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  #1 (permalink)  
Old 09-May-2008, 12:30
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Default I'm coffee

Hi, there!

When you order coffee at a cafe, what do you normally say?

1. I'll have coffee.
2. I'm going to have coffee.
3. I'm coffee.

I think #1 and #2 are okay, but what about #3? I read in an English book #3 is also fine, but I can't believe it.

I'd appreciate your reply.

optimistic pessimist
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Old 09-May-2008, 12:36
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Default Re: I'm coffee

Quote:
Originally Posted by optimistic pessimist View Post
Hi, there!

When you order coffee at a cafe, what do you normally say?

1. I'll have a coffee.
2. I'm going to a have coffee.
3. I'm coffee.

I think #1 and #2 are okay, but what about #3? I read in an English book #3 is also fine, but I can't believe it.

I'd appreciate your reply.

optimistic pessimist
I will definitely say:
1.I will have coffee, please? Or
2. Just coffee, please.
I am going to have coffee would work but it seems a bit unnatural way to order it.
In what book did you see "I am coffee"?

Last edited by banderas; 09-May-2008 at 12:42.
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Old 09-May-2008, 12:38
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Smile Re: I'm coffee

Hi 'OP', I can't see 'I'm coffee' getting you anything more than a strange look. One and two are great but I would also add an 'a' before the coffee. And of course, I'd always use 'please'
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Old 09-May-2008, 12:48
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Default Re: I'm coffee

Quote:
Originally Posted by Shakespeare's brother View Post
I can't see 'I'm coffee' getting you anything more than a strange look.
are you quite sure this isn't a slang expression?
because in I'm coffee, coffee could also be used as a synonym for awesome, cool
and describe a person / an event that is entirely awesome, profound, or otherwise regarded as favorable.
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Old 09-May-2008, 13:08
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Default Re: I'm coffee

The waitress arrives with a tray of coffees, teas, mineral waters. She remembers that A ordered tea; B pipes up and says, "I'm coffee" or "I'm a/the coffee." ('a' if more than one coffee has been ordered at the table, 'the' if only one coffee was ordered).
In ordering:
"I'll have a coffee please.'
"Coffee for me please."

At the end of a meal in a restaurant, there may be coffee and a selection of cheeses. The person may not want the cheese, so tells the person ordering, or directly to the waiter :
'I'm going to have a coffee but I'll give the cheese a miss."
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Old 09-May-2008, 13:09
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Smile Re: I'm coffee

OP, Considering this further, it is not unheard of merely to say to the person serving you: 'I'm coffee..and she's tea'. As a for instance, this might well answer your query.
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Old 09-May-2008, 16:26
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Default Re: I'm coffee

Quote:
Originally Posted by Shakespeare's brother View Post
Hi 'OP', I can't see 'I'm coffee' getting you anything more than a strange look...
But not that strange. In contexts where there is an order of, say, a dozen or so drinks, I've heard the words 'I'm a coffee' used as an abbreviation for "In the order that you're finally going to present at the bar after everyone's made up their minds, I am to be represented by the entry 'one coffee'". I wouldn't say it's common, and I wouldn't say 'I'm a N' is synonymous with 'Please may I have...', but still I've heard it. ('Make mine a ...' is more common in these cases).

b
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Old 09-May-2008, 22:51
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Default Re: I'm coffee

1. I'll have coffee - or - I'll have a coffee.

2. I'm going to have coffee.

3. I'm coffee; she's the tea. (picking up the order at the counter and the server asks what your order is.)
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