Speak With Me: English Speaking Practice

Vanessa: Hi, I'm Vanessa from SpeakEnglishWithVanessa.com.

Are you ready to speak with me?

Let's do it.

Vanessa: Hey, what's your feeling for dinner tonight?

You want to grab something to go, or you want to eat out?

Huh?

If I asked you this, would you know how to respond, or would your heart start beating

quickly and you think, "What do I say?"

Well, never fear.

In today's lesson, we're going to talk about some common questions that are often asked

in conversations about restaurants or eating out, deciding what you want to eat, and also

some common responses to this so that you can feel confident in your next interactions.

Vanessa: At the end of this lesson, you'll have a chance

to speak with me and practice what you've learned.

So make sure to listen carefully.

Let's start with some common questions for talking about eating out in restaurants.

Since the pandemic began, a lot of restaurants have changed their service model.

These questions will cover eating in a restaurant, but also ordering food to go.

I hope that these will help you in any situation that you're in.

Let's start with our first question.

Do you want to eat?

Out this phrasal verb "to eat out" means at a restaurant.

Vanessa: We don't often say, "Do you want to go to

a restaurant?

Do you want to eat at a restaurant?"

We just say "eat out."

Do you want to eat out?

But we often reduce this question to sound a little more comfortable and casual.

Ya want to eat out?

Ya is you.

You want to eat out?

Ya want to eat out?

We've dropped the question word completely do.

Just ya, ya.

And then we have reduced want to to become wanna.

This is a common reduction in English.

Can you say this question with me?

Ya want to eat out?

Ya want to eat out?

Or we could cut off that first word ya completely and just say, "Wanna eat out?"

Vanessa: Ask it with me.

Wanna eat out?

Great.

Then you might ask, where do you want to go?

Where do you want to go?

But do you think we say it clearly like this?

Unfortunately not.

Instead, you could say, "Where ya wanna go?"

Where ya wanna go?

This is a similar reduction to our first question.

You becomes ya and want to becomes wanna.

Where ya wanna go?

Where ya wanna go?

Where ya wanna go?

Should we order pick up?

Should we order pickup?

I want to let you know that in the US there are a lot of terms that are used for this

idea that you're not eating in the restaurant.

Vanessa: You're ordering food, but then you get the

food and you take it somewhere else.

Maybe you take it back home or you take it to a park.

We could use a couple of different phrases, and it's just your personal preference.

For me, I say pick up.

Do you want to order pick up?

Do you want to get pick up?

But you could also say, should we order take out?

Should we order carry out?

Should we order take-away?

So a lot of different phrases and you are going to hear these all around the US.

It's just your choice what you'd like to use.

Vanessa: Another fun question to ask what someone would

like to eat is, what are you in the mood for?

What are you in the mood for?

Don't deny it.

Sometimes in your heart you're just in the mood for comfort food.

Something that's heavy and rich and reminds you of a cozy, warm time in your childhood.

Maybe it's not very healthy, but you're in the mood for comfort food, or maybe you're

in the mood for something light.

You want a salad or sushi.

Something light.

This idea of what are you feeling like you want to eat, but we often reduce this question.

And instead of saying, "What are you in the mood for?"

Vanessa: We might say, "Whatcha in the mood for?"

Whatcha, whatcha is what are you, whatcha in the mood for?

Here, the word you has been reduced to cha, cha.

This is extremely common in spoken English that the word you gets changed up in a lot

of ways.

We already talked about one of those, ya, and this is another, cha.

Whatcha in the mood for?

Whatcha in the mood for?

Or we could reduce this even further, wha'ya in the mood for?

Wha'ya in the mood for?

This is extremely reduced, but notice what's happening.

What are you in the mood for?

The word R is gone and the word you has been reduced to ya.

Vanessa: So when we linked together what and you, it's

super fast.

Wha'ya in the mood for?

Wha'ya in the mood for?

You don't want to say this reduction slowly, wha'ya in the mood for?

No.

We can say it like that to practice for this lesson.

But when this is in daily conversation, it's really fast.

That's the purpose of a reduction.

Do you think you could say this with me really fast?

Wha'ya in the mood for?

Wha'ya in the mood for?

Wha'ya in the mood for?

Great.

All right.

Let's talk about some common answers to these questions so that you can be prepared and

ready.

Vanessa: When someone asks you wha'ya in the mood for,

you might say, "Let's order in.

How about some option?

How about pizza?"

Let's order in.

This is another phrase for talking about bringing the food back to your house.

You don't want to get all ready and then go to the restaurant, or maybe you don't feel

comfortable doing that.

So you might just say, "Let's order in.

How about pizza?"

This expression, how about, is a great way to give a suggestion.

Vanessa: This is excellent in professional situations,

"Hey, how about if we try this marketing plan," or it's great for informal situations to give

a suggestion about something you want to eat, "How about pizza?

What do you think about that?"

Sometimes this question is reduced and it sounds like this, "How 'bout pizza?"

How 'bout pizza?

The first A in the word about is gone.

Hmm, it's just missing.

We say, "How 'bout pizza?"

Can you say that reduction quickly with me?

How 'bout pizza?How 'bout pizza?

Great.

Or you could say, "I'm feeling tacos.

Does that sound good?"

Vanessa: So you're giving your opinion, you'd like

to eat tacos.

But you also want to know what the other person wants, so you use a great question, does that

sound good?

But we often reduce this a lot.

So let's take a look at the first reduction.

You might say, "I'm feelin'," cutting off that G, "I'm feelin' tacos.

How'zat sound?"

How'zat sound?

Instead of, how does that sound, you can say how'zat, how'zat sound?

How'zat sound?

Can you say that quickly with me?

I'm feelin' tacos.

How'zat sound?

I'm feelin' tacos.

How'zat sound?

Great.

We can also reduce it and switch it up a little bit.

Vanessa: I'm feelin' tacos.

Zat sound okay?

I'm feelin' tacos.

That's what I want, but I want to know your opinion.

Does that sound okay reduces to zat sound okay?

Does that becomes zat.

Zat sound okay?

Zat sound okay?

Can you say it with me?

I'm feelin' tacos.

Zat sound okay?

Great question.

Because a lot of restaurants have changed over the last year and you never know when

a restaurant might be closed, it's a good question to ask, is Ted's Cafe open?

I would love to go there.

Is some restaurant open?

I would love to go there.

There is a little way that we can reduce this question.

Vanessa: Take a look at this.

Is Ted's Cafe open?

I'd love to go there.

The word would becomes I'd.

I would, I'd.

You can say, "Is Ted's Cafe open?

I'd love to go there."

Can you say it with me?

Is Ted's Cafe open?

I'd love to go there.

Great.

In the US, a lot of restaurants are having outdoor seating.

So you could say, "Let's go to Louie's, a restaurant name, Louie's.

Let's go to Louie's and eat lunch on their patio.

Eat lunch on their patio.

This is like an outdoor dining area.

Vanessa: It's really nice when restaurants have this,

because sometimes you don't feel like eating at home, but especially with kids, if you

don't feel like confining them inside a restaurant, or maybe you don't feel comfortable doing

that.

If a restaurant has a patio, it's more informal feeling, and it's kind of a nice spur of the

moment thing to do.

A great expression that you can use is, let's grab a bite at Louie's.

Let's grab a bite at Ted's Cafe.

To grab a bite is usually a quick meal.

It might be lunch.

Usually it's not dinner because it's pretty quick, but it might just be a short experience.

Vanessa: It's not a long dinner.

It's not a big to do.

Let's grab a bite at Ted's Cafe because I have to go somewhere later.

Let's grab a bite at somewhere else.

Can you say that with me?

Let's grab a bite at Ted's Cafe.

Let's grab a bite.

Our final answer to the question, what you want to eat, is, I know a place, or I know

a spot that has great pasta.

I know a place that has great pizza.

I know a place.

You could leave this simple and just say, "I know a place.

Come with me."

Vanessa: But if you want to be a little less mysterious,

you could just say, "Oh, I know a place that has great pasta.

Come with me and you've got to try it."

This is kind of maybe an unknown restaurant location that not many people know about,

and it's a great phrase to use.

Oh, I know a place that you're going to love.

Excellent.

Are you ready to practice these.

First, I would like you to watch the sample conversation between my husband and I, as

we talk about where we want to eat, what we want to eat.

Think about those phrases.

Notice the phrases that we use.

Vanessa: And then after that, you're going to have

a chance to speak out loud and practice it yourself.

Let's watch the sample conversation.

Vanessa: Hey, you want to grab lunch?

Dan: Sure, but I only have time for a quick bite

before my soccer game.

What sounds good?

Vanessa: Hmm, how about pasta?

Dan: That sounds great.

How about I call it in, you pick it up, and we'll pick Nick in the park before my game

starts.

Vanessa: That sounds great.

I know a place that's close by and has great tomato sauce.

Vanessa: All right.

Now, it's your turn.

I want you to use these phrases that you've learned.

I'm going to ask you a question.

We're going to have a little conversation together.

It's your chance to speak out loud.

I'm going to ask a question and pause.

Wait for your answer.

No matter where you are around the world, I will be listening to you.

Please take this opportunity to speak and use what you've learned.

If you need to repeat this section again and again, do that.

It's a great way to gain confidence as you speak.

Are you ready?

Hey, I'm hungry.

Let's grab lunch.

Whatcha in the mood for?

Vanessa: Oh, that sounds good.

Do you know a good place?

Oh, that sounds good.

Do you wanna eat there or get take-out?

Great.

Let's go.

Well, how did you do?

Do you feel a little more confident discussing dining options and talking about eating out?

I hope so.

I want you to let me know in the comments.

Right now in your country, can you order take out?

Is this a possibility?

Let me know in the comments and I can't wait to see your answers.

Thank you so much for learning English with me, and I'll see you again next Friday for

a new lesson here on my YouTube channel.

Bye.

Vanessa: The next step is to download my free ebook,

Five Steps to Becoming a Confident English Speaker.

You'll learn what you need to do to speak confidently and fluently.

Don't forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel for more free lessons.

Thanks so much.

Bye.