Articles with the nouns breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner, supper, tea

—   Hello, boys and girls! My name is Martin Green. This is James Wilson.

—   And my name is Nathaniel Fleming.      

—   Welcome to our grammar lesson!

—   Today we would like to tell you one interesting story.

—   Last weekend we decided to go to the woods near the river.

—   We wanted to pick mushrooms.

—   The three of us really like eating them.

—   Yeah! Mushrooms are so delicious.

—   When we came to the woods, we saw two boys.

—   They were talking about something.

—   Let’s listen to their conversation and you’ll find out the topic of our lesson today.

—   David, we need to hurry! The dinner is always at 6 p.m.

—   So what, Dylan?

—   Are you serious? David, did you hear what our mum had said earlier?

—   Um… Yeees!

—   Well, it seems like you didn’t. She told us to return by the dinner.

—   Really?

—   Yes. So, please, hurry up. We have only one hour left to pick two baskets of mushrooms or our mum will be angry with us.

—   Oh, yeah, you’re right! I’ll do my best.

As you can understand, today in the lesson we will:

·        talk about articles with the nouns “breakfast”, “brunch”, “lunch”, “dinner”, “supper”, “tea”;

And

·        put the knowledge into practice.

—   We were shocked to hear their conversation!

—   The boys used articles where we don’t need to use them.

—   Of course, we decided not to tell them about that, but we would like to tell you about this rule.

—   Let’s start our lesson.

—   First of all, we'll revise the definition of the term “articles”.

—   After that we will tell you about the types of articles.

Articles are the words that define a noun as specific or unspecific.

There are two types of articles: definite and indefinite.

The definite article is the word the.

For example: the window, the sky.

The indefinite article has two forms: a and an.

For example: a dog, an author.

—   We’ve told you about the types of articles.

—   But as we have already said, today we will talk about articles with the nouns “breakfast”, “brunch”, “lunch”, “dinner”, “supper”, “tea” in detail.

—   James, Nathaniel and I will tell you when we need to use articles with these words and when we don’t.

1. When the words “breakfast”, “brunch”, “lunch”, “dinner”, “supper” and “tea” are used to refer to our everyday meals, we don’t need to use articles with them.

In this case the words above can be seen in the following constructions:

·        To have breakfast, lunch, dinner, etc.

·        To take breakfast, lunch, dinner, etc.

·        To prepare or make tea

·        To serve dinner

·        To cook breakfast, lunch, dinner, etc.

·        To go to dinner

·        To be at lunch

·        To return by dinner, supper, etc.

·        Before or after breakfast, dinner, supper, etc.

Let’s look at the example:

—   Hello, Robert.

—   Hello, Kyle. I’m so glad you came over. Let’s have dinner together.

—   Oh, I would love to have dinner with you! Do you need any help?

—   No, don’t worry. Our maid will cook and serve dinner for us.

—   What about your kids? Will they come?

—   Yes, of course. Paul and Larry are at work now, but they promised to return by dinner.

—   Oh, great!

—   Yeah! I think so too. And Kyle, would you like to go for a walk after dinner?

—    Sure, with a great pleasure!

2. We need to use the definite article “the” with the nouns “breakfast”, “brunch”, “lunch”, “dinner”, “supper” and “tea” when they are followed by a descriptive phrase, which makes them definite.

Look at the example:

—   Hello, guys.

—   Hello, Julian.

—   Guys, what are you eating?

—   We are eating the lunch that my mum has cooked for us.

—   Oh, I see, it looks so delicious.

—   Yeah, it is very delicious. Do you want some?

—   Sure, thank you.

In this example we used the article “the” with the word “lunch”, because we have a descriptive phrase “that my mum has cooked for us”.

3. When we mean a particular meal, we need to use the article “the” with the words “breakfast”, “brunch”, “lunch”, “dinner”, “supper” and “tea”. We make clear that we are talking about a particular meal by the context or situation.

Let’s look at the following example:

—   George, thank you so much for the great evening.

—   You’re welcome, Alex! Thanks for coming.

—   Oh, by the way, I wanted to tell you that the dinner was so tasty.

—   Really? Are you serious?

—   Yes, I am!

—   Oh, I’m so happy to hear that! All right! See you, Alex.

—   See you, George.

It’s clear from this situation that we are talking about a particular meal.

4. We need to use the indefinite article “a” or “an” with the nouns “breakfast”, “brunch”, “lunch”, “dinner”, “supper” and “tea” when they are modified by a descriptive word. This word is used in front of the nouns.

Look at the following example:

—   Hi, Marcus. How did your meeting with Phillis go?

—   Well… It didn’t go well. I ordered a modest dinner for us, but she didn’t like it.

—   Really? Why?

—   Oh, she thought that I would take her to some expensive restaurant and order an expensive dinner. As a result, she was really disappointed.

—   Oh my God! What kind of woman is she?

—   I don’t know, Dylan. She just really loves money, so I won’t go on a date with her ever again.

—   Oh, Marcus. This is a wonderful decision!

As you can see, in this example we used two descriptive words “modest” and “expensive” in front of the word “dinner”. That’s why we chose the indefinite article.

5. When the words “breakfast”, “brunch”, “lunch”, “dinner”, “supper” and “tea” are used to refer to special events, or set meals at restaurants, we need to use an article with them.

Let’s look at the example:

—   This is your room, sir. If you need anything else, just tell me, please.

—   Okay, thank you. Oh, what about breakfast?

—   Breakfast is usually served from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m.

—   Oh, no, no… I want to know what we will have for breakfast.

—   Oh, I see. The breakfast at the hotel includes juice, coffee, eggs and dessert.

—   Great! I just love eating eggs. Thank you so much for your help.

—   No problem, sir.

—   We’ve told you when we need to use articles with the words “breakfast”, “brunch”, “lunch”, “dinner”, “supper” and “tea” and when we don’t.

—   Now let’s put the knowledge into practice.

Put the sentences into the right column.

In the first column you need to put the sentences where it’s necessary to use article “a”. In the second column – article “an”, in the third – article “the” and in the fourth – zero article.

Check yourselves.

1. Barbara said that the dinner at the Plaza was amazing.

2. Tomorrow supper will be at 9 p.m.

3. I would like to drink a hot tea, please.

4. Thank you, Beverly! It was an amazing dinner.

The following sentences.

Let’s check.

5. The breakfast that Ian cooked for me yesterday was delicious.

6. Wendy was invited to a wonderful dinner by George.

7. We ordered an expensive lunch last Friday.

8. Gloria invited me to have lunch at her place on Saturday.

The following four sentences.

Check yourselves.

9. Sarah, it was a modest brunch, but so tasty.

10. Mrs. Donovan, supper is always ready at this time!

11. Many famous people were invited to the dinner in the White House. 

12. This café is a perfect place for an afternoon tea.

And the last four sentences.

Let’s check.

13. Oh, Frank! It was an amazing lunch.

14. Kate needs to eat breakfast each morning, because it gives her energy for the whole day.

15. The breakfast at the hostel includes tea, coffee, sandwiches and eggs.

16. Let’s go to the kitchen and cook a wonderful dinner for us.

—   Guys, now you know when we need to use the definite article “the” with the nouns “breakfast”, “brunch”, “lunch”, “dinner”, “supper” and “tea”.

—   You also know when we need to use indefinite article and zero article with them. 

—   We hope the lesson was interesting and useful for you.

—   That’s all for today, our dear friends.

—   See you soon, boys and girls.