Я ложусь спать поздно.

Breakdown of Я ложусь спать поздно.

поздно
late
спать
to sleep
ложиться
to lie down, to go to bed

Questions & Answers about Я ложусь спать поздно.

Why does the verb ложусь end in -сь instead of being a standard verb?
The ending -сь is a reflexive suffix that acts like a built-in себя (oneself). The base verb means 'to lay something down'. By attaching this suffix, the action reflects back to you, literally meaning 'I lay myself down'.
Why does the Russian sentence use the verb for 'to sleep' (спать) instead of 'to go'?
In Russian, you do not use verbs of motion like 'to go' for this routine. The fixed expression is ложиться спать, which translates literally as 'to lay oneself down to sleep'.
Why is the reflexive ending here -сь and not -ся?
The suffix changes based on the last letter of the conjugated verb. After a consonant, you use -ся (like the infinitive ложиться). Because the 'I' form ложу ends in a vowel, you attach the shorter -сь to make ложусь.
Could I use the word поздний instead of поздно for 'late'?
No, because поздно is an adverb, which is needed here to describe when the verb action happens. Поздний is an adjective that only describes nouns, such as in поздний вечер (a late evening).

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