Offering Coffee and Tea
2023-09-22
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1Consider a time you asked someone to drink tea, coffee, or soda. What kinds of terms and structures did you use?
2In this week's Everyday Grammar, we will explore a point of connection between grammar and social situations.
3We will talk about how to ask others if they would like a drink.
4You will learn about modals as well as formal and informal kinds of questions.
5Let's start with some important terms and ideas.
6Modals play a central part in everyday discussions about drinks such as coffee or tea.
7Modals are short words that change the meaning of the main verb.
8They express something about the speaker's attitude - whether something is permitted, necessary, possible, and so on.
9In English, we have a number of modals.
10But for the purposes of today's lesson, let's pay careful attention to two of them: would and can.
11We generally use "would" to ask a polite question or make a polite offer.
12We use "can" for the same purpose, although it is a little less formal.
13Let's take an example. Imagine you are in your house or working in a restaurant.
14You want to offer a drink to your guest or customer.
15We have two ways to do that - one that involves "would" and one that involves "can."
16So, you might ask:
17Would you like something to drink?
18Or
19Can I get you something to drink?
20The main difference between our two questions is the degree of politeness.
21Generally, "would" is considered more polite and formal.
22Both "would" and "can" are acceptable in a number of situations.
23Your house guest or customer would surely be happy to hear either of them.
24Now let us consider a different kind of situation.
25Maybe you are out with friends and want to ask them to get something to drink.
26We can make polite offers with "would" and "can," as in:
27Would you like to get tea?
28Or
29Can I get you a coffee?
30But we can also use the helping verb "do" to ask yes or no questions.
31For example, you might ask a friend:
32Do you want to get a coffee?
33Or
34Do you want to grab a drink?
35Such structures are friendly but less formal.
36As a result, you might not want to use them with your teacher or your boss, unless you are very close with them.
37Now let's take some time to work with these ideas.
38Imagine you are leading a business meeting with representatives from another company.
39Your visitors enter the meeting room, and you decide you want to offer them something to drink.
40How might you make your offer?
41Pause the audio to consider your answer.
42There are several possible answers, but the best two choices involve "would" or "can," as in:
43Would you like something drink?
44Or
45Can I offer you something to drink?
46These two sentences are polite and acceptable in official situations.
47Now consider the following sentence:
48Do you want something to drink?
49Why is this sentence not the best choice for an official business meeting?
50The question is not very formal nor especially polite.
51So, "Do you want something to drink?" is probably not the best choice to use with representatives from another company.
52But, for family and good friends? That's a question they are usually happy to hear!
53Today we explored a few key ideas that connect to everyday situations - inviting someone to get a drink, offering a guest something to drink.
54There are, of course, other ways to ask if others want something to drink.
55However, the structures we explored today are among the most commonly used because they work well in most situations.
56I'm John Russell.
1Consider a time you asked someone to drink tea, coffee, or soda. What kinds of terms and structures did you use? 2In this week's Everyday Grammar, we will explore a point of connection between grammar and social situations. We will talk about how to ask others if they would like a drink. You will learn about modals as well as formal and informal kinds of questions. 3Let's start with some important terms and ideas. 4Modals 5Modals play a central part in everyday discussions about drinks such as coffee or tea. 6Modals are short words that change the meaning of the main verb. They express something about the speaker's attitude - whether something is permitted, necessary, possible, and so on. 7In English, we have a number of modals. But for the purposes of today's lesson, let's pay careful attention to two of them: would and can. 8We generally use "would" to ask a polite question or make a polite offer. We use "can" for the same purpose, although it is a little less formal. 9Let's take an example. Imagine you are in your house or working in a restaurant. You want to offer a drink to your guest or customer. We have two ways to do that - one that involves "would" and one that involves "can." 10So, you might ask: 11Would you like something to drink? 12Or 13Can I get you something to drink? 14The main difference between our two questions is the degree of politeness. Generally, "would" is considered more polite and formal. 15Both "would" and "can" are acceptable in a number of situations. Your house guest or customer would surely be happy to hear either of them. 16With friends, classmates, family 17Now let us consider a different kind of situation. Maybe you are out with friends and want to ask them to get something to drink. We can make polite offers with "would" and "can," as in: 18Would you like to get tea? 19Or 20Can I get you a coffee? 21But we can also use the helping verb "do" to ask yes or no questions. For example, you might ask a friend: 22Do you want to get a coffee? 23Or 24Do you want to grab a drink? 25Such structures are friendly but less formal. As a result, you might not want to use them with your teacher or your boss, unless you are very close with them. 26Practice 27Now let's take some time to work with these ideas. 28Imagine you are leading a business meeting with representatives from another company. Your visitors enter the meeting room, and you decide you want to offer them something to drink. How might you make your offer? 29Pause the audio to consider your answer. 30There are several possible answers, but the best two choices involve "would" or "can," as in: 31Would you like something drink? 32Or 33Can I offer you something to drink? 34These two sentences are polite and acceptable in official situations. 35Now consider the following sentence: 36Do you want something to drink? 37Why is this sentence not the best choice for an official business meeting? 38The question is not very formal nor especially polite. So, "Do you want something to drink?" is probably not the best choice to use with representatives from another company. 39But, for family and good friends? That's a question they are usually happy to hear! 40Closing thoughts 41Today we explored a few key ideas that connect to everyday situations - inviting someone to get a drink, offering a guest something to drink. 42There are, of course, other ways to ask if others want something to drink. However, the structures we explored today are among the most commonly used because they work well in most situations. 43I'm John Russell. 44John Russell wrote this lesson for VOA Learning English. 45___________________________________________________ 46modal - n. a verb (such as can or would) that is usually used with another verb to express ideas such as possibility, necessity, etc. 47formal - adj. suitable for serious or official speech 48informal - adj. having a friendly and relaxed quality 49grab - verb to get (something) in a quick and informal way 50attitude - n. a mental position with regard to a fact or state