Breakdown of Me duermo en el sillón cuando estoy muy cansado.
yo
I
en
in
muy
very
estar
to be
cuando
when
cansado
tired
dormirse
to fall asleep
el sillón
the armchair
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Questions & Answers about Me duermo en el sillón cuando estoy muy cansado.
Why is me used before duermo?
Because the verb is dormirse (pronominal) when it means “to fall asleep.” The reflexive pronoun me matches the subject yo. Without it, duermo simply means “I sleep.”
What’s the difference between me duermo and duermo?
- Me duermo = I fall asleep (the moment you drift off).
- Duermo = I sleep (a state or routine, not the moment of falling asleep).
Could I say Me quedo dormido en el sillón instead?
Yes. Quedarse dormido/a also means “to fall asleep,” often with a nuance of unintentionally dozing off. Choose dormido for a male speaker and dormida for a female speaker.
Can I use the progressive, like Me estoy durmiendo or Estoy durmiéndome?
Yes, both are correct. They highlight the process (“I’m dozing off right now”). Pronoun placement:
- Before the auxiliary: Me estoy durmiendo.
- Attached to the gerund: Estoy durmiéndome (note the accent to keep the stress).
How about with an infinitive, like “I’m going to fall asleep”?
You can say either Me voy a dormir or Voy a dormirme. With infinitives, the pronoun can go before the conjugated verb or attached to the infinitive.
Why is it estoy muy cansado, not soy muy cansado?
Use estar for temporary states/conditions (tired, sick, busy). Ser describes inherent or defining qualities. Being tired is a state, so estoy is correct.
What changes if the speaker is female?
The adjective must agree: cansada. So a woman would say: Me duermo en el sillón cuando estoy muy cansada.
Why muy cansado and not mucho cansado?
Muy modifies adjectives/adverbs (very tired = muy cansado). Mucho modifies nouns or verbs (a lot of sleepiness = mucho sueño; I sleep a lot = duermo mucho).
Could I say cuando tengo mucho sueño instead of cuando estoy muy cansado?
Yes. Tener sueño means “to feel sleepy.” It often sounds more natural when you mean drowsiness: Me duermo… cuando tengo mucho sueño.
Why cuando without an accent (not cuándo)?
No accent because it’s not a question or exclamation. Cuándo (with accent) is only used in direct/indirect questions or exclamations.
Why en el and not en la?
Because sillón is masculine: el sillón. If it were a feminine noun (e.g., la cama), you’d say en la cama.
Can I drop the article and say en sillón?
No. Spanish generally requires the article with singular countable nouns: en el sillón. You could use en un sillón if you mean “in an armchair” (non-specific).
What’s the difference between sillón and sofá?
- Sillón = armchair (single seat).
- Sofá = sofa/couch (usually seats two or more). Both are masculine: el sillón, el sofá.
Why en and not sobre or a?
En covers both “in” and “on” and is the default for location. Sobre also means “on (top of)” but is less common here. A isn’t used for static location.
Is dormir irregular? Why duermo?
Yes. Dormir is a stem-changer (o → ue) in the present: duermo, duermes, duerme, dormimos, duermen. The gerund is durmiendo (o → u), hence me estoy durmiendo / estoy durmiéndome.
Do I need to say yo?
No. Spanish usually drops subject pronouns because the verb ending shows the subject. Yo me duermo is fine for emphasis, but Me duermo is natural.
How do you pronounce sillón?
The ll is pronounced like a “y” sound in much of Latin America (so roughly see-YON). In parts of Argentina/Uruguay, it can sound like “sh” or “zh.” The accent mark means stress the last syllable: si-LLÓN.