Today you'll learn the days of the week and how to talk about your weekly schedule. You'll also learn regular -er and -ir verb conjugations, which follow a very similar pattern to -ar verbs. By the end of this lesson, you'll be able to say what you do on each day of the week!
Learning tips
- The days of the week in Spanish are NOT capitalized — 'lunes', not 'Lunes'.
- Use 'el lunes' for 'on Monday' (specific) and 'los lunes' for 'on Mondays' (habitual).
- Regular -er and -ir verbs share most of the same endings — the only difference is in the nosotros form.
- Try memorizing the days by singing them — many Spanish learners use a simple tune.
Warm-up & Active Recall
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| la hora | the hour/time |
| ¿qué hora es? | what time is it? |
| la una | one o'clock |
| las dos | two o'clock |
| media | half (past) |
| cuarto | quarter (past) |
| de la mañana | in the morning (AM) |
| de la tarde | in the afternoon (PM) |
| de la noche | in the evening/at night (PM) |
| a las | at (a time) |
Dialog
Andrés and Valentina compare their weekly routines. Notice how days of the week are used with articles: 'el lunes' (on Monday, specific) vs. 'los lunes' (on Mondays, habitual). Days are not capitalized in Spanish. The word 'mañana' has two meanings depending on context: 'tomorrow' (adverb) and 'morning' (noun, la mañana).
Vocabulary
Active words
| Word | IPA | Translation | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| lunes | /ˈlu.nes/ | Monday | From Latin 'lunae dies' (day of the Moon) |
| martes | /ˈmaɾ.tes/ | Tuesday | Named after Mars (Marte) |
| miércoles | /ˈmjeɾ.ko.les/ | Wednesday | Named after Mercury (Mercurio) — note the accent: miÉRcoles |
| jueves | /ˈxwe.βes/ | Thursday | Named after Jupiter (Júpiter) |
| viernes | /ˈbjeɾ.nes/ | Friday | Named after Venus (Venus) |
| sábado | /ˈsa.βa.ðo/ | Saturday | Named after Saturn (Saturno) — note the accent: SÁbado |
| domingo | /doˈmiŋ.ɡo/ | Sunday | From Latin 'dominicus' (of the Lord) |
| la semana | /la seˈma.na/ | the week | 'La semana' — feminine noun |
| hoy | /ˈoj/ | today | Very common word — 'Hoy es lunes' (Today is Monday) |
| mañana | /maˈɲa.na/ | tomorrow | Also means 'morning' as a noun (la mañana) — context makes it clear |
Passive words
| Word | IPA | Translation | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| ayer | /aˈʝeɾ/ | yesterday | Used with past tense, which you'll learn later |
| el fin de semana | /el ˈfin de seˈma.na/ | the weekend | Literally 'the end of week' |
| el día | /el ˈdi.a/ | the day | Masculine despite ending in -a: 'el día' |
| cada día | /ˈka.ða ˈdi.a/ | every day | Synonym of 'todos los días' |
| entre semana | /ˈen.tɾe seˈma.na/ | during the week, on weekdays | Monday through Friday |
| pasado mañana | /paˈsa.ðo maˈɲa.na/ | the day after tomorrow | Literally 'passed tomorrow' |
Useful chunks
| Word | Translation |
|---|---|
| los lunes | on Mondays |
| el fin de semana | the weekend |
Grammar: Present tense of regular -er and -ir verbs; days of the week with articles
| Pronoun | comer (-er) | vivir (-ir) |
|---|---|---|
| yo | como | vivo |
| tú | comes | vives |
| él/ella/usted | come | vive |
| nosotros/as | comemos | vivimos |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | comen | viven |
| Usage | Example |
|---|---|
| Specific day | el lunes (on Monday) |
| Habitual | los lunes (on Mondays) |
| Today | Hoy es lunes (Today is Monday) |
Regular -er verbs (like 'comer', to eat) and -ir verbs (like 'vivir', to live) follow a very similar pattern to -ar verbs.
-er verbs (comer): como, comes, come, comemos, comen
-ir verbs (vivir): vivo, vives, vive, vivimos, viven
Notice that the endings are almost identical! The only difference is in the 'nosotros' form: -emos (er) vs. -imos (ir). For yo, tú, él/ella, and ellos, the endings are the same: -o, -es, -e, -en.
Days of the week with articles:
- 'Hoy es lunes' — no article when stating what day it is
- 'El lunes tengo clase' — 'el' for a specific Monday (on Monday)
- 'Los lunes trabajo' — 'los' for habitual Mondays (on Mondays, every Monday)
Note: 'el día' is masculine even though it ends in -a. This is one of the few exceptions in Spanish.
Exercises
Fill in the Blanks
Complete each sentence with the missing word.
- Hoy es . Mañana es martes.(the day before Tuesday)
- Yo en Bogotá. (vivir)(yo form of vivir)
- lunes trabajo y los viernes estudio.(article for habitual 'on Mondays')
- Ella a las doce. (comer)(ella form of comer)
- El y el domingo son el fin de semana.(the day before Sunday)
Grammar Application
Conjugate the verb for the given pronoun.
- yo + comer → (remove -er, add -o)
- tú + vivir → (remove -ir, add -es)
- nosotros + comer → (remove -er, add -emos)
- ellos + vivir → (remove -ir, add -en)
- ella + comer → (remove -er, add -e)
Translation (English → Spanish)
Translate each sentence into Spanish.
- Today is Wednesday.
- I eat at twelve on Fridays.
- We live in Bogotá.
- On Saturdays I rest.
- What do you do on Mondays?
Creative Construction
Describe your weekly schedule using days of the week and verbs from this unit. Include at least 3 different days.
Takeaway
Regular -er and -ir verbs use similar endings: -o, -es, -e, -emos/-imos, -en. Days of the week are not capitalized and use 'el' (specific) or 'los' (habitual) before them.