Minha rotina
Chapter Overview
Describing a typical day is one of the most useful things you can do in a new language — it lets you talk about work, school, and everyday habits with people you meet. This chapter continues Unit II by teaching you to describe your daily routine using regular -er and -ir verbs in the present tense, a small set of formulaic reflexive routine expressions, the inclusive pronoun a gente, and frequency words such as sempre, nunca, and às vezes. You will also expand your control of two essential irregular verbs, fazer and ir, which recur throughout everyday Portuguese.
Chapter Objectives
By the end of this chapter, you will be able to:
- Conjugate regular -er and -ir verbs in the present tense for everyday actions.
- Use fazer and ir to describe common daily activities.
- Use a small set of formulaic reflexive expressions to describe personal routines.
- Use a gente alongside nós to talk about shared routines.
- Describe how often you do something using sempre, nunca, and às vezes.
- Ask and answer simple questions about someone else's daily routine.
Communication Scenario
After the café meetup, two members of the conversation group decide to keep practicing by text every morning, describing what their day usually looks like. To keep the exchange going, each member needs to describe a typical day: what they do, when they do it, and how often.
- This chapter activates regular -er and -ir verbs, formulaic reflexive routine expressions, a gente, frequency words, and the verbs fazer and ir.
- You may invent your own routine if you prefer not to describe your real schedule.
- Chapters 1–6 systems (greetings, ser, ter, days and times, regular -ar verbs, gostar de, querer) continue to recycle throughout this chapter.
Core Vocabulary
The following words and expressions describe common daily actions and how often they happen. Reflexive verbs are presented here as formulaic whole expressions; their full grammar is not activated until a later volume.
| Portuguese | English |
|---|---|
| acordar | to wake up |
| levantar | to get up |
| trabalhar | to work |
| estudar | to study |
| comer | to eat |
| beber | to drink |
| aprender | to learn |
| assistir (a) | to watch |
| dormir | to sleep |
| sair | to go out |
| fazer | to do / to make |
| ir | to go |
| Portuguese | English |
|---|---|
| eu me acordo | I wake up |
| eu me levanto | I get up |
| eu me deito | I go to bed / I lie down |
These three reflexive forms are taught as fixed, memorized routine expressions this chapter. The general reflexive system is not activated until later chapters; do not extend me productively to other verbs yet.
| Portuguese | English |
|---|---|
| sempre | always |
| nunca | never |
| às vezes | sometimes |
| todo dia | every day |
| de manhã | in the morning |
| à tarde | in the afternoon |
| à noite | at night |
de manhã, à tarde, and à noite recycle time expressions first introduced in Chapter 4; the contraction à is receptive as a fixed form this chapter.
Pronunciation Focus
Regular -er verbs shift vowel quality between forms: notice the more open vowel in come compared with the closed vowel in comem. Practice these pairs aloud: come / comem, bebe / bebem, dorme / dormem. This production model reflects contemporary Brazilian Portuguese.
Grammar and Sentence Patterns
Regular -er and -ir verbs in the present tense
Regular -er and -ir verbs let you describe everyday actions such as eating, learning, and sleeping, expanding the -ar pattern from Chapter 6.
- Ele aprende português todo dia. He learns Portuguese every day. aprender → aprende
- Nós assistimos à televisão à noite. We watch television at night. assistir → assistimos
- Eles dormem cedo. They sleep early. dormir → dormem
Fazer and ir
Fazer and ir are two of the most frequent verbs in everyday Portuguese and appear constantly in routine descriptions.
- Você vai para o trabalho de manhã? Do you go to work in the morning?
- A gente vai para a escola juntos. We go to school together.
Formulaic reflexive routines
A small number of daily routine expressions use a reflexive pronoun in Portuguese, even though English does not mark them this way. These three forms are learned whole this chapter.
- Eu me acordo às seis horas. I wake up at six o'clock.
- Eu me levanto cedo. I get up early.
- Eu me deito às dez horas. I go to bed at ten o'clock.
Other persons of these reflexive verbs, and the reflexive system in general, remain receptive until a later chapter activates them.
A gente for shared routines
A gente is an everyday, informal alternative to nós that is extremely common in spoken Brazilian Portuguese.
- A gente estuda português duas vezes por semana. We study Portuguese twice a week. a gente + third-person singular verb form
A gente takes a third-person singular verb form even though it means "we." Nós remains fully productive alongside it; both are correct in everyday Brazilian speech.
Sempre, nunca, and às vezes typically appear before the verb: Eu sempre como às sete horas. / Eu nunca como carne. / Às vezes eu estudo à noite. This pattern is fully productive from this chapter forward.
Model Dialogue: A rotina da Camila
Context: Two friends from the conversation group text each other about their daily routines. Informal, everyday register.
This dialogue combines regular -er/-ir verbs, formulaic reflexives, fazer, frequency words, and a gente (Ch. 7) with question words and time expressions recycled from Chapters 2 and 4.
Guided Practice
- Complete each sentence with the correct form of comer, assistir, or dormir: Eu ______ às sete horas. / Nós ______ à televisão à noite. / Eles ______ cedo.
- Complete each sentence with the correct form of fazer or ir: Você ______ exercício de manhã? / A gente ______ para a escola juntos.
- Rewrite each sentence adding the frequency word in parentheses in the correct position: Eu como às sete horas. (sempre) / Eu como carne. (nunca)
Listening Practice
If no audio recording is available, ask a partner, instructor, or text-to-speech tool to read the script below aloud, or read it aloud to yourself slowly.
- What time does Camila wake up?
- List two things Camila does in the afternoon.
- Does Camila ever work at night?
Speaking Practice
Prática controlada — Controlled practice: three sentences
Say each sentence aloud about yourself, in order: Eu me acordo às ______. (a time); Eu sempre ______. (an action); Eu nunca ______. (an action)
Tarefa comunicativa — Communicative task: routine interview
With a partner, take turns asking and answering Qual é a sua rotina? Use at least two regular -er/-ir verbs, one frequency word, and one formulaic reflexive expression.
Prática individual — Solo alternative
Record yourself describing your morning, afternoon, and night routine in three short sentences, using at least one frequency word in each sentence.
Reading Practice
A rotina do Pedro — Pedro's routine
Pedro se acorda às sete horas, todo dia. De manhã, ele estuda. À tarde, ele trabalha e faz exercício. À noite, ele sempre come com a família e às vezes assiste a um filme. Ele nunca dorme tarde.
Tarefa de leitura — Reading task:
- What time does Pedro wake up?
- Name two things Pedro does in the afternoon.
- What does Pedro always do at night?
Writing Workshop
Complete the following linked writing tasks in order to build a short daily-routine message for your morning text exchange with the conversation group.
Tarefa 1 — Waking and sleeping: Write one sentence using eu me acordo and one sentence using eu me deito, each with a time.
Tarefa 2 — Actions: Write two sentences describing things you do during the day, using regular -er/-ir verbs, fazer, or ir.
Tarefa 3 — Frequency: Write one sentence with sempre and one sentence with nunca, describing your own habits.
Tarefa 4 — Full note: Combine Tarefas 1–3 into one short note of four to five sentences for the group chat.
- Draft each section separately. Write the routine, actions, and frequency sentences one at a time before combining them.
- Combine the sections into one note. Add a greeting at the start, recycled from Chapter 1.
- Check every verb form. Confirm that -er/-ir verbs, fazer, and ir are conjugated correctly for the subject.
- Check frequency word placement. Confirm that sempre, nunca, and às vezes appear in a natural position.
- Check diacritics. Confirm that accented forms such as às and também are written correctly.
Lista de revisão — Editing checklist:
- The note includes a greeting, a waking/sleeping time, at least two daily actions, and one frequency word for each of sempre and nunca.
- Regular -er/-ir verbs, fazer, and ir are conjugated correctly for their subjects.
- Formulaic reflexive expressions are used only in the eu form taught this chapter.
- All diacritics, including às and também, are preserved.
- At least one frequency word is used correctly.
Culture and Communication
Work and study schedules vary widely across Brazil depending on region, profession, and household. Some people work a single continuous shift, while others take a longer midday break and return to work in the afternoon. This pattern is common but not universal; do not assume a single national schedule.
A gente is extremely common in everyday spoken Brazilian Portuguese across regions, though nós remains fully correct and more common in formal writing. Both forms are productive in this course; a gente is not a mistake for nós.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Error: Saying eu come or eu assista, borrowing endings from a different verb group.
Correction: Match the ending to the verb group: eu como (comer), eu assisto (assistir).
Error: Saying a gente estudamos, using the nós ending with a gente.
Correction: a gente takes a third-person singular verb: a gente estuda.
Error: Saying eu como sempre às sete horas, copying English word order too closely.
Correction: Frequency words typically come before the verb: eu sempre como às sete horas.
Chapter Summary
O que você aprendeu — What you learned
This chapter activated regular -er and -ir present-tense verbs, the irregular verbs fazer and ir, three formulaic reflexive routine expressions, a gente for shared routines, and frequency words including sempre, nunca, and às vezes, along with daily-routine vocabulary.
Chapter Review
Parte A — Compreensão (Comprehension)
1. Return to the Model Dialogue, and answer these short questions.
- What time does Camila wake up, and what time does she get up?
- Why does Camila say she does not watch much television at night?
Parte B — Escrita (Writing)
1. Write one sentence with a formulaic reflexive expression and one sentence with fazer.
2. Conjugate assistir for eu and for nós.
Parte C — Leitura (Reading)
1. Return to the A rotina do Pedro passage in Reading Practice, and identify one activity from each part of the day.
Parte D — Fala (Speaking)
1. Ask a partner Qual é a sua rotina? and respond using at least one frequency word.
Practical Performance Task
Chapter 7 Practical Check
Minha rotina: Describing a Typical Day
Complete the following connected tasks, in order, as one integrated performance.
- Read the A rotina do Pedro passage. Answer the comprehension questions above before continuing.
- State your waking and sleeping times. Use the formulaic reflexive expressions eu me acordo and eu me deito.
- Describe three daily actions. Use regular -er/-ir verbs, fazer, or ir.
- Add frequency. Include at least one sentence each with sempre and nunca.
- Write your routine note. Apply the editing checklist from the Writing Workshop.
| Criterion | What is assessed |
|---|---|
| Verb agreement | The learner conjugates regular -er/-ir verbs, fazer, and ir correctly for the subject used. |
| Formulaic reflexives | The learner uses eu me acordo and eu me deito accurately as fixed expressions. |
| Frequency | The learner uses sempre, nunca, or às vezes correctly and in a natural position. |
| Vocabulary use | The learner names at least three daily actions with accurate vocabulary. |
| Diacritics and spelling | The learner preserves diacritics, including às and também, throughout. |
This checkpoint uses only material activated in Chapter 7 together with recycled Chapters 1–6 systems.
Answer Key
Guided Practice
- como / assistimos / dormem
- faz / vai
- Eu sempre como às sete horas. / Eu nunca como carne.
Model Dialogue — Comprehension
- Camila wakes up at six o'clock (seis horas) and gets up at six thirty (seis e meia).
- Camila does not watch much television at night because she goes to bed early.
Writing
- Sample: Eu me acordo às sete horas. / Eu faço exercício à tarde. (other accurate sentences following the same patterns are also correct)
- eu assisto / nós assistimos
Reading
- Sample: Pedro wakes up at seven o'clock; in the afternoon he works and exercises; at night he always eats with his family.
Looking Ahead
O que você já sabe fazer — What you can do now
You can describe your daily routine, say how often you do things, and talk about shared routines with a gente — combining these new patterns with food preferences, identity, and greetings from earlier chapters.