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A2Conversation lesson · Food & drink

Talking About Food

Ask and answer questions about your eating habits.

Name:

Date:

Part 1

Warm-up

Circle the odd one out. Say why.

  1. 1salmonshrimpchickencrab
  2. 2pastaapplericenoodles
  3. 3breakfastlunchkitchendinner
  4. 4tastydeliciousyummydisgusting
  5. 5boilfrytastebake

Part 2

How often?

Put the words in order, from 100% to 0%.

  • asometimes
  • bnever
  • cusually
  • dhardly ever
  • ealways
  • foften
Which foods from Part 1 do you love? How often do you eat them?

Part 3

Watch

Scan to watch

Real Easy English: Talking about food

BBC Learning English · Beth and Neil · about 6 minutes

First watch: circle the best answer.

  1. 1What do Beth and Neil talk about?
    ahow to cook fishbfoods they love and hatectheir favorite restaurants
  2. 2Which food do they both like?
    apizzabbaked beanscfish
  3. 3Which food does Beth hate?
    abaked beansbricecpasta
  4. 4What does Neil think of beans on toast?
    aIt's too sweet.bIt's a classic.cIt's disgusting.

Second watch: complete the sentences. Use the words in the box.

a few timescurriesevery dayfiveneveronce or twicesicksometimes
  1. Beth ______ cooks seafood at home.
  2. She has seafood on vacation and ______ in restaurants.
  3. Neil eats fish ______ a week.
  4. Beth has fish at home ______ a week.
  5. The smell of baked beans makes Beth feel ______.
  6. Neil's family often eats Indian ______.
  7. Beth cooks pasta or rice about ______ days a week.

Part 4

Habits and how often

WordHow often?Example
alwaysevery timeI always have coffee in the morning.
usually / normally / generallymost of the timeWe usually cook rice on weekdays.
oftena lotMy dad often makes soup.
sometimesnow and thenI sometimes eat fish.
hardly everalmost neverThey hardly ever eat cake.
nevernot at any timeShe never drinks coffee.

Put the word before the main verb: I often eat fish. With be, put it after: I'm always hungry. Phrases like twice a week go at the end.

Circle the correct sentence.

  1. 1Fish
    aI eat often fish.bI often eat fish.
  2. 2Pasta
    aWe usually have pasta on Mondays.bWe have usually pasta on Mondays.
  3. 3Dinner
    aShe never is late for dinner.bShe is never late for dinner.
  4. 4Breakfast
    aDo you ever eat breakfast?bDo ever you eat breakfast?
  5. 5The market
    aI go twice a week to the market.bI go to the market twice a week.

Match the questions to the answers.

  1. 1How often do you eat out?
  2. 2Do you ever cook fish?
  3. 3What do you usually have for breakfast?
  4. 4How often do you drink tea?
  5. 5Do you like spicy food?
  • aToast and coffee, most days.
  • bYes, I love it. I often make curry.
  • cAbout once a month. We like a pizza place near us.
  • dNo, never. I don't like the smell.
  • eThree or four cups a day!

Write four sentences about what you eat. Use a different frequency word in each one.

Part 5

Ask it naturally

Listen to your teacher. Say each line three times.

Highlighted = stressed words · ‿ = words that join together

  1. How‿often do‿you eat‿out?
  2. What do‿you usually have for breakfast?
  3. Do‿you ever cook fish?
  4. I hardly‿ever eat cake.
  5. We often have pasta on Mondays.

In fast speech, do you sounds like "d'ya". Questions with how or what go down at the end. Yes/no questions with Do you ever go up.

Ask your teacher the first three questions. Then answer them yourself.

Part 6

Food habits survey

Ask the questions. Write short answers. Ask one more question each time.

QuestionMePartner
How often do you cook at home?
What do you usually have for lunch?
How often do you eat fish or seafood?
Is there a food you never eat?
What food from another country do you often eat?
What do you eat when you're very busy?

You can eat only six foods for a month. Rank them from 1 (most important) to 6.

  • rice
  • bread
  • eggs
  • pasta
  • fruit
  • cheese

Compare with your partner. Which food could you eat every day?

Reacting

  • Really?
  • Me too!
  • Not for me.
  • I can't stand it!

Reporting

  • Ana usually…
  • She hardly ever…
  • We both…
  • Neither of us…

Report back: tell your teacher or the class three things about your partner's eating habits.

For the teacher

Answer key

Part 1

  1. chicken (it doesn't come from the sea)
  2. apple (it's a fruit)
  3. kitchen (it's a room, not a meal)
  4. disgusting (it means very bad)
  5. taste (it isn't a way to cook)

Part 2

1 e · 2 c · 3 f · 4 a · 5 d · 6 b

Part 3: first watch

1 b · 2 c · 3 a · 4 b

Part 3: second watch

  1. never
  2. sometimes
  3. a few times
  4. once or twice
  5. sick
  6. curries
  7. five

Part 4

Word order: 1 b · 2 a · 3 b · 4 a · 5 b

Questions: 1c · 2d · 3a · 4e · 5b

ribbitpond.com/esl-lessons · Video by BBC Learning English. Worksheet by Ribbit Pond.