Sign up for freeSign up

Pancakes for breakfast? Likes, dislikes and breakfast foods

An A1 ESL lesson plan on likes and dislikes in English, with breakfast foods and drinks.

Grammar
The present simple with love, like and don't like for I, you, we and they (I don't like bacon.), and plurals: -s, -es or -ies for count nouns, no -s for noncount nouns such as toast.
Topic
The American breakfast at a Brooklyn diner and at home, with food vocabulary such as pancake, maple syrup, cereal and orange juice.
Activities
Students read a diner menu, hear a kitchen dialogue and a radio clip on maple syrup, do self-checking drills marked with faces, chat with Mia, open boxes of questions and write a breakfast post.

What's inside

  1. Chapter 1Breakfast time!

    • PictureUnlock
    • Spin the wheel and answerSpin the wheelUnlock
    • Study the breakfast wordsVocabularyTry it
    • Look at the pictures and chooseChoose by pictureUnlock

  2. Chapter 2Let's read: the diner menu

    • Look at the photo: breakfast at a dinerPictureUnlock
    • Read the diner menuReal-life documentTry it
    • Read and mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock
    • Read again and choose the right answerQuizUnlock

  3. Chapter 3Let's listen: Sunday pancakes

    • Listen to Mia and JackListeningTry it
    • Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
    • Listen and choose the right answerQuizUnlock
    • Listen to the radioListeningUnlock
    • Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
    • Listen and mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock

  4. Chapter 4Grammar: I like pancakes!

    • Study the scheme: I like…, I don't like…Grammar schemeTry it
    • Choose the right wordsChoose the optionUnlock
    • Drag the words into the gaps: ❤️ love, 🙂 like, 🙁 don't likeDrag and dropTry it
    • Fill in the gaps with -s, -es or -iesFill in the gapsUnlock
    • Fill in the table: -s or no -s?Fill in the tableUnlock

  5. Chapter 5Let's talk: my favorite breakfast

    • Choose the right replies: Sunday pancakesChatTry it
    • Open a box and answer: my favorite breakfastOpen the boxUnlock

  6. Chapter 6Homework

    • Choose the right sentenceQuizUnlock
    • Put the letters in the right orderAnagramUnlock
    • Write a post: my favorite breakfastWriting, checked by the teacherUnlock
    • Record yourself: my breakfastSpeaking, checked by the teacherUnlock

25 exercises in 6 chapters. Start a 7-day free trial to open all of them, copy any part into your own lessons, and teach the lesson live.

Breakfast foods vocabulary

10 words and phrases from the lesson, each with a picture and audio in edio.

+7 more with pictures and audio in the lessonMore words

  • bacon
  • cereal
  • toast
  • butter
  • orange juice
  • like
  • love

Grammar: I like, I don't like and plural nouns

Everyone eats breakfast and has opinions about it, which makes the American breakfast a natural start for likes and dislikes. Learners use the present simple with like and love, for I, you, we and they. Learners also decide when a food word takes -s: I love pancakes, but I love toast.

I like… / I don't like…

Say what food and drinks you love, like and don't like.

I love, I like, I don't like

The scheme gives each phrase a face: a heart for I love, a smile for I like, a frown for I don't like. The negative is don't plus like: I don't like bacon, never I no like bacon.

FaceSayExample
❤️I love…I love pancakes.
🙂I like…I like eggs.
🙁I don't like…I don't like bacon.

The same verb for I, you, we and they

With I, you, we and they, like never changes: We like pancakes. They don't like bananas. The table also shows she likes, marked as coming in A1.2, so the drills stay with the four people learners need now.

WhoYes ✓No ✗
II like eggs.I don't like eggs.
youYou like toast.You don't like toast.
he, she, it → A1.2She likes milk.She doesn't like milk.
weWe like pancakes.We don't like pancakes.
theyThey like bananas.They don't like bananas.

Food we count takes -s

For food in general, things we count take -s: I like eggs. We love pancakes. Things we don't count stay as they are: toast, butter, milk, bacon. To ask for them, say some or a glass of: Some orange juice, please!

-s or no -s?

We count them: add -s

  • one egg → I like eggs.
  • one pancake → We love pancakes.
  • one banana → I don't like bananas.

We don't count them: no -s

  • I like toast and butter.
  • I love orange juice and milk.
  • We don't like bacon or cereal.

No -s? Say some or a glass of

  • Some orange juice, please!
  • Here you are: a glass of milk.
  • I love pancakes with some maple syrup.

Spelling plurals: -s, -es and -ies

Most food words just add -s: waffles, bananas. Some words in o add -es (potatoes, tomatoes), and a consonant plus y becomes -ies: strawberries, blueberries.

How?OneTwo or more
+ segg, pancake, banana, waffleeggs, pancakes, bananas, waffles
some words in o: + espotato, tomatopotatoes, tomatoes
consonant + y → iesstrawberry, blueberrystrawberries, blueberries

Food in general: no the, no a

I like eggs. (not I like the eggs) I love toast. (not I love a toast)

Common mistakes

  • I no like bacon.

    I don't like bacon.

    don't + like

  • I don't likes eggs.

    I don't like eggs.

    no -s on like

  • I like pancake.

    I like pancakes.

    pancakes in general: add -s

  • I love strawberrys.

    I love strawberries.

    consonant + y → ies

More lessons on this grammar: Present simple lessons and exercises

Try the likes and dislikes exercises

Try them yourself: these are the same exercises your students do in edio.

More exercises

What's in the lesson

  • 11 auto-checked exercises
  • 3 games
  • 2 teacher-checked tasks
  • 1 real-life document
  • 1 grammar scheme
  • 1 set of word cards
  • 2 audio clips
  • 2 pictures
  • 2 transcripts

The main objectives of this lesson are to:

  • say which foods and drinks they love, like and don't like: I love pancakes. I don't like bacon.
  • use like and don't like with I, you, we and they, with no -s on the verb: They don't like waffles.
  • add -s to food they can count, spelled right (potatoes, strawberries), and no -s to toast, milk or bacon
  • ask for food without -s with some or a glass of: Some orange juice, please!
  • read a diner menu and name American breakfast foods, from pancakes with maple syrup to cereal and toast

Lesson 17 of English A1.1 · Hello, World opens the unit Food I love with the present simple of like and love. It builds on the plurals with -s, -es and -ies from lesson 10, and lesson 20 reviews likes and dislikes at the end of the unit. Breakfast shows the new rule well: we count pancakes and eggs, so they take -s, but not toast, bacon or maple syrup.

Students spin a wheel of breakfast questions, learn the key words, from pancake to love, with a picture and audio for each, and pick out fruit and other foods by picture. They read the Golden Stack Diner's menu, from blueberry pancakes to The American breakfast of eggs, bacon and toast, then listen to Mia and Jack (an AI-voiced dialogue) and to a radio host on where maple syrup comes from. The grammar chapter opens with the scheme. In its four exercises, checked as students answer, they pick the right words, drag love, like or don't like into gaps, add -s, -es or -ies, and fill in a table that sorts -s from no -s. For speaking, Mia invites students to Sunday pancakes in a chat, and boxes to open hold questions about each student's favorite breakfast.

Homework starts with two self-checking exercises, choosing the right sentence and putting the letters of breakfast words in order. The teacher-checked part comes last: a short post about the student's favorite breakfast and a recording about their own breakfast.

Grammar:
I like… / I don't like… · love · plurals · food and drink
Topic:
food · breakfast · pancakes · maple syrup · diner

Teaching tips

  • Before reading the menu, ask students to guess what's in The American breakfast, then check their guesses against the diner's own line: two eggs, bacon and toast.
  • Turn the three faces into hand signals: a heart, a thumbs-up and a thumbs-down. Name a breakfast food and let the class answer with the sign and the sentence.
  • Have pairs sort the diner menu into food we count and food we don't before the -s table. Pancakes and eggs go one way; toast, bacon and maple syrup the other.
  • Play the radio clip twice: first for how much sap makes one gallon of syrup, then for the state that makes more than half of America's maple syrup.
  • Save the classmate box for pairs: partners find two foods they both love and tell the class with We love…

Liked it?

Teach the whole lesson in edio

25 exercises in 6 chapters, ready to teach. edio is an online platform for language schools and teachers: ready-made interactive lessons, live classes, homework and student progress in one place.

  1. Start a free trial

    7 days, no credit card.

  2. Open the lesson

    Find it in the library of 621 ready lessons. Teach it as it is, or copy any chapter into your own lessons.

  3. Teach it live or as homework

    Students work in their own accounts, in sync with you during the lesson, and the practice exercises check themselves.

Teach it free for 7 days

The whole course: English A1.1 · Hello, World

32 lessons for complete beginners in simple American English, from the verb to be to can and can't. Eight units cover greetings, family, numbers, home, food, daily routines, the town and free time, and each ends with a review lesson. Pictures and definitions replace translations, and the practice exercises check themselves.See the course

  1. Unit 1 Hello!

    greetings, the verb to be, countries and nationalities, yes/no questions

    1. Lesson 1Hi, hey, howdy or aloha?The verb to be with I and you
    2. Lesson 2Ellis Island: where are they from?He's, she's, they're: the verb to be
    3. Lesson 3Six languages at the UNYes/no questions with be and short answers
    4. Lesson 4Review: hello from the Statue of LibertyThe verb to be and yes/no questions, reviewed

  2. Unit 2 My people

    family members, possessive adjectives, have got, describing people

    1. Lesson 5Why is Mother's Day in May?Possessive adjectives: my, your, his, her
    2. Lesson 6Best in show!Have got and the possessive 's
    3. Lesson 7National Best Friends DaySubject pronouns, possessives and describing people
    4. Lesson 8Review: Bobbie the Wonder DogPossessives, have got and 's, reviewed

  3. Unit 3 Numbers all around

    numbers and dates, a/an and plurals, phone numbers and prices

    1. Lesson 9Why is March 14 Pi Day?Numbers 0 to 100, decimals and US dates
    2. Lesson 10How old is the General Sherman tree?A, an and plurals, with big numbers and How old…?
    3. Lesson 119-1-1 and other numbers to knowSaying phone numbers, emails and prices
    4. Lesson 12Review: 102 floors and 1,860 stepsNumbers, dates, ages and prices, reviewed

  4. Unit 4 Home sweet home

    rooms in a house, this, that, these and those, furniture, opposites

    1. Lesson 13A house with 132 roomsThis is, these are and plurals
    2. Lesson 14Boston's skinny house: where's the bed?This, that, these, those and Where's…?
    3. Lesson 15Can a dorm room be cozy?Opposite adjectives and have got
    4. Lesson 16Review: homes for everyoneShowing and describing a home, reviewed

  5. Unit 5 Food I love

    likes and dislikes, present simple questions, ordering food

    1. Lesson 17 · you're herePancakes for breakfast?I like, I don't like and plural nouns
    2. Lesson 18New York pizza or Chicago deep-dish?Present simple questions and short answers
    3. Lesson 19A coffee to go, please!Ordering food with I'd like and Can I have…?
    4. Lesson 20Review: lunch from a food truckI like, Do you like and I'd like, reviewed

  6. Unit 6 My day

    telling the time, daily routines, days of the week, prepositions of time

    1. Lesson 21What time is it in Times Square?Telling the time and daily routines
    2. Lesson 22Who brings the mail?The present simple with we and they
    3. Lesson 23Is it morning in Hawaii?Prepositions of time with parts of the day
    4. Lesson 24Review: a New York morningTime, routines and days, reviewed

  7. Unit 7 My town

    places in town, prepositions of place, giving directions

    1. Lesson 25Main Street, USAPrepositions of place: near and next to
    2. Lesson 26Meet me at Union SquarePresent simple questions and negatives with we and they
    3. Lesson 27Turn left on 42nd StreetImperatives for giving directions
    4. Lesson 28Review: streets for peoplePlaces, the present simple and directions, reviewed

  8. Unit 8 Free time

    hobbies, can and can't, sports, making plans

    1. Lesson 29Can you play Scrabble?Can and can't for ability
    2. Lesson 30Can you surf?Can for ability and how well
    3. Lesson 31Saturday morning: Little LeagueFree time and making plans
    4. Lesson 32Review: a book for every childCan, can't and free time, reviewed

Questions about this lesson

How do you talk about likes and dislikes in English?
To talk about likes and dislikes in English, use I love, I like and I don't like before a noun: I love pancakes. I like eggs. I don't like bacon. The verb stays the same after you, we and they; only he, she and it add -s: She likes milk. The A1 lesson Pancakes for breakfast? on edio.ai teaches all three phrases with American breakfast foods.
Which foods are countable and uncountable in English?
Foods you count one by one are countable, like eggs, pancakes and bananas, and foods you don't count, like toast, butter, milk and orange juice, are uncountable. In general, countable foods take -s (I like eggs.), while uncountable ones take no -s and no a (I like toast, not a toast). To ask for an amount, add some or a glass of: A glass of milk, please!
When do you add -s, -es or -ies to a noun?
Most nouns just add -s, nouns ending in s, x, ch or sh add -es, and so do some ending in o, while a y after a consonant changes to -ies. So it's eggs and waffles, sandwiches and tomatoes, strawberries and blueberries. Watch the y in particular: We love strawberries, never strawberrys. A y after a vowel just takes -s, as in days.
Is it "I no like" or "I don't like"?
The correct form is I don't like; I no like is a mistake, because English makes a verb negative with don't (do not): I don't like bacon. They don't like waffles. The verb after don't takes no -s, so I don't likes eggs is wrong too. Both slips appear among the wrong replies in the chat of Pancakes for breakfast?, an A1 lesson on edio.ai.
Is it "I like pancake" or "I like pancakes"?
Say I like pancakes, with -s, because a food you can count takes the plural when you mean it in general. The same goes for eggs, bananas and waffles: We love waffles. They don't like bananas. Leave out the for food in general, too: I like eggs, not I like the eggs. Only uncountable foods stay as they are: I like toast.
What are the common breakfast foods in English?
The common breakfast foods in English are eggs, bacon, toast, cereal, pancakes and waffles, with orange juice, coffee or milk to drink. Bacon and eggs, usually with toast, is often called the American breakfast; pancakes and waffles with maple syrup are a weekend breakfast in many families, and cereal with milk is a quick weekday one. Of these, only eggs, pancakes and waffles take -s.
What food vocabulary should beginners learn first?
Beginners should first learn the foods and drinks they have every day, so each new word goes into a sentence at once: I like eggs. I don't like milk. Learn each word with a picture, and with its plural or some (two bananas, some butter), which shows whether it takes -s. With the verbs like and love, every food word becomes something to say.
How do I teach "I like" and "I don't like" to beginners?
Teach I like and I don't like with one simple sign for each phrase, and let students hear the phrases before saying them. On edio.ai, the A1 lesson Pancakes for breakfast? plays them first in a kitchen dialogue, then marks I love, I like and I don't like with a heart, a smile and a frown in its scheme and drills, and only then turns to -s.
What's a good game for practicing likes and dislikes?
An open-the-box game with food prompts works well: a student opens a box and answers the task inside, such as Say two foods you don't like or Bacon and eggs: yes or no? In Pancakes for breakfast? on edio.ai, eight boxes run from a perfect breakfast plate to two foods a student and a classmate both love, after a spin-the-wheel warm-up with questions like Pancakes or eggs?
How do you practice likes and dislikes one-to-one?
One-to-one, trade sentences about real food with the student: you say I love pancakes or I don't like bacon, and they answer with a sentence of their own. The chat needs no partner, since the student picks each reply to a roommate's messages about Sunday pancakes. Answer the open-the-box prompts yourself as well, so the student hears I don't like… as often as they say it.
What's good homework for practicing likes and dislikes?
A short post about a favorite breakfast makes good homework: two things the student loves, two they like and one or two they don't. A quick quiz first catches slips such as We love strawberrys or I no like bacon. The homework of Pancakes for breakfast? on edio.ai has that quiz and a breakfast-word anagram, both self-checking, then the post and a recording about the student's breakfast for the teacher.
Are there interactive exercises for likes and dislikes?
Yes, interactive exercises can check likes and dislikes instantly, as students drag words into gaps or pick replies in a chat. The page of Pancakes for breakfast?, an A1 lesson on edio.ai, plays four parts without an account: a diner menu to read, a kitchen dialogue to hear, a drag-and-drop with a face beside each sentence and a chat about Sunday pancakes. An account opens the rest.
Unlock full lesson

Teach this lesson with your students

Book a demoStart free trial

No credit card required