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Two eggs, sunny side up! Would you like…? and I'd like… at a diner

A2 learners practice Would you like and I'd like in this ESL lesson plan, offering food and ordering breakfast at an American diner.

Grammar
Offers with Would you like…?, orders with I'd like…, please, would like + a noun or + to + verb, polite replies (Yes, please. I'd love to!) and the casual Do you want…?
Topic
The American diner, whose story starts with a lunch wagon in Providence, Rhode Island, in 1872, with restaurant vocabulary such as booth, refill, over easy and blue plate special.
Activities
A diner menu to read, a breakfast order and Grandpa's challenge to hear, self-checking drills, an ordering chat and role-play boxes.

What's inside

  1. Chapter 1Welcome to the diner!

    • PictureUnlock
    • Spin the wheel and answerSpin the wheelUnlock
    • Study the words: at the dinerVocabularyTry it
    • Look at the pictures and chooseChoose by pictureUnlock

  2. Chapter 2Let's read: the menu

    • Look at the photo: a classic 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: breakfast for two

    • Listen to Nora and EddieListeningTry it
    • Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
    • Listen and choose the right answerQuizUnlock
    • Listen to Grandpa's ChallengeListeningUnlock
    • Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
    • Listen and mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock

  4. Chapter 4Grammar: Would you like…?

    • Study the scheme: Would you like…?Grammar schemeTry it
    • Choose the right wordsChoose the optionUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps: like + to + verbFill in the gapsTry it
    • Fill in the table: casual and politeFill in the tableUnlock
    • Choose the right answerQuizUnlock

  5. Chapter 5Let's talk: order a meal!

    • Choose the right replies: order a mealChatTry it
    • Open a box and talk: at the dinerOpen the boxUnlock

  6. Chapter 6Homework

    • Match the words and the meaningsMatchUnlock
    • Unscramble the words: diner wordsAnagramUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps: diner wordsFill in the gapsUnlock
    • Match the pairs: diner talkMemory gameUnlock
    • Choose the right words: at the dinerChoose the optionUnlock
    • Put the words in the right order: order a mealUnjumbleUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps: make it politeFill in the gapsUnlock
    • Sort the sentences: good or bad?Sort into columnsUnlock
    • Drag the words into the gaps: Nora's app reviewDrag and dropUnlock

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Restaurant 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

  • counter
  • refill
  • sunny side up
  • over easy
  • blue plate special
  • pie case
  • lunch wagon

Grammar: offers and orders with would like

At a diner, nearly every line is an offer or an order: Would you like some coffee? I'd like the pancakes, please. Learners set Would you like…? against Do you like…?, an offer now against a question about tastes, answer with polite replies, put a noun or to + verb after like, and use one form of would like for every person.

Would you like some coffee? – Yes, please!

Offer and order politely: Would you like…? What would you like? I'd like…, please.

Do you like…? or Would you like…?

Do you like pie? asks about your tastes in general, so the answer is Yes, I do. or No, I don't. Would you like some pie? is an offer for now, and the answer is Yes, please. or No, thank you.

Do you like…? = in general

  • Do you like pie? – Yes, I do. / No, I don't.
  • I like pie. = in general, not only today.

Would you like…? = an offer, now

  • Would you like some pie? – Yes, please. / No, thank you.
  • I'd like pie, please. = I want pie now.

Offers and polite replies

A warm yes is I'd love some! for food and I'd love to! for an action, and a no often adds I'm fine. To the question What would you like?, an order starts with I'd like: I'd like the pancakes, please.

OfferYes 👍No 👎
Would you like coffee?Yes, please.No, thank you.
Would you like some pie?Yes, please. I'd love some!No, thank you. I'm fine.
Would you like to sit in a booth?Yes, please. I'd love to!No, thank you.
What would you like?I'd like the pancakes, please.–

A thing, or to + a verb

After would like, put a thing (Would you like coffee? I'd like a booth, please.) or to + a verb: Would you like to see the menu? I'd love to try it! The to can't drop out, so Would you like eat…? is wrong.

Would you like / I'd like + a thing

  • Would you like coffee?
  • Would you like some pancakes?
  • I'd like a booth, please.

Would you like / I'd love + to + a verb

  • Would you like to see the menu?
  • Would you like to pour the syrup?
  • I'd love to try it!

I'd, he'd, we'd: one form for everyone

Would like stays the same for every person: I'd like (I would like), He'd like pancakes, We'd like a booth. There's no -s, so it's she'd like, never she'd likes, and questions put would first: What would she like?

would like: the same for every person

WhoExample
II'd like (= I would like) two eggs, please.
youWould you like a refill?
he, she, itHe'd like pancakes. What would she like?
weWe'd like a booth, please.
theyWould they like some pie?

At the diner

  • We serve breakfast all day. What would you like?
  • Eddie pours the coffee. Would you like some milk?
  • Would you like to try our cherry pie? – I'd love to!
  • Marco would like the whole menu!

Do you want…? with friends

Do you want…? is the casual way, fine with friends and family: Do you want a waffle? With a server, a guest or someone new, Would you like…? sounds more polite, and an order with I'd like sounds nicer than I want.

Do you want…? is casual

With friends and family, you can say Do you want…?: Marco, do you want a waffle? To a server, a guest or a new person, say Would you like…? It's more polite. At a diner, order with I'd like…, please. It sounds nicer than I want.

Common mistakes

  • Do you like a coffee? (an offer)

    Would you like a coffee?

    an offer now: Would you like…?

  • Would you like coffee? – Yes, I would like.

    Would you like coffee? – Yes, please.

    a short reply: Yes, please.

  • I like the pancakes, please.

    I'd like the pancakes, please.

    order with I'd like

  • Would you like eat some pie?

    Would you like to eat some pie?

    like + to + verb

Try the would like exercises

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

More exercises

What's in the lesson

  • 16 auto-checked exercises
  • 5 games
  • 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:

  • offer food and drinks politely: Would you like some coffee? What would you like?
  • order with I'd like…, please: I'd like two eggs, sunny side up, please.
  • accept or turn down an offer: Yes, please. I'd love some! No, thank you. I'm fine.
  • use would like with a noun or with to + verb, for every person: Would you like to sit in a booth? He'd like pancakes.

Lesson 11 comes third in American food, the unit of English A2.1 · Then and Now in which learners describe dishes, compare tastes and order food. It builds on A1.1 lesson 19, where students ordered at a coffee shop with I'd like and Can I have…? and met Would you like…?, and adds What would you like?, would like + to + verb and a full set of polite replies. English A2.2 · Curious Minds comes back to Would you like to…? in lesson 29, for invitations. A diner server offers something at every step, from a booth to a coffee refill.

The warm-up wheel asks about breakfast, and ten word cards follow, from serve and pour to sunny side up and lunch wagon, each with a picture and audio. Students then read a diner menu from Providence, with egg orders, diner lingo such as Joe for coffee and a short history, then hear Nora order breakfast from Eddie, the server (an AI-voiced dialogue), and Grandpa's diner challenge. Four drills follow the scheme and check every answer, one of them a gap-fill of like + to + verb. In the speaking chapter, students order a meal from Eddie in a chat and take turns as server and guest with open-box prompts.

The nine homework tasks check themselves, from a word match and a memory game of diner talk to a drill that makes casual questions polite and Nora's app review, with words to drag into its gaps.

Grammar:
Would you like…? · What would you like? · I'd like…, please · polite replies · Would you like to + verb · Do you want…?
Topic:
diners · American breakfast · diner lingo · free refills · Providence, Rhode Island · ordering food

Teaching tips

  • Set up a diner in the classroom: two desks make a booth and a row of chairs the counter, and the server greets each guest with Would you like to sit at the counter or in a booth?
  • Before the listening, ask how students like their eggs, and draw sunny side up and over easy on the board. Students then listen for which order is Nora's and which is her cousin's.
  • Go round the room with a coffee pot, real or imagined, offering refills. Each student answers Yes, please. or No, thank you. I'm fine. Anyone who says Yes, I do pours the next cup.
  • Contrast the two questions on the board: Do you like pie? and Would you like some pie? Then call out offers and questions at random, and students answer each with Yes, I do. or Yes, please.

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The whole course: English A2.1 · Then and Now

32 lessons for adults at A2 in simple American English, from the past simple to going to, should and might. Eight units tell stories of journeys, American firsts, food, places, sports, music, neighbors and dreams. Pictures and definitions replace translations, and the practice exercises check themselves.See the course

  1. Unit 1 Amazing journeys

    the past simple, regular and irregular verbs, negatives, prepositions of movement

    1. Lesson 1Around the world in 72 daysThe past simple of regular verbs
    2. Lesson 2The first drive across AmericaIrregular verbs in the past simple
    3. Lesson 3Get your kicks on Route 66Past simple negatives with didn't
    4. Lesson 4She walked 2,000 miles in sneakersPrepositions of movement

  2. Unit 2 American firsts

    was and were, past questions and short answers, ago and in, could for past ability

    1. Lesson 5The first American woman in spaceWas, were, there was and there were
    2. Lesson 6A real bug in the computerPast simple questions with did
    3. Lesson 7“Mr. Watson, come here”Wh- questions in the past simple
    4. Lesson 8Twelve seconds in the airCould and couldn't for past ability

  3. Unit 3 American food

    countable and uncountable nouns, comparatives, ordering food, a few and a little

    1. Lesson 9The first chocolate chip cookieCountable and uncountable nouns in a recipe
    2. Lesson 10Is a jalapeño hotter than a habanero?Comparatives of short adjectives
    3. Lesson 11 · you're hereTwo eggs, sunny side up!Offers and orders with would like
    4. Lesson 12Cooking for twenty on ThanksgivingA few, a little and a lot of

  4. Unit 4 City or country?

    comparatives with more and less, superlatives, as … as, too and enough

    1. Lesson 13The island with no carsComparatives with more and less, plus better, worse and farther
    2. Lesson 14America's extremesSuperlatives with the + -est, the most and the least
    3. Lesson 15San Francisco or Yosemite? You choose!As … as for the same, not as … as for less
    4. Lesson 16A park on an old railroadToo, enough and not … enough

  5. Unit 5 Game on

    play, go and do with sports, going to, adverbs of manner, reflexive pronouns

    1. Lesson 17Basketball started with peach baskets?Play, go and do with sports
    2. Lesson 18What's going to happen at LA 2028?Be going to for plans and predictions
    3. Lesson 19Pickleball: a game from a backyardAdverbs of manner
    4. Lesson 20Be brave and tryReflexive pronouns and each other

  6. Unit 6 Music and nights out

    love, enjoy and hate + -ing, the present continuous for plans, suggestions, to for purpose

    1. Lesson 21Where jazz was bornGerunds after love, like, enjoy, hate and don't mind
    2. Lesson 22Music on every streetThe present continuous for future arrangements
    3. Lesson 23A night on BroadwaySuggestions with Let's, Why don't we and How about
    4. Lesson 24An orchestra for every kidThe infinitive of purpose and to or for

  7. Unit 7 Neighbors and community

    much and many, should, something and everyone, because and so

    1. Lesson 25Everybody cleans up!Much and many with nouns you can and can't count
    2. Lesson 26Good neighbors shovel snowShould and shouldn't + the base verb
    3. Lesson 27Take a book, leave a bookIndefinite pronouns with some-, any-, no- and every-
    4. Lesson 28A bench for making friendsBecause for reasons, so for results

  8. Unit 8 Plans and dreams

    verb + to, the present continuous vs going to, might, when, before and after

    1. Lesson 29Never give up: from farm fields to spaceVerb + to + the base form
    2. Lesson 30Across America by trainGoing to and the present continuous for the future
    3. Lesson 31Open in the year 6939Might and might not for possibility
    4. Lesson 32A college graduate at 95Time clauses with when, before and after

Questions about this lesson

How do you use "Would you like…?" in English?
Use Would you like…? to offer something politely: Would you like some coffee? Would you like a refill? It can also offer an action, with to + verb: Would you like to sit in a booth? To ask for someone's choice, start with What: What would you like? The A2 lesson Two eggs, sunny side up! on edio.ai practices all three at a diner.
What does "would like" mean?
Would like means want, said politely, about something you want now: I'd like two eggs, please is a polite way to say I want two eggs. The form never changes for the person, with no -s: I'd like, she'd like, we'd like, they'd like. It takes a noun (He'd like pancakes.) or to + verb (We'd like to order now.).
What does "I'd like" mean?
I'd like is short for I would like, the polite way to order or ask for something: I'd like the pancakes, please. Don't drop the 'd: I like the pancakes says you enjoy them in general, not that you want them now. For a strong yes to an offer, say I'd love some! or, for an action, I'd love to!
How do you answer "Would you like…?"
The polite answers are Yes, please and No, thank you: Would you like more coffee? Yes, please. Don't answer Yes, I like or Yes, I do, which belong to Do you like…? For a warmer yes, add I'd love some! for food or I'd love to! for an action, and soften a no with I'm fine. In edio.ai's Two eggs, sunny side up!, the ordering chat offers Yes, I like as a wrong reply.
Is it "Would you like eat" or "Would you like to eat"?
It's Would you like to eat…?, with to before the verb: Would you like to eat some pie? Would you like to see the menu? Answers and orders follow the same rule: I'd like to try the cherry pie. I'd love to taste every dish! Before a noun, there's no to: Would you like a coffee?, not Would you like to a coffee?
Is "Do you want…?" polite?
Do you want…? is casual, fine with friends and family, but with a server, a guest or someone new, Would you like…? is the polite choice. Compare Do you want coffee? at home with Would you like coffee? at a diner. A table drill in the A2 lesson Two eggs, sunny side up! on edio.ai turns casual questions into polite ones.
What does "sunny side up" mean?
Sunny side up means a fried egg that isn't flipped: it cooks on one side only, so the yolk stays soft on top. To order it, say I'd like two eggs, sunny side up, please. An egg the cook flips for a short time is over easy, and its yolk stays runny. The diner menu in Two eggs, sunny side up!, an A2 lesson on edio.ai, explains both.
How do you order eggs in English?
Order eggs with I'd like, the number and how they're cooked: I'd like two eggs, sunny side up, please. If the server asks Sunny side up or over easy?, a short answer is enough: Over easy, please. On a diner menu, Two eggs, your way means you choose. In old diner lingo, Adam and Eve on a raft was two poached eggs on toast.
What restaurant vocabulary do you need at a diner?
At a diner, the key restaurant vocabulary is words for seats, service and the menu: a booth (a table with soft seats by the wall) or the counter with its stools; the server, who serves the food and pours the coffee; a free refill; the pie case of desserts; and the blue plate special, a full meal at a low price.
What's a good game for practicing "Would you like…?"
An open-the-box role-play at a diner works well: each box gives one student a task, such as Be the server: offer coffee or Order for a friend: My friend would like…, and a partner answers or orders. Swap roles after each box. Other boxes in this lesson bring in the blue plate special and Do you want…?, the casual way to ask.
What's good homework for practicing "would like"?
Drills that turn casual words into polite ones make good homework: Do you want a refill? becomes Would you like a refill?, and I want the blue plate special becomes I'd like the blue plate special, please. Word-order tasks and a memory game of diner talk add variety. In Two eggs, sunny side up! on edio.ai, all nine homework tasks check themselves, ending with words to drag into an app review.
Are there interactive exercises for "would like"?
Yes: ordering chats and gap-fills that check themselves let learners practice offers and orders with instant feedback. Four parts of Two eggs, sunny side up!, an A2 lesson on edio.ai, play here with no sign-up: the diner menu, Nora's breakfast order with Eddie, the server, a gap-fill of like + to + verb, and a chat in which students order a meal. Everything else is locked.
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