Part One: Put the probability/ possibility phrases into order
Put these phrases into order by how likely something is to be true, with the most likely at the top.
almost certainly
could
could possibly
is
is definitely
might/ may
must
probably
really must
9.
8.
7.
6.
5.
4.
3.
2.
1.
Use the descriptions of each level of probability/ possibility under the fold to help check your answers.
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Put phrases into these gaps to say how likely something is to be true
9. 100%! (fact!)
8. 100% (fact)
7. 100%! (= there are NO other options, it could be ANYTHING else, according to my logic)
6. 100% (= there are no other options, it couldn’t be anything else, according to my logic)
5. 99%
4. 80%
3. 50%
2. under 50%
1. well under 50%
Note for teachers: It is possible to do this second stage first instead.
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Suggested answers
9. 100%! (fact!) – is definitely
8. 100% (fact) – is
7. 100%! (= there are NO other options, it could be ANYTHING else, according to my logic) – really must
6. 100% (= there are no other options, it couldn’t be anything else, according to my logic) – must
5. 99% – almost certainly
4. 80% – probably
3. 50% – might/ may
2. under 50% – could
1. well under 50% -could possibly
What other words and expressions can you use to express certainty and doubt?
Label each word and expression under the fold with C for certainty or D for doubt.
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clearly
conceivably
I assume
I guess
I presume
I suppose
it appears to
obviously
sounds like/ looks like
sure
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British food speculating game
Part Two: Guess something about the British foods game
Make a statement with one of the numbered phrases on the last page about one of the British foods below, e.g. “It must be alcoholic” or “It could be a kind of sausage”. The number that it has above is the number of points that you will be “betting” with your statement. You will get that many points if you are correct or lose that many points if you are wrong.
(Pale/ India pale) ale
Afters
Baked beans
Bangers and mash
Bevvy
Bickies dunked in tea or coffee
Bitter
Black pudding
Brown sauce/ HP sauce/ Daddy’s sauce
Bubble & squeak
Cheese and biscuits
Chip butty
Chippy
Christmas pudding
Cider
Cranberry sauce
Cream tea
Crisps
Crumble
Cuppa
Custard
Digestive biscuit
English breakfast
English mustard
Fish and chips
G&T
Jacket potato
Off licence
Salad cream
Sarny
Shepherds’ pie
Stout
Useful language
From its name…
I guess/ suppose…
I can’t quite remember/ I’m not sure, but I think…
If it’s what I’m thinking of,…
It sounds like…
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Match the descriptions on the next page to the names above. A few are not defined.
Eggs, bacon, sausages, fried bread, mushrooms, baked beans, grilled tomatoes and black pudding (sausage made from pig’s blood). Served with ketchup or brown sauce.
Bright yellow in colour, it has a heat that goes up your nose in the same way as horseradish and Japanese wasabi.
Similar in appearance to mayonnaise, but with a very vinegary flavour and no need to keep it in the fridge, so actually more similar to ketchup.
Like American steak sauce and quite similar to Japanese tonkatsu sauce, this is most commonly used with the ingredients of an English breakfast, e.g. in a bacon sandwich.
Plain, brown biscuits, although they are also available coated on one side in chocolate. Their name comes from them being high in fibre and so apparently good for you.
Cold chopped vegetables (and cold chopped meat if used) are fried in a pan together with mashed potato until the mixture is well-cooked and brown on the sides. The name is a description of the action and sound made during the cooking process.
Short for “sandwich”.
Made with minced lamb and vegetables topped with mashed potato, so like cottage pie but with lamb (hence the name).
Cheddar, Stilton etc on crackers, or sometimes digestives.
A cup of tea, usually served with milk and maybe one or two sugars.
Fried potatoes between two slices of bread, usually with butter and ketchup or brown sauce.
Short for “fish and chip shop”.
An alcoholic drink made from apples that is similar in colour and strength to beer.
A kind of jam that is eaten with roast turkey, e.g. as part of Xmas dinner.
A pot of tea, plus some fresh warm scones that you spread with homemade strawberry jam and top with thick clotted cream.
Another way of saying dessert/ sweet/ pudding.
Sausages and mashed potatoes. English sausages have this nickname because they often pop while being cooked.
Short for “beverage”, this is a slang way of talking about an alcoholic drink.
Softening and warming a biscuit (= cookie) in your drink before you eat it.
Brown beer with lots of hops. Most pubs also have a stronger version called “best”.
Thin slices of fried potato that are usually bought already flavoured in bags and eaten as a snack. The most common flavours in the UK are salt and vinegar, cheese and onion, beef, smoky bacon and prawn cocktail.
A shop where you can buy alcohol, like an American liquor store, often called an “offie”. If has that name because you can’t drink on the premises.
Cod, haddock or plaice deep fried in flour batter with chips, served with malt vinegar. This is England’s traditional take-away food.
A potato cooked with its skin on, usually eaten with baked beans, cheese or chilli con carne.
Underline words and phrases which made it easy to guess.
Check with your teacher. Which of your guesses were right and wrong?
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PDF for easy saving and printing: British food speculating game
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