Learn Hardcore Spanish (Latin America): Apago la televisión antes de dormir. - I turn off the television before sleeping.

Apago already means I turn off (first person singular).
Adding yo is grammatically correct, but it adds emphasis, like: I (as opposed to someone else) turn off the TV.

So both are correct:

Apago la televisión antes de dormir. (neutral)
Yo apago la televisión antes de dormir. (emphasizing I)

What verb is apago, and how is it formed? Is it irregular?

Apago comes from the verb apagar (to turn off, to switch off, to put out).

It is regular in the present tense:

yo apago – I turn off
tú apagas – you turn off
él / ella / usted apaga – he/she/you (formal) turn(s) off
nosotros apagamos – we turn off
ustedes apagan – you (plural) turn off
ellos / ellas apagan – they turn off

So apago is just the regular yo form of apagar in the present tense.

What is the la in la televisión? Is it an object pronoun or an article?

In apago la televisión, la is the definite article (the television), not a pronoun.

la televisión = the television (noun phrase, the object you’re turning off)

A different sentence using the pronoun would be:

La apago antes de dormir. – I turn it off before sleeping.
Here, la = it, referring to la televisión, and it comes before the verb.

Could I say la tele or el televisor instead of la televisión?

Yes, all are possible, but they have slightly different flavors:

la televisión – neutral; can mean the TV as a device or TV in general.
la tele – informal/colloquial; very common in everyday speech in many parts of Latin America.
el televisor – the physical TV set (the device), a bit more specific.

All of these are natural in context:

Apago la televisión antes de dormir.
Apago la tele antes de dormir. (very natural, conversational)
Apago el televisor antes de dormir. (focusing on the device)

Why is apago in the present tense if this is a routine action? Wouldn’t I need something like “I usually turn off…”?

In Spanish, the simple present is very often used for:

general truths
routines and habits

So Apago la televisión antes de dormir naturally means:

I turn off the TV before going to sleep (as a habit).

If you wanted to emphasize the idea of “usually” or “normally,” you could add an adverb:

Normalmente apago la televisión antes de dormir. – I normally/usually turn off the TV before going to sleep.

Why is it antes de dormir and not just antes dormir?

In Spanish, antes used as a preposition for “before [doing something]” must be followed by de:

antes de
- infinitive

So:

✔ antes de dormir – before sleeping
✘ antes dormir – incorrect in this meaning

Think of antes de as a fixed chunk when followed by a verb: you always include de.

Why is it dormir and not duermo in antes de dormir?

After a preposition like de, Spanish uses the infinitive, not a conjugated form:

de + dormir (infinitive)
not de duermo

So:

antes de dormir – literally “before sleeping,” but understood as “before I sleep / before going to sleep.”

Spanish doesn’t repeat the subject here; it’s understood from context that the person who sleeps is the same as the subject of apago (I).

Shouldn’t it be dormirme or dormirnos? What’s the difference between dormir and dormirse here?

Both are possible, with a subtle difference:

antes de dormir – before sleeping (neutral; subject is understood from context)
antes de dormirme – before falling asleep myself
antes de dormirnos – before we fall asleep

Dormir = to sleep.
Dormirse = to fall asleep (the moment you go from awake to asleep).

In everyday speech, antes de dormir is extremely common and completely natural, even though logically it often means “before falling asleep.” Using dormirme makes the “me” explicit and slightly more personal:

Siempre apago la televisión antes de dormirme. – I always turn off the TV before I fall asleep.

When do I say antes de dormir vs antes de que duerma or antes de que me duerma?

Use:

antes de + infinitive when the subject is the same in both actions:
- Apago la televisión antes de dormir.
  → I (subject of apago) am also the one who sleeps.
antes de que + subjunctive when the subject changes, or you want a fuller clause:
- Apago la televisión antes de que los niños duerman.
  → I turn off the TV before the children sleep. (different subject)
- Apago la televisión antes de que me duerma.
  → I turn off the TV before I fall asleep. (same subject, but expressed as a whole clause with subjunctive)

So the original sentence uses the simpler structure because there’s only one subject and a prepositional phrase is enough.

Can I change the word order to Antes de dormir, apago la televisión?

Yes. That is perfectly correct and very natural:

Antes de dormir, apago la televisión.

Putting antes de dormir first just shifts the emphasis slightly to the time:

“Before sleeping, I turn off the TV.”

Both orders are common:

Apago la televisión antes de dormir.
Antes de dormir, apago la televisión.

How would I say “I turned off the TV before going to sleep” in the past?

Use the preterite of apagar:

Apagué la televisión antes de dormir.

Note the spelling change:

apagar → apagué (a u is added to keep the hard g sound before e)

A quick comparison:

apago – I turn off (present, habitual or current)
apagué – I turned off (completed action in the past)

In Latin America, is apagar always used for turning things off? Are there other common verbs?

Apagar is the standard verb for turning things off (lights, TV, phone, etc.) everywhere in the Spanish-speaking world.

For turning things on, there is regional variation:

encender – to turn on (more general/standard)
prender – to turn on (very common in many Latin American countries)

So you might hear:

Apago la televisión antes de dormir. – I turn off the TV before sleeping.
Prendo la televisión después de trabajar. – I turn on the TV after work. (typical in Latin America)
or
Enciendo la televisión después de trabajar. – also correct.