Перед сном я хочу дочитать книгу.

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Breakdown of Перед сном я хочу дочитать книгу.

• книга: the book
• перед: before
• хотеть: to want

Questions & Answers about Перед сном я хочу дочитать книгу.

What does перед сном mean exactly?

Перед сном means before sleep or more naturally before going to bed / before falling asleep.

In everyday English, you would usually translate it as something like:

• Before bed, I want to finish reading the book.
• Before going to sleep, I want to finish reading the book.

So сон is literally sleep, but in this phrase it often refers to the time right before sleeping.

Why is it сном, not сон?

Because the preposition перед normally requires the instrumental case when it means before.

So:

• nominative: сон = sleep
• instrumental: сном

That is why you get:

• перед сном = before sleep

This is a very common pattern:

• перед ужином = before dinner
• перед работой = before work
• перед экзаменом = before the exam

Is перед сном the same as до сна?