sleep - asleep

◊ 'sleep'

Sleep is used as a noun or a verb. The past tense and past participle of the verb is slept, not `sleeped'.

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Sleep is the natural state of rest in which you are unconscious with your eyes closed.

I need a lot of sleep.

I haven't been getting enough sleep recently.

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To sleep means to be in this state of rest.

He was so excited he could hardly sleep.

I had not slept or eaten for three days.

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◊ 'asleep'

You do not usually use the verb sleep simply to say that someone is in this state. You do not say, for example, `Gordon sleeps' or `Gordon is sleeping'. You say `Gordon is asleep'.

He hoped she was asleep.

All the other men were asleep.

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You use sleep in more complex statements, for example to say how long someone was in this state, or to talk about a regular occurrence.

She slept till ten in the morning.

He slept on the kitchen floor.

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◊ WARNING

Asleep is only used after a verb. You do not use it in front of a noun. You do not, for example, talk about an `asleep child'. Instead you use sleeping.

I glanced down at the sleeping figure.

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You do not say that someone is `very asleep' or `completely asleep'. Instead you say that they are sound asleep, fast asleep, or deeply asleep.

Chris is still sound asleep in the other bed.

Colette had been fast asleep when he left her.

Miss Haynes was very deeply asleep.

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◊ 'go to sleep'

When someone changes from being awake to being asleep, you say that they go to sleep.

They had both gone to sleep.

Now go to sleep and stop worrying about it.

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◊ 'fall asleep'

When someone goes to sleep suddenly or unexpectedly, you say that they fall asleep.

The moment my head touched the pillow I fell asleep.

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◊ 'get to sleep'

When someone goes to sleep with difficulty, for example because they are in a noisy place or because they are worried about something, you say that they get to sleep.

Could you turn that radio down — I'm trying to get to sleep.

I couldn't get to sleep until six in the morning.

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◊ 'go back to sleep'

When someone goes to sleep again after being woken up, you say that they go back to sleep.

Frank said `Yes', and went back to sleep.

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◊ 'send...to sleep'

If something causes you to sleep, you say that it sends you to sleep.

I brought him a hot drink, hoping it would send him to sleep.

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