Although it is not essential to know what the names of the different things you eat and drink with at a restaurant (or at home), they are very useful to know.

In the first exercise, we explained the names of things in English which people use to eat with and from.

In this second part of three exercises on the English names of the things we eat and drink with, you'll learn and remember the names of the objects we use to drink things from (for example a "cup" which is used for drinking tea or coffee from), with or things which are connected with drinking liquids.

The vocabulary which you are going to learn and understand in this exercise are the following words/phrases: jug, glass, wine glass, corkscrew, bottle opener, can, straw, mug, teapot and saucer .

After you have done this online exercise, go to the third part of this online exercise to complete your knowledge of the vocabulary used to talk about the things we eat & drink from and with in English.

Click here to see more of our free online exercises on food, drink and restaurant vocabulary

Exercise:

In the following conversation, two friends (Peter and Juan) are eating at a restaurant. Peter is explaining to Juan the names in English for things that are used to drink liquids with.

From the context, try to guess what object the words in bold are. Then do the quiz at the end to check if you are right.

Peter:'We don't have anything to drink. We should order something.'

Juan:'Yes. I'd like some water first, I'm a bit thirsty with this heat. Shall we order a bottle of water?'

Peter:'We can, but we have to pay for it. Instead and for free, we can ask them to bring a jug of water filled from the tap and we can share it.'

Juan:'That's ok by me. We should ask him to bring two cups so we can each drink the water from the jug.'

Peter:'For drinking water or most cold liquids, we don't normally use cups to drink them from, we use a glass.'

Juan:'Like the one you use to drink wine from?'

Peter:'Not exactly. It is true that that is a type of glass, but it's called a wine glass. You wouldn't normally drink water from it, only wine.'

Juan:'Ok. What do you call in English the thing they use to open bottles of wine with? The metal thing that removes the cork from the top.'

Peter:'That's called a corkscrew in English.'

Juan:'I never knew that. And what do you call the metal thing they use to take the top of bottles of beer?'

Peter:'That's called a bottle opener.'

Juan:'That will be easy to remember. Actually, I don't want to drink alcohol. I'd prefer water or a soft drink to go with the meal. Maybe a can of Coca Cola.'

Peter:'They don't sell cans of Coca Cola in this restaurant, only bottles of it. But you can certainly have one of those.'

Juan:'With ice. Could I get one of those long thin plastic things which you can drink it with?'

Peter:'You mean a straw?'

Juan:'Yes, that's what it is called.'

Peter:'Yes, you can get one. Would you like to have coffee or tea at the end of the meal?'

Juan:'I think I'll go for tea. Could I get one of those big cups. You know the ones which most people drink tea or coffee out of at home.'

Peter:' It is called a mug and unfortunately they don't serve tea or coffee in them at restaurants. They normally use cups, which are smaller. However, here they will serve the tea in a teapot. So you can refill your cup 3 or 4 with tea. It also keeps it hotter than if it was just in a cup or mug.'

Juan:'I have no problem with that. By the way, will the cup have a plate with it. The thing which the cup sits on?'

Peter:'I would expect so. But we don't call it a plate, even though it is one. For some reason in English, we call it a saucer.'



Quiz:

Below is a photo/picture of each of the objects in bold from the above text. Now choose the name of the object from the question's selection box which you believe matches each of the photos. Only use one word once. Click on the "Check" button at the bottom of the quiz to check your answers.

When the answer is correct, two icons will appear next to the answer. The icon contains extra information on the word/phrase. In the icon, you can listen to the pronunciation of the word/phrase.


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1. This is called a
         

Can:
(noun) A 'can' is the name in British English for a metal container for liquids which are meant to be drunk. It is also called a 'can' in American English. However, Americans also call a similarly shaped metal container for food (including soups) also a 'can'. In British English, this has a different name, it is called a 'tin' (e.g. a tin of carrots).

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Can:
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2. This is called a
         

Wine glass:
(noun) A 'wine glass' is a special type of glass which is used for drinking wine from. There are many types of 'wine glass', but all have a similar shape. In addition, there are special types of glasses for other types of alcoholic beverages/drinks. The most common one being a 'beer glass', which unsurprisingly is used for drinking beer from.

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Wine glass:
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3. This is called a
         

Mug:
(noun) A 'mug' is a large type of cup which is normally used in the home for drinking hot drinks, like tea or coffee. It is rarely used in restaurants, where a cup is normally used instead.

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Mug:
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4. This is called a
         

Jug:
(noun) A 'jug' is the name for a large normally glass (but it can also be made of metal or porcelain) container which is used for cold liquids, like water, orange juice, beer etc… It has a handle and pouring lip to make it easier to pour the contacts into glasses.

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Jug:
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5. This is called a
         

Corkscrew:
(noun) A 'corkscrew' is a device which is used to remove the 'cork' (a piece of soft wood which is inserted at the top) from bottles of wine, so that the wine can be poured and drank from it.

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Corkscrew:
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6. This is called a
         

Straw:
(noun) A 'straw' is a long thin tube which is used to drink cold drinks with. It is commonly used for drinking soft drinks (e.g. Coca Cola), milkshakes and some alcoholic cocktails.

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Straw:
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7. This is called a
         

Glass:
(noun) A 'glass' is the name for a glass container which is used to drink cold beverages/drinks from. There are numerous different types of glass with a variety of different shapes and sizes (e.g. a 'wine glass', a 'beer glass' etc…). However, if you just ask for a 'glass', you will be given something resembling the one seen in the photo in this exercise.

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Glass:
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8. This is called a
         

Saucer:
(noun) A 'saucer' is the name for the small plate that accompanies cups (the cup sits on it) for hot beverages/drinks, like tea or coffee.

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Saucer:
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9. This is called a
         

Teapot:
(noun) A 'teapot' (which occasionally is just called a 'pot') is a metal, glass or porcelain container which is used to keep tea before it is served in cups or mugs. It has a handle, a lid on the top and a spout to pour the tea into the cups or mugs from. It is used to stop the tea cooling down quickly. A similar object for coffee is called a 'coffee pot'.

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Teapot:
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10. This is called a
         

Bottle opener:
(noun) A 'bottle opener' is a metal or plastic device used to remove the metal tops off glass bottles which contain fuzzy drinks (which are carbonated like Coca Cola or beer) in them.

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Bottle opener:
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Now go to the third part of this online exercise to complete your knowledge of the vocabulary used to talk about the things we eat & drink from and with in English. Or you can do our online picture game on the things we eat and drink with to help you remember them better.



Practice

Now that you understand the meaning of the words/phrases and when to use them, practise using them by creating your own sentences with them in English. Also click on the icon next to each correct answer and listen how each is pronounced correctly.