Time, Days, and Daily Routines

New Words and Phrases (in English)

Here are key words and phrases to talk about time, days of the week, and simple daily routines. Pronunciations are written using English sounds.

Language Pattern (in English)

1. Talking about time with "a las"

To say at a specific time in Spanish, use:

• a la + one o'clock
• a las + any other hour

Examples:

• A la una. – at one (o'clock)
• A las siete. – at seven (o'clock)

Use this with daily routine verbs:

• Me despierto a las seis. – I wake up at six.
• Trabajo a las siete de la mañana. – I work at seven in the morning.
• Almuerzo a las doce. – I have lunch at twelve.

2. Days of the week with routines

To say you do something on Mondays / on Fridays, Spanish uses "los" + day:

• los lunes – on Mondays
• los viernes – on Fridays

Examples:

• Estudio español los lunes. – I study Spanish on Mondays.
• Me acuesto tarde los viernes. – I go to bed late on Fridays.

3. Simple present for routines

Spanish often uses the simple present to talk about routines, like English:

• Me despierto a las seis. – I wake up at six.
• Trabajo en una oficina. – I work in an office.
• Estudio por la noche. – I study at night.

Notice:

• Many routine verbs are reflexive (they end in -se in the dictionary form), like despertarse (to wake up) and acostarse (to go to bed).
• In this module we show them in the "yo" (I) form:
• Me despierto – I wake up
• Me acuesto – I go to bed

You can combine time + day + verb:

• Me despierto a las seis los lunes. – I wake up at six on Mondays.
• Trabajo a las siete los lunes. – I work at seven on Mondays.

Practice Dialogue (in English)

In this conversation, two friends talk about the time and their daily routines on Monday. Notice how they ask for the time, mention days, and use the simple present to describe habits.

Check Your Understanding (in English)

Choose the best answer based on the vocabulary and patterns from this module.