| 词组 | Meals |
| 释义 | Meals The meanings of words referring to meals, and the ways that these words are used, are explained below. Some words for meals are used by different people to refer to different meals. ◊ 'breakfast' Breakfast is the first meal of the day. You eat it in the morning, just after you get up. ◊ 'dinner' In Britain, people usually call their main meal of the day dinner. Some people have this meal in the middle of the day, and others have it in the evening. However, some people call their main meal tea or supper, if they eat it in the evening. ◊ 'lunch' People who call their evening meal 'dinner' usually refer to a meal eaten in the middle of the day as lunch. ◊ 'luncheon' Luncheon is a formal and rather old-fashioned word for 'lunch'. ◊ 'tea' Tea can be a light meal eaten in the afternoon, usually consisting of sandwiches and cakes, with tea to drink. This meaning of 'tea' is used mainly in Britain, by middle-class people. The expression afternoon tea is often used in hotels and restaurants. Tea can also be a main meal that is eaten in the early evening. This meaning of 'tea' is often used by working-class people in Britain. It is also more common in northern parts of Britain, and in Australia and New Zealand. The expression high tea is also used in Britain. ◊ 'supper' Some people call a large meal they eat in the early part of the evening supper. Other people use supper to refer to a small meal eaten just before going to bed at night. ◊ more formal terms You can refer to a meal that you eat in the middle of the day as a midday meal. Similarly, you can refer to a meal that you eat in the evening as an evening meal. However, these terms are not normally used in conversation to refer to meals eaten at home, only to meals provided for you, for example at school or in lodgings. ◊ 'at' and 'over' You indicate that someone does something while they are having a meal using the preposition at. He had told her at lunch that he couldn't take her to the game tomorrow. Mrs Zapp was seated next to me at dinner. However, you usually use over when talking about an event that takes some time, especially when saying that people discuss something while having a meal. It's often easier to discuss difficult ideas over lunch. He said he wanted to reread it over lunch. ◊ 'for' and 'to' When you talk about what a meal consists of, you say what you have for breakfast, lunch, and so on. They had hard-boiled eggs for breakfast. What's for dinner? When you invite someone to have a meal with you, for example at your house, you say that you ask them for the meal or to the meal. Why don't you join me and the girls for lunch, Mr Jordache? Stanley Openshaw invited him to lunch once. ◊ 'have' You often use 'have' to say that someone eats a meal. You can say, for example, that someone has breakfast or has their breakfast. When we've had breakfast, you can phone for a taxi. That Tuesday, Lo had her dinner in her room. Note that you do not say that someone 'has a breakfast' or 'has the breakfast'. ◊ 'make' When someone prepares a meal, you can say, for example, that they make breakfast, make the breakfast, or make their breakfast. I'll go and make dinner. He makes the breakfast every morning. She had been making her lunch when he arrived. Note that you do not say that someone 'makes a breakfast'. ◊ 'a' with meals Words referring to meals can be used either as uncount nouns or as count nouns. However, these words are not generally used with 'a'. For example, you do not say 'I had a lunch with Deborah' or 'I had a dinner early'. You say 'I had lunch with Deborah' or 'I had dinner early'. You can, however, use 'a' when you are describing a meal. They had a quiet dinner together. He was a big man and needed a big breakfast. ◊ meal times When you want to refer to the period of the day when a particular meal is eaten, you can use a compound noun consisting of a word referring to a meal and the word 'time'. The compound noun can be hyphenated or written as two separate words. I shall be back by dinner-time. It was almost lunch time. The forms 'dinnertime', 'lunchtime', 'suppertime', and 'teatime' are also used. 'Breakfast time' is never written as one word. He had a great deal to do before lunchtime. |
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