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In Spanish there is a difference between the verb dormir and dormirse.
Dormir refers to "to sleep" while "dormirse" as a pronominal verb refers to the action of "going to sleep/falling asleep".
Let's see some examples to compare the difference:
Notice how the first two sentences using "dormir" are referring to the ongoing action of sleeping, whilst the last two are referring to the process/sudden action of going to sleep/falling asleep.
Special note:
An equivalent to dormirse is "quedarse dormido-/a". For example:
Ella se durmió de repente.
Ella se quedó dormida de repente.
She suddenly fell asleep.
We never use verb "to fall" (caer) to express "falling asleep":
Ella se cayó dormida.
Also note that "quedarse dormido/-a" can mean "to oversleep":
Perdona, llego un poco tarde, ¡me he quedado dormida!
Sorry, I'm a bit late, I overslept!
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