Spanish course

Lesson 78 of 238

New here? This is lesson 78 of a free 238-lesson Spanish course.

Start hereHow this works

What I usually do in Spanish

Amanda catches Justin in the stairwell and asks what his mornings look like.

You'll learn several natural ways to talk about routines, including every day, sometimes, and weekends.

You'll also learn how to say that your routine depends on the day, even when you don't have a job yet.

By the end of this lesson

Say what you usually do every day or on weekends, and explain that it depends on the day.

  • Normalmente ___I usually ___
  • ___ todos los díasI ___ every day
  • A veces ___Sometimes I ___
  • Los fines de semana, normalmente ___On weekends I usually ___
  • Siempre ___ antes de ___I always ___ before ___
  • Depende del díaIt depends on the day

Scene — morning routines

The stairwell of the apartment building, early in the morning. Amanda is heading out to work, and Justin is carrying his notebook downstairs.

She pauses on the landing to ask about his routine. Yako listens from two chairs near the café door below.

Amanda pauses on an apartment stair landing while Justin carries a notebook downstairs, and Yako listens near the café door below.

Learn — usual activities

These chunks help you describe routines without translating word by word.

Notice how the activity goes after the routine expression, and how before introduces another action.

  1. Justin is the speaker, calmly describing his usual routine while Amanda listens on the landing.

    Normalmente ___

    I usually ___

    When to use it: Use this before an activity you usually do.

    Learn normalmente as one piece, then add the activity.

    Say it: nor-mahl-MEN-teh

  2. Justin is the speaker, emphasizing that his routine happens every day with a repeated, rhythmic hand gesture.

    ___ todos los días

    I ___ every day

    When to use it: Use this after an activity you do every day.

    Todos los días means every day and usually follows the activity.

    Say it: TOH-dohs lohs DEE-ahs

  3. Justin is the speaker, shrugging thoughtfully to express that the action happens only sometimes.

    A veces ___

    Sometimes I ___

    When to use it: Use this before an activity that happens sometimes.

    A veces means sometimes; it describes an occasional routine.

    Say it: ah VEH-sehs

  4. Justin is the speaker, relaxing and gesturing toward a weekend-like outing while Amanda listens.

    Los fines de semana, normalmente ___

    On weekends I usually ___

    When to use it: Use this to describe your usual weekend activity.

    Los fines de semana means on weekends, not during one weekend.

    Say it: LOHS fee-nes deh seh-MAH-nah

  5. Justin is the speaker, demonstrating a clear before-and-after sequence with two contrasting gestures.

    Siempre ___ antes de ___

    I always ___ before ___

    When to use it: Use this to put one regular activity before another.

    Antes de means before; add an activity after each blank.

    Say it: SYEM-preh AHN-tehs deh

  6. Justin is the speaker, spreading his hands toward two different directions to show that his routine depends on the day.

    Depende del día

    It depends on the day

    When to use it: Say this when your routine changes from day to day.

    Depende del día literally points to the particular day.

    Say it: deh-PEN-deh del DEE-ah

Story — in the stairwell

Watch Amanda ask about Justin's mornings and weekends. The highlighted chunks show how he describes his routine.

The conversation is in the stairwell, so Yako hears just enough to join in. Turn on Show English if needed.

  1. Amanda is leaving for work when she meets Justin on the landing.
  2. AmandaBuenos días, Justin. ¿Cómo estás?Good morning, Justin. How are you?
  3. JustinBien, gracias. Normalmente estudio por la mañana.I'm good, thanks. I usually study in the morning.
  4. Amanda¿Y qué haces todos los días?And what do you do every day?
  5. JustinSiempre leo antes de desayunar. Leo todos los días.I always read before breakfast. I read every day.
  6. Amanda¿Y los fines de semana?And on weekends?
  7. JustinLos fines de semana, normalmente descanso.On weekends I usually rest.
  8. Amanda¿Siempre descansas?Do you always rest?
  9. JustinA veces cocino. Depende del día.Sometimes I cook. It depends on the day.
  10. Yako leans over his two chairs and raises one hoof.
  11. YakoDepende del día, hasta para el desayuno.It depends on the day, even for breakfast.

Practice — everyday patterns

You'll listen, match, choose replies, fill gaps, and put a short conversation in order.

Read the English carefully, because similar routine phrases do different jobs.

0 of 10 done

  1. What did you hear?

  2. Match the pairs

    Spanish

    Normalmente ___Drop the English here
    ¿Cómo estás?Drop the English here
    Los fines de semana, normalmente ___Drop the English here

    English

    Drag an English line onto its Spanish, or tap one and then the other.

  3. What does it mean?

    Buenos días.

  4. What do you say?

    Amanda asks about your weekends specifically. You usually rest, and you want to name weekends before the activity.

  5. What do you say?

    Amanda asks what you do every day. You read every day before breakfast.

  6. Fill the gap

    Sometimes I ___

    A ____ ___

  7. Put the chat in order

    1. AmandaWhat comes first?
    2. Justin…
    3. Amanda…
    4. Justin…
    5. Amanda…

    Tap the line that comes next, or drag it into the chat.

  8. Build the line

    It depends on the day

    Tap the words in order.

  9. Fill the gap

    I always ___ before ___

    Siempre ___ ____ de ___

  10. Pick the reply

    Amanda says:

    ¿Siempre descansas?

    Do you always rest?

    And you reply with:

Say it — talk about your routine

Now you're Justin in the stairwell, answering Amanda about your routine.

Tap ▶ to hear the model line, then tap the microphone when it is your turn. Your recording stays on your device.

  1. AmandaBuenos días. ¿Cómo estás?Good morning. How are you?
  2. Justin (you)Say that you're good and thank her.

    Bien, gracias.

    I'm good, thanks

0 of 6 said

Recap — what you can say now

SpanishEnglish
Normalmente ___I usually ___
___ todos los díasI ___ every day
A veces ___Sometimes I ___
Los fines de semana, normalmente ___On weekends I usually ___
Siempre ___ antes de ___I always ___ before ___
Depende del díaIt depends on the day
Next: lesson 79Is that part of your routine

Save your progress — it’s free

Keep your place in the course and see which lines you’ve learned.

Want the next lesson in your inbox?

Get the next lesson by email, one a day.

Where should we start?
Join the newsletter

Daily lesson emails are coming soon. Newsletter subscribers get them first.

Keep practicing with Yak Cards

Want to keep these routine chunks handy? Grab the Yak Cards for this lesson and review them anywhere.

Review the routine chunks with the Yak Cards, especially todos los días and depende del día.

Open Yak Cards