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A coffee to go, please! Ordering food and drinks with I'd like

Students practice ordering food and drinks politely in this A1 ESL lesson plan, set at an American coffee shop.

Grammar
Polite requests with I'd like (I would like) and Can I have…?, the size before the drink (a large iced coffee), and offers with Would you like…? set against Do you like…?
Topic
A coffee shop in Brooklyn, where the barista asks For here or to go?, with words such as latte, iced coffee, lid and napkin.
Activities
A café menu to read, an order at the counter and a coffee podcast to hear, self-checking drills, a chat with the barista, role-play cards for pairs and a message to write.

What's inside

  1. Chapter 1Coffee time!

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

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

    • Look at the photo: a coffee to goPictureUnlock
    • Read the menuReal-life documentTry it
    • Read and mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock
    • Read again and choose the right answerQuizUnlock

  3. Chapter 3Let's listen: for here or to go?

    • Listen to Olivia and SamListeningTry it
    • Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
    • Listen and choose the right answerQuizUnlock
    • Listen to Liam's podcastListeningUnlock
    • Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
    • Listen and mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock

  4. Chapter 4Grammar: I'd like a latte!

    • Study the scheme: I'd like…, Can I have…?Grammar schemeTry it
    • Choose the right wordsChoose the optionUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps: put the words in orderFill in the gapsTry it
    • Fill in the table: Do you like or Would you like?Fill in the tableUnlock
    • Choose the right answer: at the counterQuizUnlock

  5. Chapter 5Let's talk: at the counter

    • Choose the right replies: a latte and a muffinChatTry it
    • Open a box and play the role: at the coffee shopOpen the boxUnlock

  6. Chapter 6Homework

    • Put the words in the right orderUnjumbleUnlock
    • Put the letters in the right orderAnagramUnlock
    • Write a message: coffee for a friendWriting, checked by the teacherUnlock
    • Record yourself: order at a coffee shopSpeaking, 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.

Coffee shop 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

  • latte
  • iced coffee
  • cup
  • lid
  • straw
  • muffin
  • napkin

Grammar: ordering food with I'd like and Can I have…?

A coffee shop counter is a short, predictable conversation, which makes it a good first place for ordering food in English. Learners ask with I'd like… and Can I have…?, answer the barista in two or three words, and learn that I'd like means now, please, while I like means in general.

I'd like… / Can I have…, please?

Order food and drinks politely in a coffee shop.

I'd like… and Can I have…, please?

Both polite orders take a noun: I'd like a latte, please (I'd = I would) and Can I have a cookie, please? There's no to after Can I: Can I have a straw?, never Can I to have a straw?

I'd like… = I would like…

I'd likea latte / two muffinsplease.

I'd like a latte, please.

I'd like two muffins, please.

Can I have…, please?

Can I havea cookie / a strawplease?

Can I have a cookie, please?

Can I have a straw, please?

The size goes before the drink

Learners build every order the same way: how many, the size, then the drink. It's a large iced coffee, not a coffee large, and with two, the drink takes -s: two small lattes.

a / twosmall / medium / largelatte / iced coffee

I'd like a large iced coffee, please.

Can I have two small lattes, please?

I like or I'd like? Do you like or Would you like?

I like coffee is about coffee in general; I'd like a coffee is an order for now. The questions split the same way, and so do their answers: Do you like muffins? Yes, I do. Would you like a muffin? Yes, please!

I like 🙂 = in general

  • I like coffee. I drink it every day.
  • Do you like muffins? – Yes, I do.

I'd like ☕ = now, please

  • I'd like a coffee, please.
  • Would you like a muffin? – Yes, please!

Short answers to the barista's questions

Each question at the counter gets a short answer: Medium, please. Hot, please. No, thank you. For here means you sit in the café, and to go means you take the drink with you.

BaristaYou
What would you like?I'd like a latte, please. / Can I have a latte, please?
Small, medium or large?Medium, please.
Hot or iced?Hot, please. / Iced, please.
Would you like milk?Yes, please! / No, thank you.
For here or to go?For here, please. (You sit in the café.) / To go, please. (You take it with you.)
What's your name?It's Kim. K-I-M.

a coffee = a cup of coffee

In a café, a coffee = a cup of coffee: I'd like a coffee, please. Coffee in general, no a: I like coffee.

Common mistakes

  • I like a latte, please.

    I'd like a latte, please.

    now, in a café: I'd like

  • Can I to have a muffin?

    Can I have a muffin?

    no to after Can I

  • I'd like a coffee large.

    I'd like a large coffee.

    the size before the drink

  • Give me a coffee.

    Can I have a coffee, please?

    Give me… is not polite

Try the ordering food exercises

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

More exercises

What's in the lesson

  • 10 auto-checked exercises
  • 4 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:

  • order food and drinks politely with I'd like… and Can I have…?: Can I have a muffin, please?
  • put the size before the drink: a large iced coffee, two small lattes
  • answer a barista in a few words: Medium, please. Iced, please. To go, please.
  • tell Do you like…? from Would you like…? and answer each one: Yes, I do. Yes, please!
  • ask for a lid, a straw or a napkin, and spell their name for the cup

Lesson 19 of English A1.1 · Hello, World is in the unit Food I love, right before its review in lesson 20. It sets the I like of lesson 17 and the Do you like…? of lesson 18 against I'd like and Would you like…? Many American coffee shops write the customer's name on the cup, so students spell theirs too.

After a spin wheel of coffee questions, students learn ten café words with pictures and audio, from order and give to napkin, and then pick them out by picture. They read the café's menu, with prices for small, medium and large, and answer questions on it. Then they listen to Sam order coffee for the house (an AI-voiced dialogue) and to Liam's podcast about coffee in the US. Besides the scheme, there are four grammar exercises, each checking answers as students go: choosing the right words, building I'd like and Can I have from jumbled words, a table of Do you like or Would you like, and a quiz of situations at the counter. For speaking, students order a latte and a muffin from Olivia in a chat, then open boxes of role-play cards for customer and barista.

Two homework exercises check themselves: unjumbling orders and questions, and unscrambling café words. Then students write a message offering a friend a drink from Two Cups Café and record their own order at the counter, and the teacher looks at both.

Grammar:
I'd like… · Can I have…? · Would you like…? · café words
Topic:
coffee shop · coffee · café · food and drink

Teaching tips

  • Set up a counter at the front of the room with three paper cups for small, medium and large, and let students take turns as the barista, using the questions in the scheme's table.
  • Hand out a three-line order pad before the listening, for Jack, for Emma and Priya, and for Sam, and have students write down each order as Sam gives it.
  • Ask the two questions back to back: Do you like muffins? and Would you like a muffin? Students decide which one is an offer; only that one gets Yes, please.
  • Have students spell their names for the cup, as Kim does in the chat (K-I-M). It brings back the alphabet from lesson 1.
  • Make every pair play both roles with the open-the-box cards, customer first and then barista, so everyone asks What would you like? as well as answering it.

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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 17Pancakes 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 19 · you're hereA 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 use "I would like" in English?
I would like is a polite way to ask for something now, usually shortened to I'd like and followed by a noun: I'd like a latte, please. Don't order with I like, which means you enjoy something in general. The question form makes offers: Would you like a muffin? In A coffee to go, please! on edio.ai, students build I'd like from the jumbled words I / would / like.
Is "Can I have…?" polite?
Yes, Can I have…? is polite when you add please: Can I have a muffin, please? is as polite as I'd like a muffin, please. Put have right after Can I, with no to: Can I have a straw? An order like Give me a napkin isn't polite, and the counter chat in A coffee to go, please!, an A1 lesson on edio.ai, offers it as a wrong reply.
How do you order food politely in English?
To order politely, use I'd like… or Can I have…? and add please: I'd like a latte, please. Can I have a cookie, please? Put the size before the drink (a large coffee, not a coffee large), answer the server's questions in a word or two (Medium, please.), and turn down an offer with No, thank you. A short Thank you! ends the order.
How do you order food in a restaurant in English?
In a restaurant, answer What would you like? with I'd like… or Can I have…? and the dish: I'd like a sandwich, please. The server's offers start with Would you like…? and take Yes, please or No, thank you: Would you like a drink? Yes, please. Can I have a lemonade? At a café counter, you'll also hear For here or to go?
What's the difference between "Do you like…?" and "Would you like…?"
Would you like…? offers something now, while Do you like…? asks what someone likes in general. So the answers differ: Do you like iced coffee? Yes, I do. But Would you like milk in your coffee? Yes, please! For no, say No, I don't to the first kind and No, thank you to the second.
What does "for here or to go" mean?
For here or to go? asks whether you'll stay in the café or take your order with you. Answer For here, please to sit down, or To go, please to leave with it. At an American coffee shop, the barista asks it along with Small, medium or large? and Hot or iced?, so short answers like Large, please and Iced, please are all you need.
What do you say when you order coffee?
Say the size, then the drink, then please: Can I have a medium latte, please? I'd like a large iced coffee, please. Then answer the barista's questions in a word or two, such as Hot, please or To go, please. Many American coffee shops write your name on the cup, so be ready to spell it: It's Kim. K-I-M.
How do I teach ordering food to beginners?
Teach ordering as a short script with set answers: the server's questions, a short reply to each, then the order. A coffee to go, please! on edio.ai builds it that way: students hear a coffee order for a whole house, study the barista's questions in a table, rebuild I'd like and Can I have from jumbled words, and order in a chat. Role-play cards for customer and barista come last.
What's a good game for practicing ordering food?
Role-play cards in pairs make a good ordering game: each card gives one student a role, and the partner plays the other. You're the customer. Order a large iced coffee to go. You're the barista. Ask: Small, medium or large? Hot or iced? On edio.ai, eight such cards wait in the open-the-box game of A coffee to go, please!, five for the customer and three for the barista.
How do you practice ordering food one-to-one?
One-to-one, play the server first, then switch roles, so the student both orders and takes an order. The counter chat works alone: the student orders a latte and a muffin, choosing each reply. With the role-play cards, the student orders as the customer, then asks What would you like? and For here or to go? as the barista.
What's good homework for practicing ordering food?
Recording a full order makes good homework: the student orders a drink and a snack, gives the size, answers for here or to go and spells their name. Before that, A coffee to go, please! on edio.ai sets two self-checking games, an unjumble of orders and a café-word anagram, and a message offering a friend a drink with Would you like…? The teacher gets the message and the order.
Are there interactive exercises for ordering food?
Yes, interactive ordering drills can check answers the moment they're given. Without an account, the page of A coffee to go, please!, an A1 lesson on edio.ai, plays a café menu with three sizes, an order at the counter to listen to, a gap-fill that puts I / would / like in order, and a chat ordering a latte and a muffin. The other exercises need an account.
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