Simple English Sentences for Kids, With Short Stories: 60 Sentences for Everyday Life

You do not need strong English to use it. What you need you already have: the same situations happen in your home every day, morning, meals, play and bedtime, and these sentences slip into them without anyone sitting down at a table. It is written for families where English is a second language at home, whether you live in Europe, the Gulf or anywhere else.

Why ready-made sentences before grammar?

Think about how your child learned their first language. Nobody explained subjects and verbs; they heard I want water a hundred times, then said it. A ready-made sentence in its moment is a template the child uses whole and then starts changing piece by piece: I want water becomes I want milk, then I want the red car. That is how conversation is built: a few templates repeated, then swaps, then sentences of the child's own. The words these sentences need are in our guide to the first 200 English words for kids, so if your child is just starting, begin with the words; if they know some already, sentences are the next step.

60 simple English sentences for kids in six situations

Pick one situation and start with five sentences from it. Within each situation the sentences go from easiest to hardest, and they are written in full (I am, It is, Let us) because the full form is clearer for a beginner; your child will shorten them to I'm, it's and let's once they hear them often. The second column changes one word, so your child sees from day one that a sentence is something they can build, not only repeat.

Three short English stories for kids

A short story is the best place for words and sentences to meet, which is why parents search for English stories for kids and then find them far too long for a beginner. Each story here is five or six lines, using words from the first list, with three questions underneath to talk about it together. Read it to your child with voices and gestures, then ask them to act out the character, then change one detail together (the ball is blue instead of red, the cat wants fish instead of milk) so it becomes a new story of their own.

Read each story at least three times on different days; children do not get bored of repetition, they find it reassuring. The first time, read it yourself with actions. The second time, stop before the last word of each line and let your child finish it. The third time, ask them to tell the story themselves with any words they know, even if they mix in your home language. Once they can tell all three stories without help, they are ready for a first English picture book from the library; choose one with a single sentence per page.

How to practise five sentences a day as a game

Five sentences a day, five minutes, in the real situation. That is the whole recipe; what follows are ways to make it a game rather than a chore.

• Cards in their place. Choose the week's situation and five sentences from it, write them on cards, and put them where the moment happens: morning sentences by the toothbrush, food sentences on the table, bedtime sentences under the pillow.
• The sentence in its moment. Say it when the thing is really happening: in English and then your home language for the first few days, then in English alone. A child understands more from the situation than from a translation.
• The secret card. Your child draws a card and acts out the sentence without speaking, and you guess it in English. Then swap roles. Laughter is guaranteed, and the sentence sticks with the movement.
• The English-only toy. One soft toy in the house only understands English. Anyone who wants something from it has to ask in an English sentence. Children talk to the toy more than to their parents, because the toy never corrects and never judges.
• The swap game. Take a sentence your child knows and change one word: I like apples, then I like bananas, then I like cats. Every correct swap is a point, ten points is a star on the week's chart, and the reward is something you do together, not sweets.
• The rhythm. Repeat the same five sentences for three days, then add five new ones and keep the old ones in use. After about six weeks your child has been through all six situations and owns 60 sentences they use rather than recite.

A note for parents whose English is shaky: use audio recordings, and do not be afraid of your accent. A tutor can correct pronunciation in lessons; you provide what no tutor can, warm daily repetition in real moments. Our guide on raising a bilingual child abroad explains why that steady, everyday exposure matters more than anything else.

From sentences to conversation: what the tutor does

Memorized sentences are a stock; conversation is using them without preparation. In our English program for kids the tutor takes the sentences your child knows, from this guide or anywhere else, and builds on them in five steps that repeat in every lesson. First, the question the sentence answers: the tutor asks What do you want to wear today? and your child answers with their sentence. Second, guided swaps: the same word in a new sentence, the same sentence with a new word. Third, stretching: a second sentence joins the first, so the answer becomes two lines instead of one. Fourth, role play: your child becomes the teacher, the parent, or the cat in the story. Fifth, open questions with no ready-made answer, and that is where real conversation begins.

All of this happens in a 1-on-1 lesson of 25 or 45 minutes in which your child talks more than the tutor, because conversation is not learned by listening. The tutor corrects pronunciation by repeating the sentence correctly in their reply rather than stopping at every mistake, and sends you a short note after each lesson, with a progress report at the end of every month. The subscription is month to month with no commitment, and it starts with a free trial lesson, no card needed, where you can sit next to your child and hear their first English conversation.

Common questions from parents