Lesson 32: Talking About What You Do Every Day
In this lesson, you’ll use the present tense to talk about simple daily activities. You’ll practice common verbs and build short sentences about what you do during the day.
What you’ll learn
- how to talk about everyday actions
- how to use present tense verbs in simple sentences
- how to add time phrases like am Morgen and am Abend
- how to describe a basic daily routine
Everyday verbs for daily life
Here are some useful verbs you can use to talk about your day:
| Infinitive | ich form | English |
|---|---|---|
| lernen | ich lerne | I learn / study |
| arbeiten | ich arbeite | I work |
| kochen | ich koche | I cook |
| spielen | ich spiele | I play |
| hören | ich höre | I listen |
| lesen | ich lese | I read |
| schlafen | ich schlafe | I sleep |
| frühstücken | ich frühstücke | I eat breakfast |
These are mostly regular verbs. That means they follow the pattern you already learned.
For ich, many regular verbs end in -e:
lernen → ich lerne
kochen → ich koche
spielen → ich spiele
Daily routine phrases
Here are some short sentences about everyday life:
Ich lerne Deutsch. = I study German.
Ich arbeite am Montag. = I work on Monday.
Ich koche am Abend. = I cook in the evening.
Ich höre Musik. = I listen to music.
Ich lese ein Buch. = I read a book.
Ich schlafe am Abend. = I sleep in the evening.
Ich frühstücke am Morgen. = I eat breakfast in the morning.
Adding time phrases
You can add simple time phrases to say when something happens.
am Morgen = in the morning
am Nachmittag = in the afternoon
am Abend = in the evening
jeden Tag = every day
am Montag = on Monday
am Wochenende = on the weekend
Examples:
Ich lerne am Abend. = I study in the evening.
Ich arbeite am Montag. = I work on Monday.
Ich koche am Wochenende. = I cook on the weekend.
Ich höre jeden Tag Musik. = I listen to music every day.
A small grammar point
In a simple German sentence, the verb usually comes in the second position.
That means the verb comes early.
Examples:
Ich lerne Deutsch.
Ich koche am Abend.
Ich lese ein Buch.
In these sentences, ich comes first and the verb comes second.
You can think of the pattern like this:
Ich + verb + more information
Examples:
Ich lerne Deutsch.
Ich arbeite jeden Tag.
Ich höre Musik.
A very simple daily routine
Here is a short routine using sentences you can understand:
Am Morgen frühstücke ich.
In the morning, I eat breakfast.
Am Nachmittag arbeite ich.
In the afternoon, I work.
Am Abend lerne ich Deutsch.
In the evening, I study German.
Am Abend lese ich ein Buch.
In the evening, I read a book.
This version starts with the time phrase. That is common in German, but for now, you can also keep it simpler:
Ich frühstücke am Morgen.
Ich arbeite am Nachmittag.
Ich lerne Deutsch am Abend.
Both styles are useful, but the easiest beginner pattern is:
Ich + verb + time phrase
