Daily Routine
Learn 20 easy A1 English words for your daily routine - wake up, get dressed, have breakfast, go to bed - with examples, a story and a quiz.
“Tell me about a normal day” is one of the first things an English teacher will ask you. To answer it you need the words on this page: the actions you do every morning, afternoon and evening, plus two small words – always and usually – that tell people how often you do them. Learn the 20 words, then read about one ordinary Tuesday.
20 words to learn
The 20 words
/weɪk ʌp/
To stop sleeping and open your eyes.
I wake up at six every morning.
/ɡet ʌp/
To leave your bed and stand up. This is after you wake up.
I wake up at six but I get up at half past six.
/hæv ə ˈʃaʊə(r)/
To wash your whole body under running water.
I have a shower before breakfast.
/brʌʃ/
To clean your teeth or your hair with a brush.
Brush your teeth for two minutes.
/ɡet drest/
To put your clothes on.
I get dressed very quickly in winter.
/ˈbrekfəst/
The first meal of the day, in the morning.
I never leave the house without breakfast.
/lʌntʃ/
The meal in the middle of the day.
We have lunch at one o’clock.
/ˈdɪnə(r)/
The main meal in the evening.
My family eats dinner together at eight.
/liːv/
To go away from a place.
I leave the house at ten past seven.
/stɑːt/
To begin.
My lessons start at eight in the morning.
/ˈfɪnɪʃ/
To come to the end of something.
We finish work at six.
/wɜːk/
To do a job for money. It is also a noun: my work.
I work in my uncle’s shop.
/ˈstʌdi/
To learn about a subject at school or at home.
I study English every evening.
/ɡet həʊm/
To arrive at your house.
I get home at half past six.
/kʊk/
To make food hot and ready to eat.
My mother and I cook dinner together.
/wɒtʃ/
To look at something for a long time, like TV or a match.
We watch one programme after dinner.
/ɡəʊ tə bed/
To get into your bed at night.
I go to bed at eleven.
/sliːp/
To rest with your eyes closed at night.
I sleep for seven hours.
/ˈɔːlweɪz/
Every time, one hundred per cent.
She is always late.
/ˈjuːʒuəli/
Most of the time, but not every time.
I usually walk to school.
Now read the story
Story · all 20 words
My Tuesday
I always set two alarms on my phone, and I always hear only the second one. On Tuesday I wake up at half past six, but I do not get up immediately. I stay under the blanket for ten more minutes and look at photos of other people’s breakfasts.
Then everything is fast. I have a shower, I brush my teeth, and I get dressed in the dark because my sister is still asleep. I usually eat a small breakfast – bread, white cheese and a coffee – standing next to the window. At ten past seven I leave the house.
My lessons start at eight. I study English, maths and history until twelve, and then we all sit outside and eat lunch together on the wall near the gate. In the afternoon I work in my uncle’s shop for three hours. The work is not difficult, but my feet are tired at the end of it.
We finish at six. I get home at half past six, and then my mother and I cook dinner together and talk about the day. After that we watch one programme on television – only one, my father says every evening, and then he watches two more.
At eleven o’clock I go to bed. I read three pages of a book, my eyes close by themselves, and I sleep for seven and a half hours. Tomorrow I will do all of it again. It is a small life, but it is mine and I like it.
Where do you put always and usually? Before the main verb, but after the verb be:
I always get up early. (before the verb)
I am always tired. (after am)
The full scale is: always (100%), usually (80%), often (60%), sometimes (40%), never (0%).
Two more things:
- Do not forget the -s for he and she: I get up at six, but he gets up at six. This is the most common mistake at A1 level.
- breakfast is said BREK-fust, not break-fast. And British English says have a shower while American English says take a shower.
Your day in three parts:
Morning: wake up, get up, have a shower, brush your teeth, get dressed, have breakfast, leave the house.
Day: start, study, work, have lunch, finish.
Evening: get home, cook, have dinner, watch TV, go to bed, sleep.
Now write five sentences about your own day and put always or usually in three of them.
Now practise with the questions below.
Check your understanding
Answer the questions below. You will see instantly if you are right.
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