Most Useful Eating and Drinking Expressions
2022-07-08
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1Hello! This week on Everyday Grammar, we will share some common expressions for eating.
2This is the second part to a question we received from a Learning English fan in Myanmar.
3Thin Ya Thaw asked, "Could you tell me the most useful expressions in your daily life? This helps me a lot in learning English. I want to know natural English to communicate with others."
4Thank you, once again, for your thoughtful question and study subject, Thin!
5We will look at some questions about eating and drinking in today's report.
6While thinking of the most useful expressions, food and eating were the first ideas that came to mind.
7Americans not only plan daily activities around the weather, but they also plan their days around a meal.
8We call a meal in the morning, breakfast, and around noon, lunch.
9A meal in the evening is called dinner.
10And on the weekend, we sometimes have a late breakfast or an early lunch.
11So, we call it brunch!
12We may cook our food, take fast food home, or choose to eat out at a restaurant.
13But there are a few phrases that we use to talk about eating and drinking.
14Let us look at several of these now!
15Introductory questions for eating
16Have you eaten yet?
17Do you want to go to lunch?
18What's for dinner?
19These questions are often used to start a conversation about food and eating. Now, let's look at:
20Are you hungry?
21We ask this question to see if someone is wanting to eat.
22The person asking the question may be hungry, themselves.
23The answer to this question is either a "yes" or "no" and maybe a reason why. For example:
24Yes, I'm so hungry! Let's get some takeout!
25No, I'm not hungry yet. Let's wait for dinner.
26This is also a "yes" or "no" question.
27But we use the present perfect tense in this question and the adverb "yet" to talk about the recent past.
28The structure for the question is: An auxiliary or helping verb (be, do, or have) + subject + main verb (past participle).
29Have you eaten yet?
30The answer to this question can be in the past tense or the present perfect:
31Yes, I ate.
32Yes, I have just eaten.
33No, I haven't eaten anything yet.
34Do you want to go to lunch?
35The question is really an invitation to someone to have a meal with you, usually at a restaurant, café, or a fast-food place.
36What's for dinner?
37This question is structured differently from a "yes" or "no" question. The structure here is: What + auxiliary verb or helping verb (be, do, or have) + subject (+main verb).
38Here, the questioner believes that the person answering the question has already cooked or prepared the meal.
39The questioner is asking about the food being served.
40Other questions can be used during a meal, either at home or at a restaurant.
41If you offer someone a drink, you can ask:
42Would you like a drink?
43What do you want to drink?
44How about some coffee or tea?
45Would you like a drink?
46Using "Would you like" to start a question is a polite and more formal way to ask if someone wants to have a drink.
47If you know the person well enough, you might want to use:
48Do you want a drink?
49What do you want to drink?
50And for a close friend, you can even suggest a drink by saying:
51How about some coffee, water, beer...?
52The structure for a "how about" phrase is: How about + subject + noun or simple verb.
53We can also use a gerund within the structure as well, like in this example:
54How about grabbing a drink later?
55And lastly, when we are eating out at a restaurant and it is the end of the meal, we have two important questions:
56Do you want to split the bill, check, or tab?
57How much should we tip?
58The first question is a "yes" or "no" question for splitting the bill or the total cost of the meal.
59In the United States, it is a common practice for individuals to pay for their own meal at a restaurant unless someone else offers to pay.
60This is called "splitting the bill."
61The second question refers to the practice of tipping in America.
62The tip is a little extra money on top of the bill for food and drinks to pay for services from the food server or bartender at a restaurant.
63The amount could be anywhere from 15 percent to 20 percent of the total bill.
64Today, we learned some common questions that we use to talk about eating.
65When offering someone a drink, you can use the structure "would... like" in more formal settings, and the verb "want" for informal ones.
66"How much" questions can be used to talk about the price of a meal or the cost of tipping.
67Now it is your turn! What other eating or food expressions, questions, or answers do you know and use in English?
68Let us know in the comments below or write to us at learningenglish@voanews.com.
69I'm Faith Pirlo.
70And I'm Dan Novak.
1Hello! This week on Everyday Grammar, we will share some common expressions for eating. This is the second part to a question we received from a Learning English fan in Myanmar. 2Thin Ya Thaw asked, "Could you tell me the most useful expressions in your daily life? This helps me a lot in learning English. I want to know natural English to communicate with others." 3Thank you, once again, for your thoughtful question and study subject, Thin! 4We will look at some questions about eating and drinking in today's report. 5Food in our daily lives 6While thinking of the most useful expressions, food and eating were the first ideas that came to mind. 7Americans not only plan daily activities around the weather, but they also plan their days around a meal. We call a meal in the morning, breakfast, and around noon, lunch. A meal in the evening is called dinner. And on the weekend, we sometimes have a late breakfast or an early lunch. So, we call it brunch! 8We may cook our food, take fast food home, or choose to eat out at a restaurant. But there are a few phrases that we use to talk about eating and drinking. Let us look at several of these now! 9Introductory questions for eating 10Are you hungry? 11Have you eaten yet? 12Do you want to go to lunch? 13What's for dinner? 14These questions are often used to start a conversation about food and eating. Now, let's look at: 15Are you hungry? 16We ask this question to see if someone is wanting to eat. The person asking the question may be hungry, themselves. The answer to this question is either a "yes" or "no" and maybe a reason why. For example: 17Yes, I'm so hungry! Let's get some takeout! 18No, I'm not hungry yet. Let's wait for dinner. 19This is also a "yes" or "no" question. But we use the present perfect tense in this question and the adverb "yet" to talk about the recent past. The structure for the question is: An auxiliary or helping verb (be, do, or have) + subject + main verb (past participle). 20Have you eaten yet? 21The answer to this question can be in the past tense or the present perfect: 22Yes, I ate. 23Yes, I have just eaten. 24No, I haven't eaten anything yet. 25Do you want to go to lunch? 26The question is really an invitation to someone to have a meal with you, usually at a restaurant, café, or a fast-food place. 27What's for dinner? 28This question is structured differently from a "yes" or "no" question. The structure here is: What + auxiliary verb or helping verb (be, do, or have) + subject (+main verb). 29Here, the questioner believes that the person answering the question has already cooked or prepared the meal. The questioner is asking about the food being served. 30Offering drinks 31Other questions can be used during a meal, either at home or at a restaurant. If you offer someone a drink, you can ask: 32Would you like a drink? 33What do you want to drink? 34How about some coffee or tea? 35Would you like a drink? 36Using "Would you like" to start a question is a polite and more formal way to ask if someone wants to have a drink. If you know the person well enough, you might want to use: 37Do you want a drink? 38What do you want to drink? 39And for a close friend, you can even suggest a drink by saying: 40How about some coffee, water, beer...? 41The structure for a "how about" phrase is: How about + subject + noun or simple verb. 42We can also use a gerund within the structure as well, like in this example: 43How about grabbing a drink later? 44At the end of a meal 45And lastly, when we are eating out at a restaurant and it is the end of the meal, we have two important questions: 46Do you want to split the bill, check, or tab? 47How much should we tip? 48The first question is a "yes" or "no" question for splitting the bill or the total cost of the meal. In the United States, it is a common practice for individuals to pay for their own meal at a restaurant unless someone else offers to pay. This is called "splitting the bill." 49The second question refers to the practice of tipping in America. The tip is a little extra money on top of the bill for food and drinks to pay for services from the food server or bartender at a restaurant. The amount could be anywhere from 15 percent to 20 percent of the total bill. 50Closing thoughts 51Today, we learned some common questions that we use to talk about eating. 52When offering someone a drink, you can use the structure "would... like" in more formal settings, and the verb "want" for informal ones. "How much" questions can be used to talk about the price of a meal or the cost of tipping. 53Now it is your turn! What other eating or food expressions, questions, or answers do you know and use in English? Let us know in the comments below or write to us at learningenglish@voanews.com. 54I'm Faith Pirlo. 55And I'm Dan Novak. 56Faith Pirlo wrote this report for VOA Learning English. 57____________________________________________________________________ 58Words in This Story 59formal - adj. following established form, custom, or rule 60gerund - n. (grammar). the -ing form of a verb that acts like a noun 61bill - n. a list of charges for food or drink 62tip - v. to give a percentage amount of the bill for services done by others 63refer - v. to talk about; to write about; to mention 64_______________________________________________________________________ 65We want to hear from you. We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 66Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.