Food 食物
BasicTheme words for food.
- Food words come in two groups: countable (an apple, two eggs) and uncountable (some rice, some milk).
- Use an before a, e, i, o, u: an apple, an egg.
- Meal pattern: have... for breakfast / lunch / dinner.
文體小知識：Learn theme words.
§Text Passage
1Hong Kong people love good food. On Sunday mornings, my family eats dim sum together. We order shrimp dumplings, egg tarts and BBQ pork buns. I drink milk, but my father drinks Chinese tea. We eat and laugh for a long time. On school days, I have bread and a boiled egg for breakfast.
2My favourite lunch is rice with chicken, but my sister likes noodles more. After school, I am hungry, so I eat an apple or a banana at home. For dinner, my mother cooks vegetables, soup and steamed fish. She tells me to drink more water and not too many sweet drinks. Fruit is sweet and full of vitamins.
3At the weekend, we sometimes have hotpot with our grandparents. I put beef, tofu and noodles into my bowl. Good eating habits keep us healthy and strong. Milk and water are better than cola. A good breakfast gives me energy for school. I always finish my rice, and I never waste food.
§Sentence-by-sentence translation Sentence-by-sentence translation
Hong Kong people love good food.
香港人好喜歡吃好東西。
On Sunday mornings, my family eats dim sum together.
星期日早上，我們一家人會一起吃點心。
We order shrimp dumplings, egg tarts and BBQ pork buns.
我們會叫蝦餃、蛋撻同叉燒包。
I drink milk, but my father drinks Chinese tea.
我喝牛奶，爸爸就喝中國茶。
We eat and laugh for a long time.
我們一邊吃一邊笑，吃很久。
On school days, I have bread and a boiled egg for breakfast.
上學日的早餐，我吃麵包同一個水煮蛋。
My favourite lunch is rice with chicken, but my sister likes noodles more.
我最喜歡吃雞飯做午餐，但細妹更喜歡吃麵。
After school, I am hungry, so I eat an apple or a banana at home.
放學回到家肚子餓，我會吃一個蘋果或者一根香蕉。
For dinner, my mother cooks vegetables, soup and steamed fish.
晚餐媽媽會煮菜、湯同蒸魚。
She tells me to drink more water and not too many sweet drinks.
他叫我多喝一些水，不要喝太多甜的東西。
Fruit is sweet and full of vitamins.
水果又甜又多維生素。
At the weekend, we sometimes have hotpot with our grandparents.
週末我們有時會同爺爺奶奶吃火鍋。
I put beef, tofu and noodles into my bowl.
我會把牛肉、豆腐同麵放進自己的碗裡。
Good eating habits keep us healthy and strong.
良好的飲食習慣令我們健康又強壯。
Milk and water are better than cola.
牛奶同水都比可樂好。
A good breakfast gives me energy for school.
吃一頓好早餐，我上學就有精神。
I always finish my rice, and I never waste food.
我每次都會吃完自己的飯，不會浪費食物。
1Summary 重點摘要
Theme words for food.
2Vocabulary cards Vocabulary
A white grain we eat.
Long thin strips of food.
A baked food made from flour.
A round food that comes from a hen.
A round red or green fruit.
A long yellow fruit.
A white drink from cows.
The clear drink we all need.
3Step by step Steps
- Read the food wordsRead rice, noodles, bread, egg, apple, banana, milk and water, and picture each food as you say it — golden bread, white rice, yellow bananas. Picture memory beats plain spelling drills. Then sort the words into two groups, things you can count and things you cannot, ready for the next step.
- Countable or uncountableCountable nouns can be counted one by one: an apple, a banana, two eggs. Uncountable nouns cannot: some rice, some milk, some water — never add s. The quick test: if you can say two of them, it is countable. Careful: bread is uncountable, so say two pieces of bread.
- Talk about mealsI have bread and a boiled egg for breakfast. My favourite lunch is rice with chicken. The frame is have + food + for + meal, and meal words usually take no a or the. Do not swap for for at: for breakfast means what you eat at that meal.
- Say what you likeI like noodles. My favourite food is dim sum. favourite is stronger than like, and My favourite food is... takes the singular verb is. You can also like a whole group: I like fruit and vegetables. Add a reason after your answer, such as because it is soft and sweet.
- Talk about healthy eatingDrink more water and not too many sweet drinks. Fruit is full of vitamins. Advice often uses the imperative: Drink more water. Don't eat too much fried food. sweet drinks are countable, so use many; fried food is uncountable, so use much.
- Role-play orderingPlay restaurant with a friend: the customer says I would like a bowl of noodles, please., the waiter answers Here you are., and the customer says Thank you. I would like... is much politer than I want..., and a partitive like a bowl of or a cup of makes the order sound natural.
5Worked example Example
Question: How do we talk about our meals with a, an, some and partitives?
- Step 1: Use a or an for one countable item: an before a, e, i, o, u (an apple); a for consonant sounds (a banana).
- Step 2: Use some for uncountable food — some rice, some milk — and never add s to an uncountable noun.
- Step 3: Show the amount with a partitive — two bowls of rice, a glass of milk; when the amount changes, only the number in front changes.
- Step 4: For more than one countable item, just add s — two eggs, three apples.
- Step 5: Join the frames into one day of meals — I eat two bowls of rice and drink a glass of milk for dinner. — then check every noun.
- Answer: Sample answer: For breakfast, I have some bread and a boiled egg. For dinner, I eat two bowls of rice, some vegetables and steamed fish, and I drink a glass of milk.
6Common mistakes Mistakes
7Quick check Quick check
Q1What is rice?
Q2What is noodles?
Q3What is bread?
Q4What is egg?
Q5What is apple?
Q6What is banana?
8Recap Recap
- Food words come in two groups: countable (an apple, two eggs) and uncountable (some rice, some milk).
- Use an before a, e, i, o, u: an apple, an egg.
- Meal pattern: have... for breakfast / lunch / dinner.
- Healthy eating: drink more water, eat more fruit, fewer sweet drinks.
- Order politely with I would like..., please.