Lesson 6b - Prepositions (in the context of meals)

4. In your country, do most families sit down together
What about at breakfast?
At lunchtime?
At dinnertime?

5. Brunch is a late morning meal. People eat both breakfast foods and lunch foods.

(Do you see how it forms the “Breakfast” plus “lunch” equal “brunch”). What would you serve me as a guest for brunch?

Bonus
Let’s talk about one more preposition.

Do you understand they …say “over dinner”, If I tell you “we are going to talk over dinner”.

It means I want you to sit down with me and we are going to talk and eat. Let’s talk over dinner.

To talk “over” a meal means to do so “during” the meal. In other words, you eat and talk at the same time. Any verb related to talking can be used.

Example:

The tourist made plans for the day over breakfast.

The bankers discusses business over lunch.

The family shared stories over dinner.

So you may ask “talk during a meal” is the same thing is “talk over a meal”?

Both “during” and “over” can mean from beginning to end.

During can also mean at some point within a period.

So if you talk “during a meal” it could mean that ….at one point between the start and the end of the meal.

“Over” suggests that eating was less important than talking.

So two activities ..are parallel. But one is more important than the other.

That is my understanding.

Let’s look at three examples again.

I would argue that its situation eating a meal was as not important as the other activity.

The main activity is making plans, discussing business and sharing stories.

Again I argue that eating is secondary.

Thanks for watching and happy study.