🗣️ Speaking: Food & Restaurant (A1)
🗣️ SPEAKING CHALLENGE
STEP 1 DI 10
📌 Lesson Contents
🥵 Being Hungry and Thirsty (the tricky one)
In many languages you have hunger (“I have hunger”). In English, hunger is a feeling, an adjective. So you don’t “have” it, you are it.
📌 Golden rule:
- ✅ Correct: I am hungry. (I want food.)
- ✅ Correct: I am thirsty. (I want a drink.)
- ❌ Serious mistake: I have hungry / I have thirsty.
🚫 Food and the ghost article
When we talk about a food or drink in general, many languages use an article (“I like the pizza”, “I eat the meat”). In English, the article is left out completely (Zero Article).
| When to use it | Correct ✅ | Mistake ❌ |
|---|---|---|
| Saying you like pizza 🍕 | I like pizza. | I like the pizza. |
| Saying you don’t eat meat 🥩 | I don’t eat meat. | I don’t eat the meat. |
| Saying you drink wine 🍷 | I drink wine. | I drink the wine. |
💡 Note: Use “the” only when you talk about a specific food at that moment. E.g. “Pass me the pizza that is on the table.”
🍷 Ordering at a Restaurant (like a true Lord)
You are at a restaurant and the waiter arrives. How do you order? If you translate word for word from your own language, you might sound very rude! Here are the structures used in hospitality.
- I would like… (a polite request): The safest, most polite way to ask for anything.
I would like a coffee, please. - I’ll have… (deciding): Used on purpose when you order a dish from the menu.
I’ll have the steak and a glass of wine. - Can I have…? (asking): Perfect for general requests.
Can I have the bill, please?
❌ Banned words: I want (too bossy) and I take (grab). In a restaurant, never say “I take the pasta”!
❌ Common Mistakes (word-for-word traps)
Avoid these word-for-word expressions, especially if you work or study in food and hospitality:
| When to use it 💬 | Correct ✅ | Mistake to AVOID ❌ |
|---|---|---|
| Ordering a coffee ☕ | I would like a coffee. | I want a coffee. (Too aggressive) |
| Ordering a steak 🥩 | I’ll have the steak. | I take the steak. |
| Asking for the bill 🧾 | Can I have the bill? | Give me the check! / The ticket. |
| Saying you like something 👍 | I like it! | It likes me! (Word-for-word trap) |
| Saying food is delicious 😋 | It is delicious! | Is very good! (The subject is missing) |