Countable and uncountable foods presentation and speaking
food vocabulary/ countable and uncountable nouns/ cultural training
Worksheet 1: Grammar presentation
What are the differences between these countable and uncountable phrases? Work together to draw each one, making sure that the two pictures are different.
| Some chicken | Some chickens |
| Some ice cream | Some ice creams |
| Some coffee | Some coffees |
| Some pizza | Some pizzas |
| Some melon | Some melons |
| Some chocolate | Some chocolates |
| Some cake | Some cakes |
| Some (black) pepper | Some (green/ red/ yellow) peppers |
Try to find a pattern in the differences between the pairs, and patterns of similarities in each column. Then compare the patterns and pictures as a class.
Which of the two above would you usually eat for each kind of food?
Worksheet 2: Amounts and ingredients speaking
If you were cooking, which of the options in each list below would you usually use? Try to find at least one similarity with your partner and at least one difference.
- A breadcrumb/ A few breadcrumbs/ Some breadcrumbs/ A slice of bread/ Some slices of bread/ Half a loaf of bread/ A loaf of bread/ Some loaves of bread
- A little (bit of) cheese/ Some cheese/ Lots of cheese/ Lots of cheeses
- A drop of olive oil/ A few drops of olive oil/ A teaspoon of olive oil/ Some olive oil/ Lots of olive oil/ A bottle of olive oil
- A tiny bit of jam/ A teaspoon of jam/ A tablespoon of jam/ Quite a lot of jam/ A jar of jam/ Some jars of jam
- A pinch of salt/ A little (bit of) salt/ A tablespoon of salt/ A cup of salt/ A bag of salt
- A segment of orange/ Half an orange/ An orange/ Some oranges/ Lots of oranges
- A leaf of lettuce/ A few leaves of lettuce/ Some lettuce/ A lettuce/ Some lettuces/ Lots of lettuces
- A drop of wine/ Half a glass of wine/ A glass of wine/ Some glasses of wine/ A bottle of wine/ Some bottles of wine
Share a similarity with the class and see if anyone else is the same.
Go through the list above one more time and say what you could make with the quantity that you selected, and what other ingredients you would need, e.g. “We could cook fried chicken with some breadcrumbs. We’d need lots of oil, some chicken, some black pepper and maybe some spices”.
All the expressions above are grammatically correct, but put brackets around those that are very rarely used in cooking.
Challenge each other to cook with strange amounts of ingredients, e.g. “Here is a whole bottle of olive oil. What can you cook with that?”
Describe ingredients needed for one thing below until your partner guesses which it is, then take turns doing the same.
- Spaghetti bolognese (Homemade) pizza Lasagne Risotto
- Sushi Sashimi Tempura Shabu shabu Teriyaki chicken
- A cream tea Fish and chips G&T English breakfast
- Kebab Hummus
- Tacos Fajitas Guacamole
- Clam chowder (Homemade) hamburger
- Dim sum Sweet and sour pork Wonton soup Spring rolls Chow mein
- Tandoori chicken Nan bread Pilau rice
- Green curry Tom yum soup
- Gratin Quiche
Where do the foods above come from? Are any not popular or well known in your country?
What other international foods are famous or often eaten? What ingredients do you need to make them?
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