Italian 103 · Lesson 26
Talking About Your Routine
Add frequency and time to the daily actions you know.
Begin ↓01 / 08
What usually happens
Di solito mi sveglio alle sette.
I usually wake up at seven.
Di solito frames a normal routine without claiming it happens every single time.
02 / 08
Always and often
Faccio sempre colazione.
I always have breakfast.
Vado spesso in centro.
I often go into town.
Sempre means always; spesso means often. They commonly follow the verb in simple sentences.
03 / 08
Sometimes
A volte lavoro da casa.
Sometimes I work from home.
A volte is useful at the beginning of a sentence or after the verb. It leaves room for variation.
04 / 08
Never
Non mangio mai al lavoro.
I never eat at work.
Non mi alzo mai tardi.
I never get up late.
In a normal statement, put non before the verb and mai after it. English only needs one negative word; Italian uses this pair.
05 / 08
Match the person
Ci svegliamo presto e facciamo colazione.
We wake up early and have breakfast.
Routine verbs still need their subject pattern: mi sveglio for I, ci svegliamo for we.
06 / 08
Contrast two days
Nei giorni feriali lavoro. Nel fine settimana mi rilasso.
On weekdays I work. At the weekend I relax.
Nei giorni feriali means on weekdays. Nel fine settimana introduces the weekend.
07 / 08
A natural follow-up
Di solito vado al lavoro in metro. E tu?
I usually go to work by metro. And you?
Io vado a piedi.
I walk.
Asking e tu keeps the exchange going without repeating the whole question.
Remember this
Takeaway
La sera cucino spesso. Dopo cena mi rilasso e a volte leggo.
In the evening I often cook. After dinner I relax and sometimes read.
Combine a time, an action and a frequency word. Describe a real routine rather than translating each English word separately.