Daily Routines Vocabulary in English: Phrases, Examples and Exercises [2026 Guide]

Learn daily routine vocabulary in English: verbs, phrasal verbs, collocations, model texts by level and exercises.

Updated on 02/09/26

If I asked you right now to describe your day in English, chances are you’d start with I wake up at seven… and then run out of steam. Don’t worry, that’s completely normal: daily routine vocabulary is one of the first things we learn, and yet most learners never take it beyond the same four sentences.

Which is a shame, because it’s one of the topics you’ll use most in your life: in class, in any conversation with an English speaker and, above all, in Part 1 of the Cambridge Speaking exam, where questions like «Tell me about your typical day» come up again and again, from A2 Key right through to B2 First.

So in this guide I’m going to give you far more than a list of verbs. You’ll find the vocabulary organised by time of day with pronunciation, the grammar you need to use it properly, the phrasal verbs and collocations that make you sound natural, four model texts describing the same routine at A2, B1, B2 and C1 so you can see exactly what changes from one level to the next, and exercises with an answer key at the end.

Let’s get started! 🙂

Daily routine vocabulary in English

Let’s start with the basics, but properly organised. I’ve grouped the vocabulary by time of day, because that’s how you’ll need it when you describe your routine: from morning to night, in order. I’ve included IPA pronunciation (British English) so you don’t learn the words wrong from the start.

In the morning

🇬🇧 English	Pronunciation	🇪🇸 Spanish
wake up	/ˌweɪk ˈʌp/	despertarse
get up	/ˌɡet ˈʌp/	levantarse
turn off the alarm	/ˌtɜːn ˈɒf ði əˈlɑːm/	apagar el despertador
have a lie-in	/ˌhæv ə ˈlaɪ ɪn/	quedarse un rato más en la cama
make the bed	/ˌmeɪk ðə ˈbed/	hacer la cama
have a shower	/ˌhæv ə ˈʃaʊə/	ducharse
brush your teeth	/ˌbrʌʃ jɔː ˈtiːθ/	lavarse los dientes
wash your face	/ˌwɒʃ jɔː ˈfeɪs/	lavarse la cara
get dressed	/ˌɡet ˈdrest/	vestirse
do your hair	/ˌduː jɔː ˈheə/	peinarse
put on make-up	/ˌpʊt ɒn ˈmeɪk ʌp/	maquillarse
have breakfast	/ˌhæv ˈbrekfəst/	desayunar
leave the house	/ˌliːv ðə ˈhaʊs/	salir de casa
catch the bus	/ˌkætʃ ðə ˈbʌs/	coger el autobús
get to work / school	/ˌɡet tə ˈwɜːk/	llegar al trabajo / al colegio

One thing worth noticing: we say have breakfast, with no article. I have the breakfast ✗ is one of the most persistent mistakes Spanish speakers make. The same goes for have lunch and have dinner.

In the afternoon

🇬🇧 English	Pronunciation	🇪🇸 Spanish
have lunch	/ˌhæv ˈlʌntʃ/	comer / almorzar
take a break	/ˌteɪk ə ˈbreɪk/	hacer una pausa
go back to work	/ˌɡəʊ ˌbæk tə ˈwɜːk/	volver al trabajo
have a coffee	/ˌhæv ə ˈkɒfi/	tomarse un café
finish work	/ˌfɪnɪʃ ˈwɜːk/	salir de trabajar
pick up the kids	/ˌpɪk ʌp ðə ˈkɪdz/	recoger a los niños
do the shopping	/ˌduː ðə ˈʃɒpɪŋ/	hacer la compra
run errands	/ˌrʌn ˈerəndz/	hacer recados
go to the gym	/ˌɡəʊ tə ðə ˈdʒɪm/	ir al gimnasio
do your homework	/ˌduː jɔː ˈhəʊmwɜːk/	hacer los deberes
get home	/ˌɡet ˈhəʊm/	llegar a casa

In the evening and at night

🇬🇧 English	Pronunciation	🇪🇸 Spanish
get changed	/ˌɡet ˈtʃeɪndʒd/	cambiarse de ropa
cook dinner	/ˌkʊk ˈdɪnə/	hacer la cena
have dinner	/ˌhæv ˈdɪnə/	cenar
do the washing-up	/ˌduː ðə ˌwɒʃɪŋ ˈʌp/	fregar los platos
tidy up	/ˌtaɪdi ˈʌp/	ordenar / recoger
watch TV	/ˌwɒtʃ ˌtiː ˈviː/	ver la tele
relax on the sofa	/rɪˈlæks ɒn ðə ˈsəʊfə/	relajarse en el sofá
have a bath	/ˌhæv ə ˈbɑːθ/	darse un baño
set the alarm	/ˌset ði əˈlɑːm/	poner el despertador
go to bed	/ˌɡəʊ tə ˈbed/	irse a la cama
fall asleep	/ˌfɔːl əˈsliːp/	quedarse dormido

Here’s a distinction worth getting right. Spanish uses por la noche for everything, but English splits it in two:

• In the evening covers roughly 6 p.m. until you go to bed. It’s when you have dinner, watch television or meet friends.
• At night is the small hours, when people are asleep: I don’t sleep well at night.

That’s why I have dinner at night sounds odd, and I have dinner in the evening is what a native speaker would say. Notice the prepositions too: in the morning / in the afternoon / in the evening, but at night. There’s no logic to it, I’m afraid — it just has to be learnt.

Your weekly routine and the weekend

Your routine isn’t only what you do every day. To talk about the whole week you’ll need these:

🇬🇧 English	🇪🇸 Spanish
on Mondays / on Fridays	los lunes / los viernes
on weekdays	entre semana
at the weekend (BrE) / on the weekend (AmE)	el fin de semana
every other day	un día sí y otro no
twice a week / three times a month	dos veces por semana / tres veces al mes
work from home	teletrabajar
have a day off	tener el día libre
sleep in	dormir hasta tarde
go out for dinner	salir a cenar
meet up with friends	quedar con amigos

Household chores

This is a set of vocabulary that comes up constantly in the Speaking exam, and hardly anyone prepares it:

🇬🇧 English	Pronunciation	🇪🇸 Spanish
do the dishes	/ˌduː ðə ˈdɪʃɪz/	fregar los platos
do the laundry	/ˌduː ðə ˈlɔːndri/	poner una lavadora
do the ironing	/ˌduː ði ˈaɪənɪŋ/	planchar
hoover / vacuum	/ˈhuːvə/	pasar la aspiradora
mop the floor	/ˌmɒp ðə ˈflɔː/	fregar el suelo
take out the rubbish	/ˌteɪk aʊt ðə ˈrʌbɪʃ/	sacar la basura
water the plants	/ˌwɔːtə ðə ˈplɑːnts/	regar las plantas
take the dog for a walk	/ˌteɪk ðə ˈdɒɡ fər ə ˈwɔːk/	sacar al perro

You’ll have noticed that do turns up everywhere here… and yet we say make the bed. It’s a classic source of confusion, and if it trips you up I’d recommend having a look at my post on the difference between DO and MAKE, where I go into it properly. The quick rule: do for tasks and obligations, make for when you create or produce something.

The grammar of routines: the present simple

Knowing fifty verbs won’t help you much if you then put them in the wrong place. The good news is that you only need one tense to talk about your routine: the present simple.

Why? Because the present simple is the tense of habits, routines and repeated actions. You’re not describing what you’re doing right now, but what you do as a rule. If you’d like the full explanation, it’s in my guide to the Present Simple. Here’s what matters for routines.

The third-person -s (and its traps)

With he, she and it, the verb takes an -s. It looks easy, and it’s where most people slip up:

Rule	🇬🇧 Example
Normally, add -s	He gets up at seven.
Verbs ending in -ch, -sh, -ss, -x, -o → -es	She watches TV. / He goes to the gym.
Consonant + -y → -ies	She studies in the evening.
Vowel + -y → just -s	He stays at home on Sundays.
Have is irregular → has	She has breakfast at eight.

Negatives and questions

For negatives and questions you need the auxiliary do / does. And remember the golden rule: once the auxiliary appears, the main verb loses its -s.

• ✓ I don’t have breakfast during the week.
• ✓ She doesn’t work on Fridays. — ✗ She doesn’t works…
• ✓ Do you get up early?
• ✓ Does he go to the gym every day? — ✗ Does he goes…

If questions are giving you trouble, I covered how they work in my post on yes/no and wh- questions.

Present simple vs present continuous

This is the contrast that causes most confusion, and routines show it beautifully:

• I usually get up at seven. → your normal routine. Present simple.
• I‘m getting up at six this week because I’ve got exams. → something temporary, outside the routine. Present continuous.

The question to ask yourself is whether you’re talking about the usual or the exceptional. I go through it with many more examples in Present Simple vs Present Continuous.

Common mistakes Spanish speakers make

I see these constantly when I mark Speaking and Writing papers. Have a good look, because they’re easy to get rid of:

• ✗ I wake up me at seven. → ✓ I wake up at seven. (English has no reflexive verbs the way Spanish does.)
• ✗ Every day I go to gym. → ✓ …to the gym.
• ✗ I go to the bed at eleven. → ✓ I go to bed at eleven. (No article here — the exact opposite of the one above.)
• ✗ I do a shower. → ✓ I have a shower.
• ✗ I have 30 years. → ✓ I am 30 years old.
• ✗ I take breakfast. → ✓ I have breakfast.
• ✗ The Mondays I work from home. → ✓ On Mondays I work from home.

Adverbs of frequency and time expressions

This is where your routine stops being a robotic list of actions and starts sounding like a real person. There’s a world of difference between I go to the gym and I hardly ever go to the gym.

Adverbs of frequency

🇬🇧 Adverb	Frequency	🇪🇸 Spanish
always	100%	siempre
usually / normally	~90%	normalmente
often / frequently	~70%	a menudo
sometimes	~50%	a veces
occasionally	~30%	de vez en cuando
hardly ever / rarely / seldom	~10%	casi nunca
never	0%	nunca

A word of warning: never and hardly ever are already negative on their own. That’s why ✗ I don’t never get up early is wrong, and ✓ I never get up early is what you want.

Where to put them in the sentence (mistake number one)

If you take away one thing from this section, make it this rule:

• Before the main verb: I always have breakfast. — ✗ I have always breakfast.
• After the verb to be: She is never late. — ✗ She never is late.
• Between the auxiliary and the verb: I don’t usually work at weekends.

Longer frequency expressions (every day, twice a week, once a month, from time to time) behave differently: they go at the end of the sentence, or at the beginning if you want to emphasise them.

• ✓ I go to the gym three times a week.
• ✓ Every morning, I take the dog for a walk.

Sequencing expressions to link your routine together

These are what turn four separate sentences into speech that flows. Use them and you’ll notice the difference straight away:

🇬🇧 Expression	🇪🇸 Spanish	Example
first (of all)	primero	First, I have a shower.
then / next	luego / después	Then I get dressed.
after that	después de eso	After that, I have breakfast.
later on	más tarde	Later on, I check my emails.
before / after + -ing	antes de / después de	Before going to bed, I read.
as soon as	en cuanto	As soon as I get home, I get changed.
finally / in the end	por último	Finally, I set the alarm.

And if you’re already at an intermediate or advanced level and want to move beyond then and after that, here are my lists of B2 connectors and C1 connectors.

Time prepositions: at, in, on

Preposition	Used with	🇬🇧 Examples
at	clock times and specific moments	at 7 o’clock, at midnight, at night, at lunchtime, at the weekend
in	parts of the day, months, seasons	in the morning, in the afternoon, in the evening, in summer
on	days and dates	on Mondays, on weekdays, on Christmas Day, on 5th May

Phrasal verbs and collocations for daily routines

Now for the part almost nobody teaches you, and the one that really separates sounding like a textbook from sounding like a person.

Essential phrasal verbs

🇬🇧 Phrasal verb	Pronunciation	🇪🇸 Spanish	Example
wake up	/ˌweɪk ˈʌp/	despertarse	I wake up before my alarm goes off.
get up	/ˌɡet ˈʌp/	levantarse de la cama	I get up as soon as I wake up.
get ready	/ˌɡet ˈredi/	arreglarse	It takes me 20 minutes to get ready.
set off	/ˌset ˈɒf/	ponerse en camino	I set off for work at half past eight.
drop off	/ˌdrɒp ˈɒf/	dejar a alguien en un sitio	I drop the kids off at school.
pick up	/ˌpɪk ˈʌp/	recoger	My partner picks them up at five.
wind down	/ˌwaɪnd ˈdaʊn/	relajarse, desconectar	I need an hour to wind down before bed.
doze off / nod off	/ˌdəʊz ˈɒf/	quedarse traspuesto	I always nod off in front of the TV.
stay up	/ˌsteɪ ˈʌp/	quedarse despierto hasta tarde	I try not to stay up past midnight.
sleep in / lie in	/ˌsliːp ˈɪn/	dormir hasta tarde	I sleep in at the weekend.

If you like phrasal verbs (or if they terrify you, which is more common), I’ve put together a list of common phrasal verbs that should help.

Get up vs wake up, and other confusing pairs

This is the classic pair, and the difference is simpler than it looks:

• Wake up = to stop sleeping, to open your eyes. It’s what your brain does.
• Get up = to get out of bed. It’s what your body does.

Which is why this sentence makes perfect sense: I wake up at seven, but I don’t get up until half past. Sounds rather familiar, to be honest. 🙂

A few more pairs worth sorting out:

• Have a shower (British) / take a shower (American). Both are correct; pick one and be consistent.
• Make the bed ✓, never ✗ do the bed.
• Do the washing-up (wash the dishes) vs do the washing (do the laundry). One letter apart, two different chores.

Collocations that raise your level

A collocation is a word combination that native speakers use naturally. Learning them as whole chunks is what stops you translating from your own language:

🇬🇧 Collocation	🇪🇸 Spanish
be a morning person	ser de mañanas
be a night owl	ser nocturno, trasnochador
be a creature of habit	ser muy de costumbres
get into a routine	coger una rutina
stick to a routine	mantener la rutina
have a hectic schedule	tener una agenda de locos
run late	ir con retraso
grab a coffee / grab a bite to eat	tomar algo rápido
be snowed under (with work)	estar hasta arriba de trabajo
call it a day	dar el día por terminado
hit the sack	irse al catre

Since work creeps into almost everyone’s routine, here’s my post on collocations with WORK as well.

My daily routine in English: model texts by level

And now we get to the part that, honestly, is the reason I wanted to write this article. The problem with most vocabulary lists out there is that they abandon you right here: they hand you the words, but they never show you how the way you describe your routine changes with your level.

What follows is the same routine, belonging to the same person, told four times over: at A2, B1, B2 and C1. The facts don’t change. What changes is how they’re told.

One important note before we start: each text is written to simulate that exact level, without reaching the next one. Don’t look for literary brilliance in the A2 text, because then it wouldn’t be A2.

My daily routine at A2 Key level

I get up at seven o’clock every day. First, I have a shower and I get dressed. Then I have breakfast with my family. I usually eat toast and I drink coffee. I go to work by bus at eight o’clock. I finish work at five and I go home. In the evening, I cook dinner and I watch TV. I go to bed at eleven o’clock. I am very tired!

What makes it A2:

• Short, single-idea sentences, nearly all following subject + verb + object.
• Very basic connectors: first, then, and.
• High-frequency vocabulary: get up, have breakfast, go to work, watch TV.
• A single adverb of frequency (usually) and exact clock times.
• It completes the task perfectly. At A2, that’s precisely what’s being asked for.

My daily routine at B1 Preliminary level

I’m not really a morning person, so I usually get up at about seven, although I never get out of bed straight away. First, I have a quick shower and get dressed. After that, I have breakfast — normally toast and a strong coffee, because I really need it! I catch the bus to work at half past eight and I start at nine. I have lunch with my colleagues at two, and I finish at six. In the evening, I cook dinner and sometimes I go for a walk. Before I go to bed, I read for a while because it helps me relax.

What makes it B1:

• Subordinate clauses appear: so, although, because, before I go to bed. The sentences link up rather than simply sitting side by side.
• A wider range of sequencing: after that, first.
• Several adverbs of frequency, correctly placed: usually, never, normally, sometimes.
• Opinion and nuance start to appear, not just facts: I’m not really a morning person, because it helps me relax.
• Natural approximations: at about seven, for a while.

My daily routine at B2 First level

I’d say I’m quite an organised person, although my routine falls apart completely at the weekend. During the week I get up at seven and, even though I’m always tempted to have a lie-in, I force myself to get straight out of bed. I tend to have a light breakfast while I check the news, and then I set off for work at around half past eight. Work keeps me busy until six, with a proper break for lunch, which I always take away from my desk — otherwise I end up feeling completely drained by the evening. Once I get home, I cook something simple and I try to wind down before bed instead of scrolling through my phone, which never helps me sleep.

What makes it B2:

• More complex structures: even though, otherwise, once, instead of + -ing, plus a non-defining relative clause (which I always take away from my desk).
• Genuine lexical range: tempted, force myself, drained, proper break, rather than repeating the basic verbs.
• Phrasal verbs woven in naturally: set off, wind down, end up, fall apart, scroll through.
• Hedging typical of the level: I’d say…, I tend to…, at around….
• There’s personal evaluation and contrast (weekdays versus weekend), not a simple list.

My daily routine at C1 Advanced level

I’m very much a creature of habit, and I’ve come to realise that my routine is the only thing keeping me sane during the week. No sooner does my alarm go off at half past six than I’m out of bed — not because I’m particularly disciplined, but because I’ve learnt the hard way that hitting snooze ruins the rest of my morning. What I tend to do is spend the first half hour with a coffee and no screens, which sets me up for the day far better than rushing around ever did. I set off at eight and make a point of getting the most demanding tasks out of the way before lunch, when my concentration is at its peak. Evenings are deliberately unstructured: I cook, I catch up with my partner and I wind down properly. The only thing I’d change is how easily the whole thing collapses at the weekend — by Sunday night I’m invariably scrambling to get organised again.

What makes it C1:

• Advanced grammar: inversion (No sooner does my alarm go off… than…) and a cleft sentence (What I tend to do is…).
• Precise, idiomatic vocabulary: a creature of habit, come to realise, learn the hard way, set me up for the day, make a point of, get out of the way, at its peak, invariably, scramble.
• The text doesn’t list — it argues. It explains the reasoning behind each choice and takes a position.
• Controlled register, with self-criticism and nuance at the end (The only thing I’d change is…).
• Even so, it stays below C2: there are no sophisticated rhetorical flourishes or notably literary register.

What changes from one level to the next

Feature	A2 Key	B1 Preliminary	B2 First	C1 Advanced
Sentence length	Short, one idea	Medium, with a subordinate clause	Long, several clauses	Varied, deliberately paced
Connectors	and, then, first	because, although, after that	even though, otherwise, once, instead of	Inversion, cleft sentences, implied contrast
Vocabulary	Basic and frequent	Frequent, plus a few expressions	Varied, with phrasal verbs	Precise and idiomatic
Stance	Facts only	Facts plus some opinion	Evaluation and contrast	Argument and self-criticism
Risk	None	Low	Occasional ambitious structures	Risk taken and handled well

Pay particular attention to the «Stance» row, because in my experience it’s the one that raises your mark fastest. Going from listing to evaluating doesn’t require a thousand new words: it requires deciding to tell your routine rather than recite it.

Talking about your routine in the Cambridge Speaking exam

Now for the practical part: this comes up in the exam. Not «it might come up» — it’s one of the most recurrent topics there is.

Where daily routines appear in the exam

Daily routines belong to Part 1 of the Speaking exam, the opening section where the examiner asks you simple personal questions to break the ice and form a first impression of your level. You’ll find it in:

• A2 Key (KET) — very direct questions about your day-to-day life.
• B1 Preliminary (PET) — you’re expected to extend each answer a little.
• B2 First (FCE) — answering isn’t enough here; you need to develop your response.

And although the Part 1 questions at C1 Advanced are rather more abstract, you’ll often be asked how you organise your time or how your habits have changed.

Typical examiner questions

• Tell me about your typical day.
• What do you usually do in the mornings?
• Do you have the same routine every day?
• What’s the best part of your day? Why?
• Do you prefer weekdays or weekends? Why?
• Would you like to change anything about your daily routine?
• Do you think it’s important to have a routine?

How NOT to sound like an A2 candidate when you’re a B2

Pay attention to this one, because it’s the mistake I see most often as an exam preparer.

A candidate with a perfectly solid B2 reaches Part 1, gets asked about their routine, and answers: «I wake up, I have breakfast, I go to work.» Full stop. And in that moment they’ve just handed the examiner a language sample worth an A2, even though their English is capable of far more. Lexical Resource and Discourse Management both suffer, and that costs marks.

The problem is almost never that you don’t know enough. It’s that the question is so easy that you get complacent. Three rules to avoid it:

1. Never answer with a single sentence. Give the fact, then add a reason, a detail or an exception. Two or three sentences, no more — this isn’t an invitation to monologue.
2. Add evaluation, not just facts. Facts are A2. An opinion about the facts is B2.
3. Swap the generic verb for the precise collocation. I go to bed late is not the same as I tend to stay up far later than I should.

Here’s how it looks in practice:

Question	❌ A2-level answer	✅ B2-level answer
What do you do in the mornings?	I get up and I go to work.	I’m not a morning person at all, so I keep my mornings as simple as possible. I get up at seven, grab a coffee and set off without thinking too much about it.
Do you have the same routine every day?	Yes, every day the same.	More or less, yes, at least during the week. The weekend is a different story, though — I tend to have a lie-in and my whole routine falls apart.
Would you like to change anything?	Yes, I want to sleep more.	Definitely. I’d love to stop staying up so late, because I always end up feeling drained by Thursday. It’s a habit I keep saying I’ll break.

An annotated model answer (B1 Preliminary)

Examiner’s question: Tell me about a typical day for you.

Well, my days are quite similar, to be honest. I get up at about seven and I have breakfast with my sister before I leave. Then I go to class, and I usually stay there until two o’clock. In the afternoon I do my homework, and after that I sometimes meet up with friends. I like the evenings best because I can finally relax.

Why it works at B1:

• It opens with a natural filler (Well…, to be honest) that buys a second of thinking time without sounding stuck.
• It orders the day with sequencing connectors: then, in the afternoon, after that.
• Adverbs of frequency are used and correctly placed: usually stay, sometimes meet up.
• It closes with a justified preference (I like the evenings best because…), which is exactly what lifts the answer above A2.
• It stays within B1: no advanced structures and no higher-level vocabulary.

Quick tips for the exam

• Don’t memorise a whole speech. It shows badly and examiners penalise it. Memorise chunks instead: two or three collocations and one way of giving an opinion.
• Prepare the exception. Have a sentence ready about how your weekend differs. It works for almost any routine question.
• If you don’t understand, ask. Sorry, could you repeat that? costs you nothing; freezing does.
• Don’t invent a life you don’t have. It’s far easier to speak fluently about your real routine than about a fictional one you’re building as you go.

How to learn and practise this vocabulary

Reading a list isn’t learning. These four things do work, and I’ve watched them work with a lot of students:

• Narrate your morning out loud. Literally, while you’re getting ready: I’m having a shower, now I’m getting dressed…. It’s free, it costs you no extra time, and it automates the vocabulary surprisingly fast.
• Learn in chunks, not single words. Don’t memorise bed; memorise make the bed, go to bed, get out of bed. Your brain retrieves chunks far better than isolated words.
• Record yourself for 60 seconds. Describe your routine, listen back, and compare it with the model text one level above yours in this post. You’ll see what’s missing with uncomfortable clarity.
• Label your house. A sticky note on the coffee machine, another on the mirror. It sounds like a cliché, but with household vocabulary it works very well.

Daily routine exercises

Your turn now. Grab a piece of paper or open a notes app and do all five exercises before you look at the answers, which are right underneath. 🙂

Exercise 1. Complete with the correct verb

get up · have · make · brush · catch · do · take · set · fall · go

1. I always ______ my teeth after breakfast.
2. She ______ the bed as soon as she gets up.
3. We ______ dinner at around nine o’clock.
4. He ______ the bus to work every morning.
5. I ______ at seven o’clock during the week.
6. They ______ the washing-up together after dinner.
7. Don’t forget to ______ the alarm tonight!
8. My father ______ the dog for a walk every evening.
9. I ______ to bed at about eleven.
10. I often ______ asleep on the sofa.

Exercise 2. Put the adverb of frequency in the right place

1. I have breakfast at home. (always)
2. She is late for work. (never)
3. We go to the gym after work. (sometimes)
4. He doesn’t work at the weekend. (usually)
5. They are tired on Monday mornings. (often)
6. I go to bed before midnight. (hardly ever)
7. My sister does the ironing. (rarely)
8. You should set your alarm. (always)

Exercise 3. Choose the preposition: at, in or on

1. I get up ______ half past six.
2. We have lunch ______ the afternoon.
3. She works from home ______ Fridays.
4. I don’t sleep well ______ night.
5. They go out for dinner ______ the weekend.
6. He goes to the gym ______ the morning.
7. I never work ______ weekdays after six.
8. We watch a film ______ the evening.

Exercise 4. Match the phrasal verb with its meaning

Phrasal verb	Meaning
1. wind down	a. to stay awake late
2. set off	b. to sleep later than usual
3. nod off	c. to relax before sleeping
4. stay up	d. to collect someone
5. sleep in	e. to start a journey
6. pick up	f. to get yourself ready
7. get ready	g. to fall asleep without meaning to
8. drop off	h. to leave someone somewhere

Exercise 5. Level up: rewrite from A2 to B2

Rewrite these sentences so they sound like B2, using the collocations and structures from this post. There’s more than one valid answer.

1. I get up late at the weekend.
2. I go to bed very late.
3. I have a lot of work.
4. I am very tired in the evening.
5. I do the same things every day.

Answer key

Exercise 1

1. brush
2. makes — remember: make the bed, never do the bed.
3. have
4. catches — third person, -ch → -es.
5. get up
6. do
7. set — after to, the bare infinitive.
8. takes
9. go
10. fall

Exercise 2

1. I always have breakfast at home.
2. She is never late for work. (after to be)
3. We sometimes go to the gym after work. (also valid at the start or the end)
4. He doesn’t usually work at the weekend. (between auxiliary and verb)
5. They are often tired on Monday mornings.
6. I hardly ever go to bed before midnight.
7. My sister rarely does the ironing.
8. You should always set your alarm. (between modal and verb)

Exercise 3

1. at
2. in
3. on
4. at — at night, the odd one out.
5. at (British) / on (American)
6. in
7. on
8. in

Exercise 4

1-c · 2-e · 3-g · 4-a · 5-b · 6-d · 7-f · 8-h

Exercise 5 (suggested answers)

1. I tend to have a lie-in at the weekend, which completely ruins my routine.
2. I’m a bit of a night owl, so I usually end up staying up far later than I should.
3. I’m absolutely snowed under with work at the moment.
4. By the evening I’m completely drained, so I just need to wind down.
5. I’m very much a creature of habit — my weekdays are almost identical.

How did it go? If you slipped up on the adverbs of frequency or the prepositions, don’t worry: those are precisely the two areas where almost everyone struggles, and they come right with practice.

Conclusion

Talking about your daily routine in English looks like the easiest topic in the world, and in a sense it is: the vocabulary is manageable and the grammar comes down to the present simple. But it’s precisely because it’s easy that so many students give themselves away, producing A2-level answers when their English is capable of a great deal more.

So hold on to the essentials: learn the vocabulary in chunks, not as isolated words; put your adverbs of frequency in the right place; link your day with sequencing connectors; and above all, don’t just list. Add a reason, an exception, an opinion. That’s the jump in level.

If you’re preparing a Cambridge exam, I’d suggest carrying on with the Present Simple guide, B2 First Speaking Part 1 and, if you want to keep building vocabulary, my posts on food vocabulary and clothes vocabulary.

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See you in the next post. Until then, don’t forget to keep smiling! 🙂