Breakdown of Я обычно просыпаюсь рано утром.
я
I
обычно
usually
утром
in the morning
рано
early
просыпаться
to wake up
Questions & Answers about Я обычно просыпаюсь рано утром.
Why does просыпаюсь end in -сь instead of -ся?
Because the verb ending right before it is a vowel. For the 'I' form, the regular ending is -ю. When a reflexive verb form ends in a vowel, it takes the shortened -сь. If it ended in a consonant, like the 'he/she' form просыпается, it would use the full -ся.
What does the -сь ending actually do to the meaning of the verb?
It shows that the action is happening to the subject itself. Without it, the base verb means to wake someone else up. Adding the reflexive -сь turns it into waking yourself up.
Why is the word for morning утром here instead of just утро?
To say 'in the morning', Russian changes the ending of утро (morning) to make it утром. This special ending (part of the instrumental case) is used to show the time of day an action happens. You will see the same pattern with вечером (in the evening) and днём (in the afternoon).
Does обычно have to go right after Я?
No, Russian word order is quite flexible. Я обычно просыпаюсь is very natural, but you could also say Обычно я просыпаюсь to put a little more emphasis on the word 'usually', or move рано утром to the very beginning of the sentence.
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