📚 Both Levels: All vocabulary on this page is useful for CE preparation. Level 1 students should focus on the most common/essential words first. Level 2 students need to know all vocabulary shown.
Note: Level 2 Reflexive verbs (se lever, se coucher, etc.) are particularly important for Level 2.
📋 Sentence Builder
Click to open the Sentence Builder for this topic:
Time Expressions
| French | English |
|---|---|
| le matin | morning |
| l'après-midi | afternoon |
| le soir | evening |
| la nuit | night |
| la journée | day |
| le week-end | weekend |
| la semaine | week |
| d'habitude | usually |
| souvent | often |
| toujours | always |
| vers | around (time) |
Meals
| French | English |
|---|---|
| le petit déjeuner | breakfast |
| le goûter | snack |
| le dîner | dinner |
| les céréales | cereals |
| le chocolat chaud | hot chocolate |
| la confiture | jam |
| le croissant | croissant |
| le pain au chocolat | pain au chocolat |
| le lait | milk |
| le gâteau | cake |
| la tartine | slice of bread |
Reflexive Verbs for Daily Routine
| French | English |
|---|---|
| se lever | to get up |
| se réveiller | to wake up |
| se laver | to wash (oneself) |
| se brosser les dents | to brush your teeth |
| se coucher | to go to bed |
| prendre un bain | to take a bath |
| prendre une douche | to take a shower |
Daily Activities
| French | English |
|---|---|
| mettre | to put (on) |
| prendre | to take / to have |
| quitter | to leave |
| arriver | to arrive |
| rentrer | to go home |
| laisser | to leave (something) |
| ranger | to tidy |
| dormir | to sleep |
| mettre la table | to set the table |
| faire la vaisselle | to do the dishes |
| faire le lit | to make the bed |
| faire le ménage | to do housework |
| nettoyer | to clean |
| passer l'aspirateur | to hoover/vacuum |
| faire les courses | to do the shopping |
Telling the Time
| French | English |
|---|---|
| quelle heure est-il? | what time is it? |
| à quelle heure? | at what time? |
| une heure | one o'clock |
| deux heures | two o'clock |
| trois heures et quart | quarter past three |
| quatre heures et demie | half past four |
| cinq heures moins le quart | quarter to five |
| midi | noon/midday |
| minuit | midnight |
Example Sentences
Le matin je prends souvent une douche.
= I often take a shower in the morning.
Pour le petit déjeuner je prends des céréales et du chocolat chaud.
= For breakfast I have cereal and hot chocolate.
Je quitte la maison à huit heures et je rentre vers quatre heures et quart.
= I leave the house at 8 o'clock and I return home at quarter past 4.
Le soir je me brosse les dents, je range ma chambre et je me couche.
= In the evening I brush my teeth, tidy my room and go to bed.
Sentence Builder: Daily Routine
| Time | Activity | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Le matin L'après-midi Le soir D'habitude Toujours |
je me lève je me lave je prends je quitte je rentre je me couche |
à sept heures une douche le petit déjeuner la maison vers quatre heures |
🎯 Random Sentence Practice
Translate the sentence before time runs out! Write your answer on paper.
Practice Activities
📝 Exercise 1: My Daily Routine Paragraph (15 mins)
Elaboration Practice:
- Write a paragraph describing your typical school day in French
- Include: wake up time, breakfast, leaving home, school activities, returning home, evening routine, bedtime
- Use at least 5 time expressions (le matin, vers huit heures, etc.)
- Use at least 3 reflexive verbs (je me lève, je me lave, je me couche)
- Read it aloud - does it sound natural?
🕐 Exercise 2: Time Telling Challenge (10 mins)
Active Recall:
- Draw 6 clock faces showing: 3:00, 7:15, 9:30, 11:45, 12:00, 4:20
- Write the time in French under each one
- Cover them and write from memory: "At what time do you wake up? eat breakfast? leave home?"
- Answer in complete sentences: "Je me réveille à..."
🃏 Exercise 3: Reflexive Verb Conjugation Cards (15 mins)
Retrieval Practice:
- Create flashcards for reflexive verbs: se lever, se laver, se coucher, se brosser les dents
- Front: infinitive + English. Back: full conjugation (je me lève, tu te lèves, il/elle se lève...)
- Test yourself: can you write all forms without looking?
- Mix them up with regular verbs you know - don't just practice one type!
✍️ Exercise 4: Translation Race (10 mins)
Speed Retrieval: Translate these as fast as you can, then check:
- "I wake up at 7 o'clock"
- "She takes a shower in the morning"
- "We usually have breakfast at half past seven"
- "I leave the house at quarter to nine"
- "They go to bed at 10 o'clock in the evening"
🎨 Exercise 5: Comic Strip Timeline (20 mins)
Dual Coding:
- Draw a 6-panel comic strip of your daily routine
- Each panel = one activity (waking up, breakfast, school, homework, dinner, bed)
- Add French captions with times: "À sept heures, je me réveille"
- Use thought bubbles for opinions: "J'adore le petit déjeuner!"
- Test: can someone else understand your day just from the pictures and French?
🔄 Exercise 6: Interleaving Practice (15 mins)
Mix It Up:
- Don't just practice daily routine! Mix in other topics you've learned
- Write 3 sentences about your routine, 2 about food, 2 about school
- Example: "Le matin je prends des céréales. J'aime le français mais je n'aime pas les maths. Je me couche à dix heures."
- This stops your brain getting too comfortable with one pattern!