Welcome to the "Daily Routine" Study Guide!

Hello future communicators! This chapter, Daily Routine, is one of the essential topics under the theme of Experiences. Why is routine an "experience"? Because the way we spend our days—from when we wake up to when we go to sleep—fundamentally shapes who we are and tells the story of our lives.
Mastering this topic allows you to communicate the most common activities in any language, a huge step toward fluency! Don't worry if learning new verbs feels like a lot; we will break down the grammar into simple, manageable steps.

1. Essential Vocabulary: Actions of the Day

To describe your daily routine, you need verbs and nouns related to hygiene, meals, work, and rest. We will organize them by the time of day.

1.1. Morning Actions (Getting Ready)

These actions often involve reflexive verbs (more on those soon!), meaning the action is done to oneself.

  • To wake up: (Non-reflexive in some languages, but often reflexive)
  • To get up: (e.g., se lever, levantarse)
  • To wash (oneself): (e.g., se laver, lavarse)
  • To brush the teeth: (e.g., se brosser les dents, cepillarse los dientes)
  • To shower/bathe: (e.g., se doucher/se baigner, ducharse/bañarse)
  • To get dressed: (e.g., s'habiller, vestirse)
  • Breakfast: (e.g., le petit-déjeuner, el desayuno)
  • To leave the house/go out: (e.g., sortir, salir de casa)

1.2. Midday and Afternoon Actions (Work and Study)

  • To go to school/work: (e.g., aller à l'école/au travail, ir a la escuela/al trabajo)
  • To study/work: (e.g., étudier/travailler, estudiar/trabajar)
  • Lunch: (e.g., le déjeuner, el almuerzo/la comida)
  • To return home: (e.g., rentrer à la maison, volver a casa)
  • To rest/take a break: (e.g., se reposer, descansar)

1.3. Evening and Night Actions (Relaxation and Sleep)

  • To cook/make dinner: (e.g., cuisiner/préparer le dîner, cocinar/preparar la cena)
  • Dinner: (e.g., le dîner, la cena)
  • To watch TV/a movie: (e.g., regarder la télévision/un film, ver la televisión/una película)
  • To read: (e.g., lire, leer)
  • To go to bed: (e.g., se coucher, acostarse)
  • To sleep: (e.g., dormir, dormir)
Quick Review: Key Vocabulary

Focus on the big five routine verbs first: wake up, get up, eat, go to school/work, go to bed. These are your building blocks!

2. The Grammar Engine: Reflexive Verbs

When you describe your routine, many actions are performed by you, to you. In many languages (like French or Spanish), these require special pronouns called reflexive pronouns. Think of them as "selfie" verbs—the subject and the object are the same person.

2.1. Understanding Reflexive Action

Compare these two sentences:

  1. I wash the dog. (Action goes from 'I' to 'dog'.) Not reflexive.
  2. I wash myself. (Action goes from 'I' back to 'I'.) Reflexive.

In the target language, a reflexive verb (like se lever in French, meaning 'to get up') must be accompanied by a matching reflexive pronoun when conjugated.

2.2. Step-by-Step Conjugation (The Pronoun Match)

The reflexive pronoun always changes based on the subject pronoun. This matching is CRITICAL.

Step 1: Learn the Reflexive Pronoun Set
For nearly all ab initio languages, the pronouns follow this pattern:

I (Yo/Je) → Me
You (Tú/Tu) → Te
He/She/It (Él/Elle/Il) → Se
We (Nosotros/Nous) → Nos
You Plural (Vosotros/Vous) → Vous
They (Ellos/Elles/Ils) → Se

Step 2: Place the Pronoun and Conjugate the Verb
The reflexive pronoun usually comes immediately before the conjugated verb (in the present tense).

Example (Using a hypothetical verb "to dress oneself"):
* I dress myself: Yo me visto.
* He dresses himself: Él se viste.

🔥 Common Mistake Alert!

Ab initio students often forget the reflexive pronoun! You must include it, even if you feel the meaning is clear.
❌ Je lève à sept heures. (Incorrect – means: I lift at seven.)
✅ Je me lève à sept heures. (Correct – means: I get myself up at seven.)

3. Time and Sequencing: Structuring Your Day

A routine is a sequence of events. You need expressions to indicate the time and the order of actions.

3.1. Telling the Time (Key Prepositions)

When specifying a precise time, you usually need a preposition like "at" (à in French, a las in Spanish).

  • At 7:00 AM: à sept heures du matin / a las siete de la mañana
  • At midday/noon: à midi / al mediodía
  • At 10:30 PM: à vingt-deux heures trente / a las diez y media de la noche

Use the phrase "around" (vers or alrededor de) if the time is approximate: Around five o'clock, I finish school.

3.2. Sequencing Connectors (First, Then, Finally)

These are crucial for flow and fluency in your productive skills (writing and speaking).

  1. First/Firstly: Premièrement / Primero
  2. Then/Next: Ensuite / Luego / Después
  3. After that: Après cela / Después de eso
  4. Finally/In the end: Finalement / Por último

Memory Trick: Sequence words are like railway cars; they link the train of actions together!

3.3. Frequency Adverbs

To discuss your routine, you can describe how often you do something. Place these adverbs generally near the verb.

  • Always: Toujours / Siempre
  • Often: Souvent / A menudo
  • Sometimes: Parfois / A veces
  • Never: Jamais / Nunca

4. Tying It All Together: Describing Your Experience

The goal is to provide a coherent narrative of a typical day. Remember, this connects to the "Experiences" theme by showing the listener/reader what a typical day looks like and how your routine shapes your life (e.g., My routine is very busy because I always study after dinner).

4.1. Structure of a Routine Description

A good description should follow a logical, chronological structure:

Sentence 1: Start Time: I always wake up early.
Sentence 2: First Action (Reflexive): First, I wash myself and brush my teeth.
Sentence 3: Meal Time: Then, I eat a big breakfast at 7:30.
Sentence 4: Midday Activity: After that, I go to school and study for six hours.
Sentence 5: Evening/Free Time: In the evening, I relax and read a book.
Sentence 6: End Time (Reflexive): Finally, I go to bed around 11:00 PM.

4.2. Focusing on the Present Tense

Since routines describe habitual, repeated actions, you will almost exclusively use the simple present tense. Ensure you have memorized the present tense conjugations for the core routine verbs (regular and irregular).

Key Takeaway: The Routine Equation

Routine = Subject Pronoun + Reflexive Pronoun (if needed) + Present Tense Verb + Time Expression + Sequencing Connector.

Example: Je (S) + me (RP) + lève (V) + à sept heures (Time). Ensuite (SC)...

5. Intercultural Awareness: Routine Differences

The IB curriculum emphasizes international-mindedness. When discussing daily routines, consider how they differ across cultures.

Did you know?

The time people eat meals often varies dramatically across cultures. For example, in many parts of Southern Europe and Latin America, dinner (la cena) is often eaten very late, sometimes after 9:00 PM or 10:00 PM, due to cultural factors, climate, and work schedules. This late dinner pushes the entire daily routine later!

5.1. Exploring Cultural Differences (HL Focus Hint)

To deepen your analysis, consider the following points:

  • School/Work Schedules: Are typical school days longer or shorter than yours? Do siestas or breaks exist?
  • Meal Timing: When is the main meal of the day consumed? (Often lunch is the largest meal in Spain or France, unlike in the US or UK where dinner is often the main meal.)
  • Family vs. Individual Time: Is the daily routine highly structured around family gatherings (like mandatory shared dinners), or is it more individualistic?

Thinking about these differences allows you to fulfill the "Experiences" guiding principle by reflecting on how varied routines shape lives around the world.