Food & Drink
Food & Drink — 20 high-frequency words, with pronunciation, collocations, tricky words and four interactive exercises.
📌 Lesson contents
🎯 Lesson goal
Twenty words for shopping, ordering in a restaurant and talking about what you like 🍕. The real challenge isn’t the vocabulary but uncountable nouns: bread, rice and advice have no plural and never take a. You’ll also learn portions: a loaf of bread, a slice of cake. 🚀
🗂️ Word Bank
Tap 🔊 to hear the British pronunciation. The IPA transcription is under each word.
📖 Words in context
Saturday evening at the restaurant · tap a highlighted word to hear it.
On Saturday we went out for a meal. The waiter brought us the menu and we decided to order straight away, because we were all starving.
I chose a starter with cheese and grilled vegetables, and my friend took fish as a main course. The food was tasty, but her sauce was too spicy for me. We drank a lot of water because the room was hot and we were thirsty.
For dessert I had chocolate cake — far too sweet, but delicious. When we asked for the bill, we discovered the bread was free. Next Saturday we'll just order a takeaway and cook nothing!
🔗 Collocations & chunks
Words are learnt in pairs, not alone: memorise the whole chunk.
| Chunk / collocation | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| a loaf of bread | one whole baked bread 🍞 | Buy a loaf of bread, please. |
| a slice of cake | one piece of cake 🍰 | Just a small slice of cake for me. |
| have a snack | eat something small between meals | Let's have a snack before dinner. |
| eat out | eat at a restaurant, not at home | We eat out twice a month. |
| home-made food | food made in your own kitchen | I prefer home-made food. |
| be on a diet | eat less to lose weight | She's on a diet this month. |
⚠️ Tricky words
| English word | Real meaning ✅ | Watch out ❌ |
|---|---|---|
| preservative | a chemical that keeps food fresh | Used for food only. |
| sensible | showing good sense | Not the same as sensitive (= easily upset) |
| confetti | tiny pieces of coloured paper | |
| pepperoni | spicy sausage, often on pizza | Not the vegetable: that is peppers |
🎚️ Register: when to use them
| Expression | Register | When to use it |
|---|---|---|
| I'm starving! | informal | with friends; not for a formal dinner |
| Can I have…? | neutral | the standard way to order in a café or restaurant |
| Could I have…, please? | cortese | always the safest choice with a stranger |
| I would like to order… | formal | smart restaurants, business dinners |
🚫 Common mistakes to avoid
| Mistake ❌ | Correct ✅ |
|---|---|
| I want two breads. | I want two loaves of bread. |
| The fruits are on the table. | The fruit is on the table. |
| Can I have the account, please? | Can I have the bill, please? |
| I have hungry. | I am hungry. |
🎮 Vocabulary gym
Four ways to train the same 20 words. Your progress is saved on this device.
Tap the card to flip it.
Tap an English word, then its meaning. Eight pairs per round.
Complete the ten sentences with the right word. The 💡 hint helps you.
- I never skip .💡 the first meal of the day
- Lunch is my favourite .💡 breakfast, lunch or dinner
- We ordered a to share.💡 a small dish before the main one
- The was delicious.💡 the biggest dish of the meal
- Would you like a ?💡 something sweet after dinner
- Can you buy some ?💡 you can make toast with it
- This comes from Somerset.💡 made from milk; mice love it
- I don't eat red .💡 beef, pork, chicken…
- Eat your !💡 carrots, peas, broccoli…
- There is fresh on the table.💡 apples, bananas, oranges…