Daily routine
The verbs and set phrases for an ordinary day, from waking up to going to bed, and the small words that learners often add or drop.
When you need it
Describing your daily routine is one of the first things you do in a new language: in a speaking exam, in a school essay, when a new friend asks what you do. The same phrases then help you arrange things (I finish work at five, so I can meet at six). Most of them are fixed combinations of a simple verb and a noun, so learn them as whole phrases, not as separate words.
Core words
| Word | Note | Example |
|---|---|---|
| wake up | open your eyes; past woke up | I wake up at 6.45. |
| get up | get out of bed; past got up | I get up at seven. |
| shower | have a shower (British), take a shower (both) | I have a shower every morning. |
| brush | brush your teeth, brush your hair | Brush your teeth before bed. |
| dressed | get dressed = put your clothes on | I get dressed after breakfast. |
| breakfast | have breakfast, no article | We have breakfast at half past seven. |
| leave | leave home, leave the house; past left | I leave home at eight. |
| Word | Note | Example |
|---|---|---|
| start, finish | start work, finish school | Lessons start at nine. |
| lunch | have lunch, usually around one | I have lunch at the office. |
| break | have a break, a coffee break | We have a short break at eleven. |
| home | go home, get home, be at home | I get home at about six. |
| cook | cook dinner, also make dinner | Tom cooks dinner on Fridays. |
| dinner | the main evening meal; some British speakers say tea | We have dinner at seven. |
| homework | do homework; uncountable | I do my homework after dinner. |
| Word | Note | Example |
|---|---|---|
| watch | watch TV, watch a film | I watch TV for an hour. |
| relax | rest and do nothing difficult | I relax with a book. |
| bed | go to bed, be in bed, no article | I go to bed at eleven. |
| asleep | fall asleep; be asleep | I usually fall asleep quickly. |
| alarm | set an alarm, the alarm goes off | I set my alarm for 6.45. |
| weekday | Monday to Friday; the opposite of the weekend | I get up early on weekdays. |
Notice how many of these phrases use have: have breakfast, have lunch, have a shower, have a break. Here have does not mean possession; it simply means doing the activity, and it can be used in the continuous: I'm having breakfast. The other common pattern is a verb with no article before the noun: go to bed, go to work, go to school, go home.
Useful phrases
- What time do you get up? — I usually get up at seven.
- It takes me forty minutes to get to work. — The journey is forty minutes.
- I don't have time for breakfast. — I only have a coffee.
- on weekdays, at the weekend (British), on the weekend (American): I sleep late at the weekend.
- in the morning, in the afternoon, in the evening, but at night: I read at night.
- every day (two words) — everyday as one word is an adjective, as in everyday life.
- I'm a morning person. — I feel best early in the day.
- go to bed early / late: On Fridays I go to bed late.
- first, then, after that, finally help you tell your day in order: First I have a shower, then I get dressed.
For habits like these you use the present simple (I get up, she gets up), often with an adverb of frequency such as usually or always; see present simple.
Common mistakes
- ✗ I go to home at six. I am in home now.
✓ I go home at six. I am at home now.
After verbs of movement home works like Ukrainian додому and Russian домой, with no preposition; for position use at home, like вдома / дома. - ✗ I wake up at seven and stand up at half past.
✓ I wake up at seven and get up at half past.
Ukrainian вставати and Russian вставать mean get up; stand up is only rising from a chair or the floor. - ✗ I make breakfast at eight every day. (meaning: eat it)
✓ I have breakfast at eight every day.
Ukrainian снідати and Russian завтракать are single verbs, and English turns them into have breakfast; make breakfast means cook it, and there is no a before the meal. - ✗ In the evening I look TV.
✓ In the evening I watch TV.
Ukrainian дивитися and Russian смотреть cover both verbs, but English uses watch for anything that moves or changes (TV, a film, a match) and look at for a still picture. - ✗ I get up at the morning and read in the night.
✓ I get up in the morning and read at night.
The parts of the day take in, but night is the exception and takes at.
Try it
- I ___ up at 6.45, but I get out of bed at 7.
- I usually ___ breakfast at home. (make / have)
- After work I go ___. (home / to home)
- I brush my ___ twice a day.
- She ___ TV in the evening. (look / watch)
- I usually read ___ night.