CultureBridge: ESL picnics and potlucks

E S L C O R N E R
Picnics and Potlucks

If you are in America this summer, you may be invited to a "potluck" dinner. A potluck is a picnic or informal dinner party, where each person or family brings some food to share. This is also known as bringing "a dish to pass."

You can bring a "main dish" - usually some kind of meat, or a "side dish" - a salad or vegetable.

Conversation example:
A) Are you going to the potluck on Saturday?
B) Yes. I'm going to bring a main dish. What will you bring?
A) I'm going to make a salad.

These terms are also used in restaurants. When you choose a main course from the menu, the waiter will often ask you to choose a side dish as well. For example, if you tell the waiter, "I'd like to have the steak, please."

He might ask, "And what side dish would you prefer, baked potato or rice?"
To pass - (verb) - to go from person to person; to be handed on from one to another.

You can use this verb when you want to ask someone to give you something at the dinner table.

For example:
You'd like to have some corn, so you say to your friend, "Please pass the corn."
A helping - (noun) - a portion of food served to one person.

At a picnic for example, someone may ask you, "Would you like a helping of fruit salad?"

Or you might say to someone, "I'd like another helping of potato salad. Will you pass it to me?"

Check our ESL index for other useful lessons!

H O M E | A R T I C L E S | E S L C O R N E R | L I N K S