Learn Hardcore Russian: Вечером, когда в доме всё выключается, мы говорим шёпотом, чтобы ребёнок продолжал спать. - In the evening, when everything in the house turns off, we speak in a whisper so that the child keeps sleeping.

The comma after вечером is actually the comma that must stand before the conjunction когда, which starts the subordinate clause. So it’s not just “an introductory comma”; it’s marking the beginning of the когда‑clause.

Why is выключается in the present tense if we’re talking about what happens in the evening?

Russian often uses the present tense to talk about regular, habitual actions, even if they are tied to a specific time like “in the evening.”

когда в доме всё выключается
literally: when in the house everything switches off / gets turned off

This doesn’t mean “is switching off right now” but “(usually) switches off / gets turned off” whenever that situation happens. It’s a general rule or routine, not a single event.

So:

Вечером, когда в доме всё выключается...
= In the evenings, when everything in the house gets turned off... (habitually)

Why do we say в доме, not дома?

Both can relate to “at home,” but they are not identical:

дома (adverb) – “at home” in a general sense.
- Я сейчас дома. – I’m at home now.
в доме (в
- prepositional) – literally “in the house,” focusing on the physical space/building.

In когда в доме всё выключается, the focus is on things inside the building (lights, devices, etc.) being turned off. That’s why в доме is more natural here than дома.

What does всё mean here? Is it really “everything”?

Yes, всё is the neuter singular form of “everything,” but in context it typically means “all the relevant things,” especially:

lights
electronic devices
household appliances

So когда в доме всё выключается is understood as:

when everything (lights/devices, etc.) in the house is turned off / goes off

It doesn’t literally mean everything in the world, just “all the stuff that can be turned off.”

Why is the verb выключается reflexive (with -ся)?

The reflexive ending -ся here gives the verb a passive / intransitive feel:

выключать (что?) – to turn something off (active, transitive)
- Мы выключаем свет. – We turn off the light.
выключаться – to be turned off / to go off (intransitive, often passive-like)
- Свет выключается. – The light goes off / is turned off.

In в доме всё выключается, the focus is not on who is doing the action. It’s a general description of what happens to all those things:

everything in the house gets turned off / goes off

Using выключается makes it sound neutral and impersonal, which suits a general routine description.

Why is it мы говорим шёпотом and not something like мы говорим в шёпот?

Шёпотом is the instrumental case of шёпот (whisper), and Russian often uses the instrumental to express the manner of speaking:

говорить шёпотом – to speak in a whisper
говорить тихим голосом – to speak in a quiet voice
кричать визгливым голосом – to shout in a shrill voice

There is no preposition here; you simply say:

мы говорим шёпотом – we speak in a whisper

A phrase like в шёпот would be incorrect in this meaning.

Could we say мы говорим шёпотом, потому что ребёнок спит instead? What’s the difference from чтобы ребёнок продолжал спать?

You can say потому что ребёнок спит, but the meaning changes:

потому что ребёнок спит – because the child is sleeping
→ This explains the reason: the child is (already) asleep.
чтобы ребёнок продолжал спать – so that the child keeps sleeping
→ This shows the purpose / goal: we whisper in order not to wake the child, so the child will remain asleep.

So in the original sentence, the speaker is emphasizing purpose, not just giving a reason.

Why do we use чтобы plus a “past tense” form (продолжал) instead of an infinitive like чтобы продолжать?

With чтобы, the form depends on whether the subject of the subordinate clause is the same as the subject of the main clause.

Same subject
Then you usually use the infinitive:
- Мы говорим шёпотом, чтобы продолжать спать.
  We speak in a whisper in order to keep sleeping (ourselves).
Different subject
Then you use чтобы + past-tense‑looking form (3rd person here):
- Мы говорим шёпотом, чтобы ребёнок продолжал спать.
  We speak in a whisper so that the child keeps sleeping.

Those “past tense” forms after чтобы often function like a kind of subjunctive, expressing a desired or intended result, not past time. Here продолжал doesn’t mean “was continuing”; it means “(would) keep” as a goal.

Why is it ребёнок продолжал спать and not ребёнка продолжал спать?

Ребёнок is in the nominative case because it is the subject of the subordinate clause:

(кто?) ребёнок продолжал спать – the child kept sleeping

The conjunction чтобы does not change the case of the subject; the clause after it is a full clause with its own subject and verb.

If you used ребёнка (accusative or genitive), it would suggest a different grammatical role (object, not subject) and would not fit this structure.

Why is it продолжал спать (imperfective) and not something like продолжил спать?

Продолжать / продолжить is an aspectual pair:

продолжать (imperfective) – focuses on the process / duration
продолжить (perfective) – focuses on the fact of starting/finishing the continuation

In чтобы ребёнок продолжал спать, the idea is:

that the child remains in the state of sleeping,
the action is ongoing, unbounded.

So the imperfective продолжал спать is natural: would keep sleeping / would go on sleeping.

Продолжил спать would sound like a single completed act of “resuming” or “went on (and finished?) sleeping,” which doesn’t fit the idea of maintaining sleep over some period.

Could we say чтобы ребёнок спал дальше instead of чтобы ребёнок продолжал спать?

Yes, чтобы ребёнок спал дальше is possible and natural:

чтобы ребёнок продолжал спать – a bit more “neutral/formal,” literally “so that the child would continue to sleep.”
чтобы ребёнок спал дальше – a bit more colloquial; literally “so that the child would sleep further/on.”

Both express the idea “so that the child keeps sleeping.” The nuance is stylistic rather than grammatical.

Can we change the word order in когда в доме всё выключается to когда всё в доме выключается? Does it change the meaning?

Yes, когда всё в доме выключается is also grammatically correct. The difference is mainly in emphasis / rhythm:

когда в доме всё выключается
Mild emphasis on the place first: when, in the house, everything turns off...
когда всё в доме выключается
Slightly more emphasis on всё (everything in the house).

In practice, both are understood the same way. The original когда в доме всё выключается is very natural and perhaps a bit smoother stylistically.