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Ooh,dailyroutines.Vocabulary.
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Summary
An IELTS Speaking lesson teaching vocabulary for describing daily routines, covering adverbs of frequency, their grammar rules, and four idioms related to habits and routine.
Key vocabulary
adverb of frequencyhabitroutineinvariablyrutclockworkpredictablyadverbial phrasefixed expressionseldom
Grammar notes
Position of one-word adverbs of frequency — Single-word adverbs (e.g. often, usually, rarely) go between the subject and the verb, not at the end. > "I often get up early." (NOT "I get up early often.")
Position of multi-word adverbs of frequency — Phrases of more than one word (e.g. from time to time, without fail) go at the beginning or end of the clause, not in the middle. > "From time to time, I get up at 9 a.m." / "I go to work every Monday without fail."
'Will' for present habits — Will can express a repeated present habit (not the future). > "I will have toast for breakfast. I will have a coffee in the morning."
'Tend to' as a frequency marker — Tend to + infinitive expresses something done usually; note that in natural speech "tend to" is often reduced. > "I tend to get up early." (the teacher notes the two words blend: tend-to)
About this video
This lesson from English Speaking Success focuses specifically on how to talk about daily routines in the IELTS Speaking exam. The teacher walks learners through a rich set of adverbs of frequency — from "always" and "without fail" to "from time to time" and "once in a blue moon" — and explains a clear grammar rule about word-order that many students get wrong. The session ends with a fun picture-guessing game where learners have to identify four idioms: creature of habit, stuck in a rut, as regular as clockwork, and shake things up.
For shadowing practice, this video is excellent material. The teacher speaks at a natural but measured pace, repeatedly modelling the same phrase in different ways (e.g. "I tend to… I tend to get up early") which gives listeners multiple opportunities to shadow each target structure. The accent is clear British English, and because the teacher is live-teaching, the language is genuinely conversational and informal — exactly the register IELTS candidates need for Part 1 speaking answers.
This video suits B1–B2 learners who already know basic routine vocabulary but want to sound more natural and varied. Shadowers will gain confident control of adverb-of-frequency placement, a handful of high-frequency idioms for the IELTS exam, and the ability to produce fluid, spontaneous-sounding sentences about everyday habits.
Idioms & expressions
creature of habit — a person who likes to keep the same routine and dislikes change (positive connotation). > "I hate to miss my early morning walk — I am a creature of habit."
stuck in a rut — trapped doing the same boring routine without change (negative connotation). > "I feel stuck in a rut with my daily routine."
as regular as clockwork — done very regularly and predictably, without fail. > "I brush my teeth every morning as regular as clockwork."
run like clockwork — to go smoothly and efficiently every time. > "You hope your meetings will run like clockwork."
shake things up — to change your routine deliberately in order to make life more exciting. > "Once in a while I work in a coffee shop to shake things up."
once in a blue moon — very rarely; almost never. > "Once in a blue moon I get up early."
from time to time — sometimes; occasionally (multi-word adverb of frequency). > "From time to time, I get up at 9 a.m."
day in, day out — every single day, continuously (used to emphasise strong regularity). > Listed as a synonym for always alongside without fail and invariably.
