Breakdown of Уже полночь, а мне не спится. Лежу, ворочаюсь.
не
not
а
and (contrastive)
мне
to me
уже
already
лежать
to lie, be lying down
спаться
to sleep (impersonal)
полночь
midnight
ворочаться
to toss and turn
Questions & Answers about Уже полночь, а мне не спится. Лежу, ворочаюсь.
Why is it мне не спится instead of я не сплю?
This is the core of an impersonal involuntary state! By using the dative pronoun мне and adding the reflexive ending -ся to the verb, it changes the meaning from "I am not sleeping" (я не сплю) to "I can't get to sleep" or "sleep isn't coming to me." It shows that the lack of sleep is happening to you, entirely outside of your control.
Why use а for "but" here instead of но?
While но is a strong "but" used for direct contradiction, а is often used for contrast or to introduce a surprising continuation. Here, it contrasts the late hour with the state of being awake, much like "It's midnight, and yet I can't sleep" in English.
Why is there no я before Лежу, ворочаюсь?
In Russian, subject pronouns are often dropped if the context makes it obvious who is acting. The first-person verb endings -у in лежу and -юсь in ворочаюсь already clearly indicate "I". Dropping the я makes the sentence sound more immediate and conversational.
What is the infinitive of ворочаюсь, and why does it have a reflexive ending?
The infinitive is ворочаться (to toss and turn). It has the reflexive -ся ending because the action is directed at your own body. You are physically turning yourself back and forth in bed.
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