Breakdown of Малыш любит засыпать, когда коляска медленно катится по тихой улице.
улица
the street
тихий
quiet
когда
when
по
along
Questions & Answers about Малыш любит засыпать, когда коляска медленно катится по тихой улице.
Why is засыпать used here instead of a perfective verb like уснуть?
Because любит usually describes something someone enjoys doing in general, not one single completed event.
- засыпать is imperfective, so it works well for a repeated or habitual action: likes falling asleep / likes drifting off
- уснуть is perfective, so it points to one completed result: to fall asleep successfully, once
So любит засыпать sounds natural for a baby’s usual habit. Любит уснуть would sound much less natural here.
Is this засыпать the verb meaning to fall asleep? I thought засыпать could also mean to cover/fill up.
Yes, here it means to fall asleep.
Russian has two different verbs that look the same in writing:
- засыпа́ть = to fall asleep
- засы́пать = to cover, fill up, pour over
The meaning is clear from context here: a baby and a stroller strongly suggest falling asleep, not covering something up.
Why is it катится and not just катит?