Talking about routines — Foreign languages, 7–10 years
Learn how a new language talks about things that happen regularly, such as school, meals and play.
A language can show a habit
When you talk about something you do regularly, the language gives clues that it is a routine, not a single event. English uses forms such as I walk and she walks, often with words like every day. Other languages may change the verb in different ways.
Why change the verb?
A listener needs to know who is doing an action and whether it is happening now, often or only once. Verb forms help carry that information, so you do not have to explain it with a long extra sentence. The system is not decoration: it prevents confusion about the action and the person.
Describing a morning
Start with the subject I and the English verb play: I play. Now describe Mia, so choose she: she plays. Add a routine word: Mia plays every morning. The final sentence tells us who acts, what she does and that it happens regularly.
The tiny ending
Learners often forget the s in English she plays and say she play. This is reasonable because the ending is small and the meaning still seems obvious. In another language, the change may be larger or may not appear at all, so notice the pattern of the language you are learning.
Where it helps
You use routine language to tell someone when you wake up, what you eat, how you travel or what you practise. It helps in a timetable, a message to a new friend and a conversation about daily life. It is most useful for repeated actions, not for every event in the past or future.
Keep exploring
Other languages
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