English: Daily Routine

Level: A2. Your daily routine is one of the first real things you can talk about in English. You already know the verb be and the present simple; this lesson gives you the everyday verbs — wake up, have breakfast, go to work — and shows how to join them into a natural description of your day.

By the end of this page you can…

…describe your morning, afternoon and evening in English, say how often you do things, and give the times — so you can answer the common question ‘What do you do every day?’

The routine verbs you need

Most of a daily routine is built from a small set of verbs. Many of them are two-word verbs (verb + small word): wake up, get up, get dressed. Learn each as a whole chunk.

Morning: wake up, get up, have a shower, get dressed, have breakfast, brush my teeth, leave home, go to work.
Daytime: start work, have lunch, finish work, come home.
Evening: make dinner, have dinner, watch TV, do my homework, go to bed, fall asleep.

Notice the fixed pairs: you have breakfast, lunch and dinner (not eat breakfast — though that is also possible, have is the natural choice), you brush your teeth, and you get dressed.

Present simple — the tense for habits

A routine is something you do again and again, so English uses the present simple. For I, you, we and they, use the plain verb. For he, she and it, add -s.

Subject	Verb	Example
I / you / we / they	get up	I get up at seven.
he / she / it	gets up	She gets up at seven.
I / you / we / they	have	We have dinner at eight.
he / she / it	has	He has dinner at eight.
negative	do/does not	He does not get up early.
question	do/does	What time do you get up?

The -s drops again in questions and negatives, because does already carries it: Does she get up early? — She does not get up early.

Saying how often: frequency adverbs

To say how often, use a frequency adverb. From most to least: always, usually, often, sometimes, rarely, never.

The rule for position is simple and worth memorising: the adverb goes before the main verb, but after the verb be.

I usually get up at seven. (before the main verb get)
I am usually tired in the morning. (after the verb am)

Ordering your day

To make a routine flow, link the steps with sequence words: first, then, next, after that, and finally for the last step.

First, I have a shower. Then I get dressed. After that, I have breakfast. Finally, I leave for work.

Telling the time in a routine

Three small prepositions carry most time phrases:

at + a clock time or a fixed point: at 7 o’clock, at noon, at night, at the weekend.
in + a part of the day: in the morning, in the afternoon, in the evening.
on + a day: on Monday, on weekdays, on my day off.

Example sentences

Press play and copy the rhythm. Say each line out loud as part of your own day.

I wake up at six thirty.

The first step of the morning, with a clock time.
I usually get up straight away.

A frequency adverb before the main verb.
First, I have a shower.

First marks the opening step.
Then I get dressed.

Get dressed is a fixed two-word phrase.
I have breakfast at seven.

You have breakfast, lunch and dinner.
I always brush my teeth after breakfast.

Brush your teeth, never make your teeth.
I leave home at half past seven.

Leaving the house to start the day.
She goes to work by bus.

Third-person -s: she goes, not she go.
He starts work at nine.

Third-person -s on starts.
We have lunch at one o'clock.

A midday routine with a time.
I often finish work late.

Often before the main verb finish.
After that, I come home.

After that links the next step.
My father makes dinner in the evening.

In + part of the day.
We have dinner together at eight.

A shared evening routine.
I sometimes watch TV after dinner.

Sometimes before the main verb.
The children do their homework before bed.

Do your homework is a fixed pair.
I am usually tired by ten.

Usually after the verb be.
I go to bed at about eleven.

About softens an exact time.
I rarely fall asleep quickly.

Rarely means almost never.
On Sundays, I never set an alarm.

On + day, never before the main verb.

Recap card for the English daily routine lesson with routine verbs, frequency adverbs and time words

Quick recap before you practise.

A short conversation

Ben: What time do you get up during the week? Mia: I usually get up at six thirty. First I have a shower, then I make coffee. Ben: Do you have breakfast at home? Mia: Not always. On busy days I just grab something and leave. And you? Ben: I never miss breakfast — I can’t start the day without it!

Usage notes

have vs eat: both are correct for meals, but have breakfast/lunch/dinner is the more natural everyday choice.
at the weekend (BrE) / on the weekend (AmE): both are standard; pick one and stay consistent. This site uses a neutral style, so either is fine.
get is everywhere in routines: get up, get dressed, get ready, get home. Treat each as one unit rather than translating get word for word.
No -ing for habits: a routine uses the present simple (I get up at seven), not the present continuous (I am getting up would mean right now).

Practice

Daily routine practice

Try each one, then press Check. No sign-up, nothing is sent anywhere — it all runs in your browser.

1 Which sentence is correct? She get up at six. She gets up at six. She getting up at six. She get ups at six.

Show answer

She gets up at six. — Present simple adds -s for he, she and it: she gets up.

2 Choose the preposition: I start work ____ 9 o'clock.

Hint: used with clock times

Show answer

at — Use at with clock times: at 9 o'clock.

3 Put the frequency adverb in the gap: I ____ get up early on Sundays. (never)

Hint: it goes before the main verb

Show answer

never — Frequency adverbs go before the main verb: I never get up early.

4 Put the words in order to make the first step of a routine.

Show answer

First, I have a shower — First marks the opening step: First, I have a shower.

5 Match each time word to what follows it.

at Match for at
in Match for in
on Match for on
after that Match for after that

Show answer

at → 7 o'clock
in → the morning
on → Monday
after that → the next step

at + clock time, in + part of the day, on + day; after that links steps.

6 Where does the adverb go? ___ I am usually tired. I usually am tired. Usually I am tired am. I am tired usually am.

Show answer

I am usually tired. — Frequency adverbs come after the verb be: I am usually tired.

How to say it

A few routine words trip up English learners. Copy the audio, don’t spell them out letter by letter.

breakfast has the stress on the first syllable and a short vowel: “BREK-fuhst”, not “break-fast”.
usually squeezes to three beats in speech, roughly “YOO-zhoo-lee” or even “YOOZH-lee”.
clothes is one syllable — “klohz” — with the final sound like a z; don’t add an extra -iz syllable.
o’clock links the two parts smoothly: “uh-KLOK”, with the stress on clock.

Quiz

Recap cheat-sheet

Idea	Pattern	Example
Habit tense	present simple (+ -s for he/she/it)	She gets up at seven.
How often	adverb before main verb, after be	I usually walk; I am usually late.
Clock time	at	at 7 o’clock, at night
Part of day	in	in the morning
Day	on	on Monday
Order steps	first, then, after that, finally	First I shower, then I eat.

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English: Daily Routine

By the end of this page you can…

The routine verbs you need

Present simple — the tense for habits

Saying how often: frequency adverbs

Ordering your day

Telling the time in a routine

Example sentences

A short conversation

Usage notes

Practice

Daily routine practice

How to say it

Quiz

Daily routine quiz

Recap cheat-sheet

Next

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