Basic routines and family | Learn Spanish in English

Spanish lesson set in a contemporary Madrid everyday setting: A beginner practices six useful English phrases about basic routines and family..

EN → ES / Level: A1

About This Lesson

Use Basic routines and family to practice Spanish conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.

Dialogue

A

Me voy a la cama.

meh VOY ah lah KAH-mah. I am going to bed.
B

Me despierto temprano.

meh dehs-PYEHR-toh tehm-PRAH-noh. I wake up early.
A

Voy al trabajo.

BOY ahl trah-BAH-hoh. I go to work.
B

Voy a la escuela.

BOY ah lah ehs-KWEH-lah. I go to school.
A

Estoy con mi familia.

ehs-TOY kohn mee fah-MEE-lyah. I am with my family.
B

Este es mi amigo.

EHS-teh ehs mee ah-MEE-goh. This is my friend.

Word by Word

Me Me is the pronoun referring to the speaker in the expressions Me voy a la cama and Me despierto temprano. It appears with these verb forms when the speaker leaves for bed or wakes up. A reusable pattern is Me + verb for an action involving the speaker.
voy Voy means “I go” or “I leave” here, as in Me voy a la cama. It is the form used for the speaker’s movement toward a destination. You can reuse Voy + destination, as in Voy al trabajo and Voy a la escuela.
a A marks the destination in a la cama and a la escuela, meaning “to.” It comes before a destination phrase. Use a + article + place, such as a la escuela.
la La means “the” before cama and escuela in the dialogue. It is used with these feminine singular nouns in a la cama and a la escuela. A reusable pattern is la + noun when referring to a specific feminine singular place or thing.
cama Cama means “bed” here and names the destination in a la cama. The complete phrase Me voy a la cama means that the speaker is going to bed. You can use cama after a destination phrase when talking about a bed.
despierto Despierto means “wake up” in Me despierto temprano. With Me, this exact verb form describes the speaker waking up. A reusable pattern is Me despierto + time expression, as in Me despierto temprano.
temprano Temprano means “early” and tells when the speaker wakes up in Me despierto temprano. It is placed after the action here. Use it with a routine or time-related action when it happens early.
al Al means “to the” in Voy al trabajo. It is the combined form of a and el used before trabajo. Use Voy al + destination when saying that you go to a place or activity named with this form.
trabajo Trabajo means “work” here and names the destination in Voy al trabajo. The complete phrase means “I go to work.” It can follow Voy al when work is the destination.
escuela Escuela means “school” and names the destination in Voy a la escuela. The complete phrase means “I go to school.” Use it after a destination phrase when talking about going to school.
Estoy Estoy means “I am” here and describes the speaker’s state or situation in Estoy con mi familia. It is used to say where or with whom the speaker is. A reusable pattern is Estoy + con + person or group.
con Con means “with” in Estoy con mi familia. It connects the speaker with the person or group accompanying them. Use con before a person or group to express being together with them.
mi Mi means “my” in mi familia and mi amigo. It comes directly before the noun and shows that the family or friend belongs to or is connected with the speaker. A reusable pattern is mi + noun.
familia Familia means “family” in Estoy con mi familia. It identifies the group the speaker is with. Use it after mi when referring to the speaker’s family, as in mi familia.
Este Este means “this” in Este es mi amigo and refers to a masculine singular person being identified. It appears at the beginning of the introduction. A reusable pattern is Este es + person or thing when pointing out or introducing one masculine singular item.
es Es means “is” in Este es mi amigo. It links Este with the person being identified. Use es in the pattern Este es + noun or person when introducing or identifying someone or something.
amigo Amigo means “friend” here and identifies the person in Este es mi amigo. The form is masculine singular in this dialogue. Use it after mi when saying that someone is the speaker’s friend, as in mi amigo.

Grammar Points

me + verbo

Me despierto temprano.

meh dehs-PYEHR-toh tehm-PRAH-noh.

I wake up early.

Spanish uses me with certain verbs to show the action affects the speaker; the pronoun comes before the conjugated verb.

Spanish Vocabulary

amigo noun
ah-MEE-goh friend

Este es mi amigo.

cama noun
KAH-mah bed

Me voy a la cama.

escuela noun
ehs-KWEH-lah school

Voy a la escuela.

este pron
EHS-teh this

Este es mi amigo.

estoy verb
ehs-TOY I am

Estoy con mi familia.

familia noun
fah-MEE-lyah family

Estoy con mi familia.

me despierto verb
meh dehs-PYEHR-toh I wake up

Me despierto temprano.

me voy a la cama phrase
meh VOY ah lah KAH-mah I am going to bed

Me voy a la cama.

mi det
mee my

Este es mi amigo.

temprano adv
tehm-PRAH-noh early

Me despierto temprano.

trabajo noun
trah-BAH-hoh work

Voy al trabajo.

voy verb
BOY I go

Voy al trabajo.

Quiz

Word Order

Arrange the words in the correct order.

I am going to bed.

Show AnswerMe voy a la cama.

I wake up early.

Show AnswerMe despierto temprano.

I go to work.

Show AnswerVoy al trabajo.

Spelling

Tap the letters to spell the word.

bed

Show Answercama

school

Show Answerescuela

work

Show Answertrabajo

I am

Show Answerestoy