dinner
part of speech
noun (a dinner, dinners; dinner — uncountable)
meaning for a pupil
1) Dinner is the main meal of the day, usually eaten in the evening. tree →
2) In some parts of the UK, Ireland and Australia, dinner means the meal in the middle of the day (lunch), and the evening meal is «tea». tree →
3) A dinner is a formal party with a meal. tree →
sense in the lessons
In everyday life, «dinner time» brings families together, and table manners matter: wash hands, wait until everyone has food, say please and thank you. At school in the UK «school dinners» and «dinner ladies» are the lunchtime meal and helpers. Phrases: «have dinner», «make dinner», «dinner is ready», «dinner party».
examples
- What's for dinner tonight? tree →
- We have dinner at six o'clock. tree →
- Wash your hands before dinner. tree →
- Dad is making spaghetti for dinner. tree →
- I had school dinner today. tree →
- Grandma invited us to Sunday dinner. tree →
- Please set the table for dinner. tree →
- They went out for a birthday dinner. tree →
- For dinner the Fox served soup. tree →
note
Usually no «a»: «have dinner», «after dinner»; but «a lovely dinner» with an adjective. Spelled with double n; do not confuse with «diner» (a person eating, or a small US restaurant). Meal words differ by country: breakfast, lunch/dinner, tea/dinner/supper.
In the corpora
- In Melbourne, Mum smiles at Dad over dinner and says, "We've got some news.
- Scene: at Christmas dinner in Leeds, Grandad and Auntie Jo argue about the government until the gravy goes cold.
- Snap a chicken bone from Sunday dinner and it is hollow, with thin struts inside like a bridge, light but strong.
- A dinner plate is a plant puzzle.
- A mosquito had dinner while you slept, and the itch is your body reacting to its spit.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «dinner» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.