Yes.

Verb (action): Me despierto temprano = I wake up early.
Adjective (state): Estoy despierto/despierta temprano = I am awake early.

Are despertarse and soñar irregular?

Yes, they have stem changes:

Despertarse: e → ie (except nosotros/vosotros): me despierto, te despiertas, se despierta, nos despertamos…
Soñar: o → ue (except nosotros/vosotros): sueño, sueñas, sueña, soñamos…

Does soñar con mean both literal dreams and “to long for”?

Yes. Soñar con can be literal (while sleeping) or figurative (to yearn for):

Literal: Anoche soñé con la playa.
Figurative: Sueño con la playa todo el invierno (I long for the beach).

How would I say “I dream of going to the beach”?

Use an infinitive clause after con: Sueño con ir a la playa.
With a finite clause: Sueño que voy a la playa.

Any pronunciation tips (Spain) for me despierto, a veces, sueño, la playa?

Me despierto: the ie is a single glide, like “des-PYER-to”; tap the single r once.
A veces: soft c before e = “th” sound in most of Spain: “a VE-thes.”
Sueño: ñ = “ny” sound: “SWE-nyo.”
La playa: most Spaniards pronounce ll like English “y”: “pla-ya.”