Antes de dormir, escribo cada pensamiento en mi diario y lo cierro.

Before sleeping, I write each thought in my journal and close it.

Breakdown of Antes de dormir, escribo cada pensamiento en mi diario y lo cierro.

• yo: I
• en: in
• mi: my
• dormir: to sleep

Questions & Answers about Antes de dormir, escribo cada pensamiento en mi diario y lo cierro.

Why is yo omitted before escribo?

In Spanish the subject pronoun is usually dropped when the verb ending makes the subject clear. The ending -o in escribo already tells you it’s first person singular (“I write”), so yo is unnecessary unless you want to add emphasis.

Why are escribo and cierro in the present tense when this is a nightly routine?

Spanish often uses the simple present tense to describe habitual or routine actions. Saying escribo and cierro here is like saying in English, “I write and close it every night.”

Why is it Antes de dormir instead of antes de ir a dormir or antes de acostarme? And why not dormirse?

1. After antes de you always use an infinitive.
2. dormir (“to sleep”) is the simplest way to say “before sleeping.”
3. You could also say antes de ir a dormir (“before going to sleep”) or antes de acostarme (“before lying down”) if you want a slightly different nuance.
4. dormirse means “to fall asleep,” so antes de dormirme would emphasize the moment you actually doze off rather than the act of sleeping in general.

Why is it en mi diario and not a mi diario?