Talk About Your Daily Routine in English
Wake up, work, relax. Kiora and Ethan show you the simple English phrases to describe your whole day, from morning to night.
The lesson
Describe your day with the present simple
To talk about your daily routine, use the present simple, because these are things you do every day. I wake up at seven. I have breakfast. I go to work. I get home in the evening. I go to bed at eleven. The present simple is the tense of habits and routines.
Useful time expressions
Add when things happen with time expressions: in the morning, at noon, in the afternoon, in the evening, at night. You can also use clock times: at seven o'clock, at half past eight. Example: In the morning I have a coffee, and in the evening I relax.
Put your day in order
Connect your actions with sequence words so your story flows: first, then, after that, and finally. Example: First I wake up, then I take a shower, after that I have breakfast, and finally I leave for work.
Tip: frequency words
Say how often you do things with always, usually, often, sometimes, and never. They go before the main verb: I always wake up early. I sometimes work from home. I never skip breakfast. These small words make your English sound natural.
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Key vocabulary
to wake up
/weɪk ʌp/to stop sleeping
“I wake up at seven every day.”
Traduction
se réveiller
to get up
/ɡɛt ʌp/to get out of bed
“I wake up at seven, but I get up at half past seven.”
Traduction
se lever
to have breakfast
/hæv ˈbrɛkfəst/to eat the first meal of the day
“I have breakfast with my family.”
Traduction
prendre le petit-déjeuner
to commute
/kəˈmjuːt/to travel to and from work
“I commute to work by train.”
Traduction
faire le trajet domicile-travail
to take a break
/teɪk ə breɪk/to stop working for a short time to rest
“I take a break at noon.”
Traduction
faire une pause
to get home
/ɡɛt həʊm/to arrive at your house
“I get home around six.”
Traduction
rentrer à la maison
to go to bed
/ɡəʊ tə bɛd/to get into bed to sleep
“I go to bed at eleven.”
Traduction
aller se coucher
Test yourself
1. Which tense do we use for daily routines?
2. Complete: "I ___ up at seven o'clock."
3. Which word means to travel to work?
4. Choose the correct order word: "___ I wake up, then I have breakfast."
5. Where does 'always' go? "I ___ have coffee in the morning."