Go to sleep means to fall asleep: the moment you start sleeping. Getting into bed is go to bed, and you can fall asleep an hour after that. About an arm or a leg, go to sleep means to go numb: My leg has gone to sleep.
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go to sleep; go back to sleep; can't get to sleep; my leg/arm has gone to sleep
- The baby finally went to sleep after we turned off the lights.
- I woke up at four and couldn't go back to sleep.
- Don't sit on your foot like that, or it'll go to sleep.
What changed
First versionI went to sleep at eleven, but I only fell asleep at two.
RevisionI went to bed at eleven, but I only fell asleep at two.
Go to sleep can look like a general phrase for going to bed, but it means to fall asleep. So the sentence says “I fell asleep at eleven, but I only fell asleep at two”. Getting into bed is went to bed; the rest of the sentence stays the same.
Fall asleep also means to start sleeping, but it suggests sleep came on its own, often at the wrong moment: I fell asleep during the film. Go to sleep can be a request or an instruction: Go to sleep, it's late! You can't say that with fall asleep.
Your turn
I was so tired that I ___ as soon as my head hit the pillow.
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went to sleep — The head is already on the pillow, so the person is already lying down: this is the moment sleep comes, went to sleep. Went to bed describes getting into bed, and that has already happened.
Describe an evening when you couldn't get to sleep for a long time. Say what time you went to bed and what kept you awake.
Last Sunday I went to bed at eleven, but I didn't go to sleep until two because of the noise from the street.
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