Breakdown of Ребёнок не может спать днём.
не
not
ребёнок
child
днём
in the afternoon / during the day
мочь
to be able to
Questions & Answers about Ребёнок не может спать днём.
Why do we use the dictionary form спать (to sleep) here instead of conjugating it?
This is the core rule for modal verbs like мочь (to be able to) and хотеть (to want). Just like in English, the first verb takes the ending for the subject (ребёнок не может = the child cannot), and the second verb stays in its raw infinitive form (спать = to sleep).
The dictionary form for 'can' is мочь. Why does it look so different as может?
The verb мочь has an irregular spelling pattern when conjugated. For most forms, including the 'he/she/it' form needed for ребёнок, the stem changes to have a ж. This gives us может (he/she/it can).
The word for 'day' is день. Why is it spelled днём here?
To say that something happens during a certain time of day, Russian changes the ending of the noun. День becomes днём (during the day). You will also see this pattern with утро becoming утром (in the morning) and вечер becoming вечером (in the evening).
I noticed both ребёнок and днём have the letter ё. Are they stressed on that letter?