English: Household Chores

Level: B1. Housework comes up constantly — sharing a flat, living with family, or just explaining your week. This lesson gives you the fixed chore phrases (they are not always what you would guess), then the language of obligation — have to, must, need to — so you can say who does what, and how often.

By the end of this page you can…

…name the common household chores with their correct verbs, say what you have to and don’t have to do, give advice with should, and describe how often chores get done.

The chore phrases

Chores are the clearest example of English collocations — fixed verb + noun pairs. The verb is usually do or make, and swapping them sounds wrong to a native ear.

• do the washing-up / wash the dishes — clean the plates after a meal.
• do the laundry / do the washing — wash clothes.
• do the ironing / iron the shirts — press clothes flat.
• do the vacuuming / vacuum / hoover (BrE) — clean the floor with a machine.
• do the housework — the general word for all of it.
• make the bed — pull the sheets straight.
• take out the rubbish (BrE) / trash (AmE) — carry it outside.
• tidy up / clean up — put things back in place.
• Also: sweep the floor, mop the floor, dust the shelves, water the plants, load / empty the dishwasher.

Obligation: have to, must, need to

To say something is necessary, English uses have to, must and need to. In everyday speech, have to is the most common.

Two things to watch. First, after must (and should) you use the plain verb with no to: I must clean — never I must to clean. Second, the negatives are not opposites: don’t have to means it is not necessary (you can if you want), while must not means it is forbidden.

Giving advice: should

For advice rather than obligation, use should + plain verb: You should clean the fridge once a month. The negative is shouldn’t: You shouldn’t leave dirty dishes overnight.

How often: frequency expressions

To say how often a chore gets done, use a number phrase:

• once a week, twice a week, three times a week (not one time, two times — say once, twice).
• every day / every morning / every other day (= every second day).
• from time to time, hardly ever.

Example sentences

Press play and say each chore out loud with its natural verb.

Quick recap before you practise.

A short conversation

Sam: We should make a cleaning plan for the flat. Who does what? Priya: I’ll do the laundry if you take out the rubbish. Sam: Deal. And we take turns with the washing-up? Priya: Yes. But you don’t have to vacuum every day — twice a week is enough. Sam: Great. We mustn’t let the bins pile up again, though.

Usage notes

• have to vs must: have to is far more common in speech; must sounds stronger or more official, and is used for rules and written notices. In the past, both become had to — there is no past of must for obligation.
• do the + chore: most chores take do with the (do the washing-up), but make the bed and take out the rubbish break the pattern — memorise them.
• washing-up (BrE) vs doing the dishes (AmE): British English often says do the washing-up; American English says do the dishes. Both are standard.
• chores vs housework: chores are the individual tasks (countable: three chores); housework is the whole uncountable idea (some housework, not a housework).

Practice

How to say it

A few chore words sound different from how they look. Copy the audio.

• vacuum is said with two beats, roughly “VAK-yoom” — don’t try to pronounce every letter.
• iron sounds like “EYE-ern”; the middle r almost disappears and it is not “eye-ron”.
• clothes stays one syllable, “klohz”, ending in a z — no extra -iz.
• rubbish has the stress on the first syllable: “RUB-ish”.

Quiz

Recap cheat-sheet

Next

• Previous lesson: English: Housing & Rooms
• Next lesson: English: At the Doctor
• New here? Start with Start Learning English Here
• Build the sounds: English Pronunciation Overview