How to order fast food at C1 (Advanced) Level of English! 🍟

Hello lovely students and welcome back to English with Lucy.

A few weeks ago I made a video about ordering a coffee in advanced C1-C2 English.

If you watched that video you probably thought, Lucy can't take this any further,

but then I started thinking and my mind turned to McDonald's as it sometimes does

when I'm really hungry.

I thought to myself, could I possibly take

this concept and make a video about ordering at McDonald’s in super advanced

English?

How far could I possibly take this?

Oh students, have I got a treat for you today!

Before we start I want to remind you that as always there is a free PDF that goes

with this lesson.

I think you're going to like it because

we go into C1 English in great detail and we include a lot of extra information on

the grammar.

I'm also going to go through a lot of the

advanced vocabulary in this video but the video would be too long if I went through

it all so I've put all of the words and phrases I talk about plus more in that PDF.

You are going to love it.

If you'd like to download that just click

on the link in the description box, you enter your name and your email address

and my free PDF will arrive directly in your email inbox.

After that, you will automatically receive my free weekly lesson PDFs plus all of my

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It's free, you can unsubscribe at any time.

Okay let's get started and I need to address the comment that I anticipate in

the comment section.

Lucy no one orders in McDonald’s like this.

You're right!

People don't order from McDonald’s like this and I said in my

video about ordering a coffee that someone would probably spit in my drink

if I ordered like that and the same is true here.

Don't do this to the workers in McDonald’s.

But today's video is jam-packed with

super advanced vocabulary and grammar structures that we do genuinely use just

not necessarily in this context and I think it's such a fun way to learn them.

I also have homework for you.

At the end of this lesson when you've learnt all the advanced ways of ordering

at McDonald’s I want you to do your go-to

order at McDonald’s in a comment.

Make it as advanced as you possibly can.

It's going to be hilarious.

I can't wait to read them.

Okay, we have five levels today.

Let's start with level 1.

Can I have a cheeseburger, medium fries and a large Coke, please?

You could also use could or may.

So this is actually how I would order at McDonald’s.

Now I covered the differences between using the different modal verbs in my

video about ordering a coffee so if you're interested go and watch that.

But you might notice that I ordered fries and not chips even though in the UK we

normally say chips.

In McDonald’s, we go American and we ask for fries.

We also order Coke, as short for Coca-Cola.

We never tend to say cola.

That's just like an off-brand name to us.

We're also often asked, eat in or take away?

Meaning are you eating in the

restaurant or taking the food somewhere else?

This is really important because we have

different tax.

It's cheaper to eat food out of a

restaurant than inside a restaurant.

In the US you're more likely to hear eat in or to go.

So that's my first order, level one, nice

and simple.

Now let's move it up a notch, get a bit

more advanced.

Level 2.

What I'd love is a well-done cheeseburger with a finely sliced, perfectly melted

piece of cheese and a dab of ketchup;

freshly made, lightly salted fries and a

large Coke with two cubes of almost- defrosted ice, please.

There's a 20 % chance they're going to spit in my food at this point.

Okay first I want to touch on the grammar.

It started with a cleft sentence.

I love cleft sentences.

What I'd love is.

What I'd love is.

Instead of saying I'd love a, what I'd

love is.

How cool is that?

Okay.

We use cleft sentences to place the

emphasis on a certain part and in this case I was emphasising a well-done cheeseburger.

That brings me to the next grammar point.

Well-done.

Compound adjectives.

Compound adjectives are adjectives that

have two or more words acting as one single descriptor.

Here are some examples from the text.

We have well-done, finely sliced, perfectly melted, freshly made, lightly

salted and almost-defrosted.

Now as you can see, I can preempt this question in your head right now.

Some are separated by hyphens and others are not.

Why is this?

Well, we often hyphenate compound

adjectives when they come before a noun.

However, we don't hyphenate compound

adjectives when the first word ends in -ly.

L-Y.

We talk a lot more about compound adjectives in my C1 Programme.

By the way, if you didn't know that I run an online B1, B2 and C1 programme, I

think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

I've got links to them in the description

box or you can just visit englishwithlucy.com and see all the information.

Next, I have two pieces of vocabulary that I want to touch on.

I asked for a dab of ketchup.

A dab is a small amount of something that

is put on a surface quickly.

I dab on makeup, for example, and I

wanted a dab of ketchup, just a little bit.

I also wanted the ice cubes almost-defrosted.

Okay, to defrost means to become warmer so it's not frozen anymore.

Finally, I want to talk about the punctuation I used in that sentence.

Did you notice that I used semicolons to separate the items in my order?

We can use semicolons to separate items in a list if at least one of the items

already contains a comma.

These two items had commas, as you can see.

Semicolons are really good at helping avoid confusion in long lists.

Okay, that order was quite advanced, but I know I can go a little bit further.

Let's start with level 3.

If I may, I would like to ask for a

well-done burger topped with a piece of cheese that is on the point of melting, a

hint of gherkin and just a dollop of ketchup.

I've also got a craving for some gently

salted fries with a golden hue, though under no circumstances should they be

burnt, and nothing would quench my thirst more than a Coke with crushed ice.

Okay, I'm not going to lie, that actually sounds absolutely delicious.

Insufferable, but delicious.

First, I want to talk about the structure

I used to begin my order.

If I may.

This is a very polite way to

begin or end a request.

I'd love a cookie, if I may.

Next, there are two grammatical structures that I want to talk about.

The first one is on the point of and this is a phrase to express that

something is about to happen in the very near future.

On the point of melting, just about to melt.

Another structure in this sentence, under

no circumstances should they be burnt.

Wow, that does sound really advanced.

We do use this structure though.

We do!

What do you notice about the word ‘order’ here?

This sentence contains another of my favourites.

I can't choose between cleft sentences

and inversion.

Inversion is when the verb comes before

the subject.

Should they?

But it's not a question.

It's an example of inversion after a

negative adverbial, under no circumstances.

Again, in my C1 course, we have a whole

section of cleft sentences and inversion.

Now, for some vocabulary, I asked for a

hint of gherkin.

A hint is a very small amount of something.

And a gherkin is a small cucumber that is preserved in vinegar.

There is a building in London that everyone calls ‘the gherkin’ because it

looks like a gherkin.

Did you guess that?

You might already know the American English word for this, which is pickle.

Pickle for us, although we would understand you depending on context, but

pickle for us is more like chutney, something that you serve with cheese.

A cheese and pickle sandwich is very popular and there are no gherkins in sight.

That's cheese and chutney more than anything.

Next, craving.

A craving is a strong desire for something.

Pregnant women often talk about their cravings.

So weird.

My most consumed fruit is Granny Smith apples.

And only recently I found out that my mum had cravings for Granny Smith apples when

she was pregnant with me.

That has to be connected.

Another word was hue, which means a colour or a shade of a colour.

And finally, I talked about quenching my thirst.

To quench one's thirst means to drink

until one doesn't feel thirsty anymore.

Some gorgeous vocabulary there.

Now let's try level 4 and we're still not at the end yet.

Might I request a burger constructed of a chargrilled patty, a sliver of cheese

that is more sharp than pungent, a gherkin with a bit of a bite and a dab of

ketchup?

That should be served in a lightly toasted bun with a smattering of sesame seeds.

I've also got a hankering for a generous serving of fries, which should be nicely crispy.

In fact, so crispy should they be that I would like to hear a delicate crunch as I

bite into each one.

I'll top all of that off with an ice-cold

glass of Coke, please.

Okay, I draw the line at this one.

What an annoying customer.

Honestly, I would actually like to

witness somebody try this at a McDonald's.

I'd love to see the response.

Now let's look at the language.

First, I started with, might I request?

This is a very polite way to say, can I ask for, or can I have?

We don't tend to use it with please.

You wouldn't say, please might I request?

Might I request, or please could I request, but not together.

I also used an advanced comparative structure, more sharp than pungent, more

sharp than pungent.

To compare two similar qualities, we

often use more plus adjective plus than plus adjective.

So I essentially wanted it to be sharp, not pungent.

I also used inversion, my favourite again.

So crispy should they be that, so crispy

should they be that, etcetera, etcetera.

We use inversion when we have so plus an

adjectival or adverbial phrase at the beginning of a sentence for emphasis.

We could rewrite it like this.

They should be so crispy that…

That also makes perfect sense, but the other one just sounds a little bit more artful.

Now, vocabulary.

There was some really good vocabulary in this.

I asked for a chargrilled patty.

To chargrill means to cook something over

a high heat so that its surface is slightly burnt, adding a lot of flavour.

And a patty is a piece of food made into a circular shape, a raw burger shape.

That's a patty.

Patty is more common in American English,

but it's making its way into British English too, because we don't have very

good food, so we have to welcome it in from other cultures.

The next two were about cheese, sharp and pungent.

Sharp means strong and a little bit kind

of sour or bitter.

It almost stings your tongue a little bit.

Pungent means having a very strong taste or smell.

It normally implies a negative smell, unless you're talking about cheese where

a strong smell is expected.

I also wanted a smattering of sesame

seeds on my burger bun.

I can't say that word without smiling.

Smattering.

It's so good.

A smattering means a small number or amount.

And finally, I used the phrase to have a

hankering for.

My mum uses this all the time.

You can also use it in a phrasal verb format, to hanker after, to hanker after something.

Both of those mean to have a strong want or desire for something.

I have a hankering for chocolate.

Okay, number 5, level 5.

This is as advanced as we're going to get.

This is the height of my powers, okay?

Are you ready?

Because I don't think I am.

Were it not for my intense craving, I wouldn't be so specific.

However, I would adore a cheeseburger made from meat that has been tenderised

by hand before being fried.

On top of that, I would like some tart

cheese, a smidgen of mustard, a trace of ketchup, and a perfectly round slice of gherkin.

All of that should be in a bun encrusted with sesame seeds.

On the side, I'd like some fries, which are to have been cooked to a perfect

crisp and dusted with salt.

And finally, I'm going to abstain from

drinking anything as I don't want to ruin my taste buds.

I'm officially insufferable.

Before you throw your phone or your

laptop out of the window, let's look at the language.

Then you can.

Actually, I'm not giving you permission

to do that.

That could end in a lawsuit.

I began this order with a conditional sentence, which was another version of inversion.

Oh, that sounds good.

Another version of inversion.

Another example of inversion.

It's everywhere today.

Were it not for, I wouldn't be.

Were it not for, I wouldn't be.

Now, this is a second conditional in which the if has been omitted, making the

sentence more formal.

I talk about advanced conditional clauses

in my C1 programme in great detail.

I also used a perfect passive infinitive structure.

I'd like some fries, which are to have been cooked.

I must say we don't tend to use this much in spoken English, which are to have been

cooked.

This is the structured be plus to have been plus the past participle.

I use the passive here because I don't know who will cook the fries.

Finally, some vocabulary.

Tart.

Tart, meaning tasting sour or having a bitter taste.

Be careful with the noun version here.

We can have a tart, which is an open pie

normally filled with fruit or sweet food.

And we also have a derogatory word.

If you call someone a tart, well, firstly, don't call someone a tart.

A tart is a derogatory term for a woman showing her sexuality.

Maybe dressing in a way that someone feels is inappropriate or overtly sexual.

The adjective of that is tarty.

I don't recommend you to use it, but

important that you understand it.

Next, we have smidgen.

Smidgen, and this means a small piece or amount of something.

I want just a smidgen of wasabi with my sushi.

We also have encrusted.

Encrusted, which means covered with something hard.

We often talk about a diamond-encrusted crown or a bracelet that was encrusted

with gemstones.

We have to dust.

So to dust can mean to remove dust from somewhere.

It's a verb for cleaning, but in this

context, it means to cover something with a powdery substance.

We dust cake with icing sugar, which is called powdered sugar in American English.

That's something I learnt recently, actually, through following American recipes.

And finally, we have to abstain.

To abstain.

This means to not do something, especially something pleasurable that is

bad for your health or wrong in some way.

Okay.

What did you think of my orders?

I think only the first one would be truly

acceptable in a McDonald's.

The next four would probably, yeah, not

have a good outcome for me if I did that.

Don't forget about your homework.

I want you to write your go-to McDonald's order in the comment section

and go as advanced as you possibly can.

And don't be afraid of making mistakes.

It's fine.

This is really, really advanced.

So many native speakers would not be able to explain their use of these structures.

And some wouldn't even use them correctly.

Just go for it and have some fun.

And I'll keep my eyes peeled.

I'll be looking in the comment section to

see who takes it to extremes.

You can also use the PDF to help you.

And if you want to download that, click on the link in the description box.

I've loved today's lesson.

It was ridiculous and fun.

And if you would like another one like this in the future, please give me some ideas.

We've done coffee.

We've done the daily routine.

We've done McDonald's.

We've done all these things.

What next?

What would you like me to take to

extremes for you?

Don't forget to check out my amazing

English programmes.

They are 12-week programmes.

We have B1, B2 and C1.

You can see them all at englishwithlucy.com.

Thousands and thousands of students have taken my programmes.

Here are some comments from students that enrolled in all three programmes.

I must point out Pierre Olivier here because he writes so incredibly beautifully.

And when I received his testimonial, I just thought I have to put that in an

advanced lesson.

I'd love to have you join them.

I will see you soon for another lesson.