O bebé adormece depois do banho.

In Portuguese, it is very common to use the definite article before a noun: o bebé = the baby.

In a sentence like this, o bebé can refer to:

• a specific baby already known from context, or
• a general everyday situation, especially when describing routines.

English often omits the article in broader statements, but Portuguese uses it much more naturally.

For example:

• O bebé chora muito. = The baby cries a lot.
• A mãe está cansada. = The mother is tired.

So o bebé sounds completely normal here.

Adormece comes from adormecer, which means to fall asleep or to become sleepy / go to sleep.

That is different from dorme, from dormir, which means sleeps / is sleeping.

So:

• O bebé adormece depois do banho. = the baby falls asleep after the bath
• O bebé dorme depois do banho. = the baby sleeps after the bath

The first focuses on the moment or process of going to sleep. The second focuses on the state of being asleep.

Adormece is:

• present indicative
• 3rd person singular

It matches o bebé.

The verb adormecer is conjugated like this in the present:

• eu adormeço
• tu adormeces
• ele/ela/você adormece
• nós adormecemos
• vós adormeceis
• eles/elas/vocês adormecem

In this sentence, the present tense often expresses a habitual action or routine:

• The baby falls asleep after the bath
  meaning this is what usually happens.

Because de + o contracts to do.

So:

• de + o = do
• de + a = da
• de + os = dos
• de + as = das

That means:

• depois de o banho becomes depois do banho

This kind of contraction is very common and usually required in normal Portuguese.

Examples:

• antes do jantar = before the dinner / before dinner
• depois da escola = after school
• ao lado do carro = next to the car

In Portuguese, nouns are often used with articles in places where English would not use one.

So depois do banho is the natural way to say after the bath or after bath time.

Using depois de banho would sound unnatural in standard Portuguese in this sentence.

This is very common with daily activities:

• antes do almoço = before lunch
• depois do trabalho = after work
• antes da aula = before class

Even when English uses no article, Portuguese often does.

Yes, bebé is the standard European Portuguese form.

A learner may notice that Brazilian Portuguese usually uses bebê instead.

So:

• European Portuguese: bebé
• Brazilian Portuguese: bebê

The meaning is the same, but the spelling reflects pronunciation and standard regional usage.

Because adormecer can be used intransitively to mean to fall asleep.

So:

• O bebé adormece. = the baby falls asleep

You do not need a reflexive pronoun here.

Portuguese does have reflexive uses of some sleep-related verbs in some contexts, but in this sentence the normal form is simply adormece.

This is one of those cases where English speakers may expect a different structure, but Portuguese just uses the plain verb.

Yes. In Portuguese, just like in English, the present tense can describe:

• something happening now, or
• a habitual action

Here, O bebé adormece depois do banho most naturally sounds like a routine or general truth:

• after bath time, the baby falls asleep

If you wanted to stress a one-time past event, you would use a past tense instead:

• O bebé adormeceu depois do banho. = the baby fell asleep after the bath

Yes. Portuguese allows some flexibility.

For example:

• O bebé adormece depois do banho.
• Depois do banho, o bebé adormece.

Both are correct.

The second version puts more focus on the time expression depois do banho.

This kind of fronting is very common in Portuguese, especially in writing or when you want to highlight the sequence of events.

Yes, you could say:

• O bebé adormece após o banho.

This is correct, but depois do banho is usually more common and more natural in everyday speech.

Very roughly:

• depois de = more common, everyday
• após = a bit more formal or written

So for normal spoken European Portuguese, depois do banho is an excellent choice.

The accent in bebé shows that the stress falls on the last syllable:

• be-BÉ

Without the accent, Portuguese spelling rules would suggest a different stress pattern.

So the acute accent helps you pronounce it correctly.

In European Portuguese, the final stressed é is clear and important:

• bebé

This is also why the word is spelled differently from Brazilian Portuguese bebê, which reflects a different vowel quality in the final syllable.