Breakdown of Apago el móvil por la noche para no distraerme antes de dormir.
Questions & Answers about Apago el móvil por la noche para no distraerme antes de dormir.
Apago is the present indicative, 1st person singular (yo apago = I turn off).
In Spanish, the present tense is commonly used for habits and routines, just like the English simple present:
- Apago el móvil por la noche.
I turn off my phone at night. (I usually do this.)
You wouldn’t use the infinitive apagar here; infinitives aren’t used as the main verb of a normal sentence like this.
Other tenses would change the meaning:
- Apagué el móvil por la noche. – I turned off the phone last night (one specific past time).
- Apagaré el móvil por la noche. – I will turn off the phone tonight (future, a specific time or promise).
So apago is correct because it describes a regular habit.
In Spanish, subject pronouns (yo, tú, él, ella, nosotros, etc.) are often omitted because the verb ending already tells you who the subject is.
- Apago el móvil… – the -o ending clearly shows the subject is yo.
- Saying Yo apago el móvil… is not wrong, but it usually adds emphasis, like:
- Yo apago el móvil, pero mi hermano no. – I turn off my phone, but my brother doesn’t.
In a neutral, simple statement of habit, it’s more natural to just say Apago el móvil… without yo.
This is mainly a regional vocabulary difference.
In Spain:
- el móvil = mobile phone / cell phone (most common everyday word)
- el teléfono = a phone in general (landline or mobile, depending on context)
In much of Latin America:
- el celular or el teléfono celular = cell phone
- el teléfono = usually a landline, or just “phone”
Since the sentence is in Peninsular Spanish (Spain), el móvil is the natural choice.
You could say:
- Apago el móvil por la noche… (Spain – sounds very natural)
- Apago el celular por la noche… (Latin America – natural there)
- Apago el teléfono por la noche… (understood everywhere, a bit more general)
All three can relate to “at night,” but they’re used a bit differently and vary by region.
por la noche
- Very common in Spain.
- Means at night / in the evenings, in a general or habitual sense.
- Apago el móvil por la noche. – I turn off my phone at night (as a routine).
de noche
- Also common, sounds a bit more like “during the night / at night (in general).”
- Suelo estudiar de noche. – I usually study at night.
- You could say Apago el móvil de noche, but por la noche is more typical here.
en la noche
- Much more common in Latin America than in Spain.
- In Spain, por la noche sounds more natural than en la noche in this context.
So por la noche is the most idiomatic in Spain for a habitual action.
This involves two things: infinitives and pronoun placement.
Infinitive after “para”
- After para (meaning in order to), Spanish uses an infinitive when the subject is the same as in the main clause.
- Apago el móvil para no distraerme.
- Subject of apago = yo
- Subject of distraerme = yo
- So: para + infinitive (para distraerme).
Pronoun placement with infinitives
- With infinitives, object/reflexive pronouns are attached to the end of the verb.
- So you say distraerme, not me distraer in this structure.
- Correct options would be:
- para no distraerme
- para no hacerlo (if you replaced the whole idea with “do it”)
You cannot say para no me distraer; that’s ungrammatical.
The negative no comes before the infinitive, but the me must stay attached to the infinitive: no distraerme.
distraer (non‑reflexive) = to distract (someone else)
- Apago el móvil para no distraer a mis compañeros.
– I turn off the phone so as not to distract my colleagues.
- Apago el móvil para no distraer a mis compañeros.
distraerse (reflexive, distraerme = to distract myself / to get distracted)
- Apago el móvil para no distraerme.
– I turn off my phone so I don’t get distracted.
- Apago el móvil para no distraerme.
In English we usually say “so I don’t get distracted” (passive form), but in Spanish this is expressed reflexively: no distraerme (literally “not to distract myself”).
So distraerme is reflexive because the person who causes the distraction (me) and the person who is distracted (also me) are the same.
Yes, you could say:
- Apago el móvil por la noche para que no me distraiga.
Both are correct, but the structure and grammar change:
para no distraerme
- para + infinitive
- Used when the subject is the same in both parts.
- Very direct, common in informal and neutral speech.
- Literally: “I turn off the phone in order not to distract myself.”
para que no me distraiga
- para que + subjunctive
- Used when there are usually two different subjects, but it’s also used colloquially when the subject is the same (yo in both cases).
- Grammatically:
- Main clause: Apago el móvil
- Subordinate clause: (para que) no me distraiga – subjunctive (yo).
- Literally: “I turn off the phone so that I don’t get distracted.”
Meaning: practically the same here. Para no distraerme sounds a bit more straightforward and is probably the more natural choice in neutral narration of a habit.
Spanish has two different but related structures:
antes de + infinitive (same subject)
- Used when the subject is the same as in the main clause.
- Apago el móvil antes de dormir.
– I turn off my phone before sleeping / before I sleep.
– Subject of apago and dormir is yo.
antes de que + subjunctive (usually different subject)
- Used when the subject of the second action is different, or when you want a full finite clause.
- Apago el móvil antes de que mi hermano duerma.
– I turn off the phone before my brother sleeps.
– Subject of apago = I, subject of duerma = my brother.
If you said Apago el móvil antes de que duerma, without naming the subject, it’s grammatically possible, but it’s a bit vague and more formal; people will usually specify yo or another subject if they use this pattern.
For a simple “before I sleep,” antes de dormir (infinitive) is the most natural.
Spanish word order is somewhat flexible, but clarity and naturalness matter.
Your original:
- Apago el móvil por la noche para no distraerme antes de dormir.
- Time (por la noche) is given early.
- Purpose (para no distraerme…) comes later.
- Sounds very natural.
Alternative you suggested:
- Apago el móvil para no distraerme por la noche antes de dormir.
- Still understandable, but por la noche and antes de dormir are now both modifying distraerme, so it can feel a bit more crowded or slightly awkward.
More natural variations:
- Por la noche apago el móvil para no distraerme antes de dormir.
- Apago el móvil antes de dormir para no distraerme.
The original version you gave is already very clear and idiomatic. Spanish speakers tend to put por la noche quite early, as in your sentence.
Spanish usually uses the definite article (el, la, los, las) with singular countable nouns when you’re talking about something specific and known in context.
- Apago el móvil por la noche.
– I turn off the phone at night. (my phone – the one I have)
If you drop the article and say Apago móvil por la noche, it sounds incorrect or at least very odd—more like broken Spanish.
Some cases where you can drop the article:
- With some professions or roles:
- Soy médico. – I’m a doctor.
- In certain set expressions or after some verbs like tener when it’s indefinite:
- Tengo un móvil. – I have a phone.
But here, you’re talking about your specific phone in a habitual action, so the definite article el is required: el móvil.