Daily Routines in Spanish

Grade 4 · Spanish · Study Guide

Learn how to talk about everyday activities in Spanish using reflexive verbs and time expressions.

Daily routines are the things we do every day, like waking up, eating breakfast, and going to school. In Spanish, many routine activities use reflexive verbs — verbs that show you are doing the action to yourself.

Reflexive verbs are easy to spot because they have '-se' at the end in their base form. For example, 'levantarse' means 'to get up' and 'lavarse' means 'to wash oneself.' When you use these verbs, you add a reflexive pronoun before the conjugated verb. For 'yo' (I), you use 'me.' So 'I get up' becomes 'Yo me levanto.'

Here are some common daily routine verbs: 'despertarse' (to wake up), 'ducharse' (to shower), 'desayunar' (to have breakfast), 'ir a la escuela' (to go to school), 'almorzar' (to have lunch), 'hacer la tarea' (to do homework), and 'acostarse' (to go to bed).

To say when you do something, you use time expressions. 'Por la mañana' means in the morning, 'por la tarde' means in the afternoon, and 'por la noche' means at night. You can also give exact times using 'a las' + the time, like 'a las siete' (at seven o'clock).

Putting it all together: 'Por la mañana, me despierto a las siete' means 'In the morning, I wake up at seven o'clock.'

Key terms

Rutina diaria
Daily routine — the activities you do every day in a regular order.
Verbos reflexivos
Reflexive verbs — verbs showing you do the action to yourself, marked by '-se' in their base form.
Levantarse
To get up — reflexive verb used in daily morning routines.
Por la mañana
In the morning — a time expression used to say when an activity happens.
Me despierto
'I wake up' — the yo (I) form of the reflexive verb despertarse.
A las + time
At [time] o'clock — used to give a specific time, like 'a las ocho' (at eight o'clock).

Flashcards

Despertarse / Me despierto
To wake up / I wake up.
Levantarse / Me levanto
To get up / I get up.
Ducharse / Me ducho
To shower / I shower.
Desayunar / Desayuno
To have breakfast / I have breakfast.
Ir a la escuela / Voy a la escuela
To go to school / I go to school.
Almorzar / Almuerzo
To have lunch / I have lunch.
Hacer la tarea / Hago la tarea
To do homework / I do my homework.
Acostarse / Me acuesto
To go to bed / I go to bed.

Questions

  1. What does 'me levanto' mean in English?

    1. I eat breakfast
    2. I go to bed
    3. I get up
    4. I shower
    Show answer

    Answer: I get up

    'Me levanto' comes from 'levantarse' which means 'to get up.' The 'me' shows it is a reflexive action done to oneself.

  2. Reflexive verbs in Spanish always end in '-se' in their base form.

    Show answer

    Answer: True

    All reflexive verbs in Spanish end in '-se' when listed in their base (infinitive) form, such as 'lavarse' or 'ducharse.'

  3. To say 'in the morning' in Spanish, you say 'por la ________.'

    Show answer

    Answer: mañana

    'Por la mañana' is the Spanish expression for 'in the morning.' 'Mañana' means both morning and tomorrow depending on context.

  4. Which phrase means 'I do my homework' in Spanish?

    1. Yo como la tarea.
    2. Yo hago la tarea.
    3. Yo voy la tarea.
    4. Yo tengo la tarea.
    Show answer

    Answer: Yo hago la tarea.

    'Hacer' means 'to do/make.' 'Hago la tarea' = 'I do the homework.' 'Como' = I eat, 'voy' = I go, 'tengo' = I have.

  5. 'Por la noche' means in the afternoon in Spanish.

    Show answer

    Answer: False

    'Por la noche' means at night, not in the afternoon. 'Por la tarde' means in the afternoon.

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