Posts tagged food & eating
English Lesson: Two Coffees, Please!
Aug 4th
I was in a diner the other day with my friend Ken. After lunch the waiter asked if we wanted anything else, and we had the following conversation:
Waiter: Can I get you something else?
Michael: Yeah, can we have two coffees please?
Waiter: Sure thing.
Ken: Oh, and can we have two waters as well?
Waiter: Yes, of course
As you know, English has two kinds of nouns, countable and non-countable. Countable nouns are things we can count, such as pens, dogs, iPads, etc. Countable nouns have a plural form → 1 pen, 2 pens. 1 dog, 5 dogs.
Non-countable nouns are things we cannot count. Some examples are liquids, like water and coffee, furniture, and luggage. Remember, non-countable nouns do not have a plural form.
There is an exception to this rule. Have a look at the conversation above once more and then check the rest of the lesson:
Normally, coffee and water are not countable. When we want to count liquids, we count based on the container:
- Can I have two cups of coffee.
- I drank five bottles of water today.
There is once exception to this rule. When you are in a restaurant, coffee shop, etc., you can order drinks without the container as in the conversation above:
- Can we have two coffees please? “Two coffees” means two cups of coffee.
- Can we have two waters as well? “Two waters” means two glasses of water.
This way of speaking is used when you are ordering and talking to the waiter, waitress, or staff at a café, etc. The next time you are out to eat, why not try using these sentences. Thanks for studying with me today.
English Lesson: Taste Vs Flavor
Aug 2nd
I love to try different kinds of food. One of the more interesting things I like is Thai green curry. Have you ever had that? It tastes so delicious! It has a unique flavor, which is a combination of coconut milk and curry spices. It is flavored with a number of spices and seasonings. I like the taste of the coconut milk too. This curry has both a spicy and a mild flavor at the same time. It is a very flavorful dish. If you like the taste of spicy food, you’ll like Thai green curry.
Today we are going to look at two words that are often confused – taste and flavor. Do you know how to use these words? Have a look at the paragraph above and then check today’s lesson:
We use the noun form of taste to talk about food, and usually we use taste when we talk about one type of food, as opposed to a dish.
- Too much salt will ruin the taste of that steak.
- I like the taste of that ice cream.
- Koji likes hot dogs, both the taste and the texture.
We also use the noun for of taste in a similar way. But flavor refers to your reaction to the ingredients in prepared food. For this reason, it is more common to use flavor than taste when we talk about a dishes or other prepared food.
- This curry has a unique flavor.
- I don’t like the flavor of that hot dog. It is too spicy.
- The flavor of this pizza is just amazing.
Taste and flavor also have a verb form. The verb form relates to the sense of taste we have in our mouth
- Thai curry tastes delicious.
- Chocolate and potato chips taste great together.
- Does this soup taste ok to you? I think it may need more salt.
Flavor also a verb form. The verb form of flavor means “to season.” For example:
- The chef flavors the soup with salt and bay leaves.
- My mom flavors her pasta sauce with garlic.
Flavor is also used when we talk about the different kinds of the same kind of food. For example:
- Which ice cream flavor do you like, chocolate of vanilla?
- Fanta comes in several flavors, including cherry, orange, and grape.
Well, now I’m hungry! I hope you are too. Thanks for studying today!
English Lesson: Food Vocabulary
Jul 28th
My cousin is a chef in an Italian restaurant. He cooks some pretty amazing dishes. At his restaurant, there are many interesting items on the menu. Having a meal there is a great experience. Food is an essential part of life, and I think eating is one of the great pleasures in life. My mom is a good cook too. Her famous dish is lasagna. Do you like Italian food?
Today we are going to look at the vocabulary of food. Sometimes these words can be confusing. Have a look at the paragraph above once more, and then check today’s lesson.
A chef is a person who prepares dishes in a restaurant. A cook is also a person who prepares dishes in a restaurant. We generally use the word chef to mean a professional in a fancy restaurant, and the word cook to mean a professional in a less fancy restaurant or at home. My mom is a good cook, for example. Cook is also a verb which means prepare food. Food is the material used to make dishes. They sell food in a grocery store. A chef cooks dishes, and several dishes together are a meal. A menu is a list of the dishes that a restaurant offers. You can also ask the person who cooks in your house, “What’s on the menu tonight?” Here are some other sentences you can use to remember how to use these words:
- Francis is a chef in a French restaurant.
- Tommy is a cook in the school cafeteria.
- I like to cook sometimes.
- We go food shopping on Saturdays.
- My mom prepared a nice dish of spaghetti and meatballs
- There are many pasta dishes on the menu at Monte’s
- We had a nice meal at home tonight.
I don’t know about you, but studying makes me hungry. What is your favorite food?
