[General] You don't even take me out to eat an ice cream/to eat ice cream.

[Aamir Tariq]

1. His girlfriend complaint, "You don't even take me out to eat an ice cream."
   
2. His girlfriend complaint, "You don't even take me out to eat ice cream."

Which one is grammatically correct?
Which one is more common and natural?

Regards
Aamir the Global Citizen

 

[Tarheel]

Say:

His girlfriend complains:

You don't even take me out to eat ice cream.

The phrase "an ice cream" seems to be short for something like "an ice cream cone" or "an ice cream sundae".

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

Yes, or: His girlfriend complained: "You don't even...." (The past tense is more common in written English quotations.)

In American English, it would be more natural for her to complain: "You don't even take me out for ice cream."

 

[GoesStation]

Aamir, note that complaint is a noun.

 

[Aamir Tariq]

Sorry, guys I should have written it complained, I've been up all night and I was feeling drowsy while I wrote that sentence so I didn't notice it.

1. His girlfriend complained, "You don't even take me out to eat an ice cream." (Wrong)
2. His girlfriend complained, "You don't even take me out to eat ice cream." (right)

and according to brother Charlie Bernstein it should have been like this.

His girlfriend complained, "You don't even take me out for ice cream."

And according to brother Tarheel.

His girlfriend complained, "You don't even take me out to eat an ice cream cone/sundae.

Because "ice cream" alone is a non-count noun, and when we add cone to it then "ice cream cone" becomes a count noun.

Thank you all.

 

[Rover_KE]

Aamir, it's not appropriate to call forum members 'brother'.

For all we know, Tarheel and Charlie Bernstein could be women.

 

[Aamir Tariq]

Aamir, it's not appropriate to call forum members 'brother'.

For all we know, Tarheel and Charlie Bernstein could be women.

Ok, Rover. I'll be careful next time not to call them "brothers". Actually, it is a cultural thing, in our society we call males as brothers and females as sisters as an expression of respect. I apologize if you guys mind it.

 

[bhaisahab]

I don't mind it. My name "bhaisahab" is Hindi and means "brother" . ;-)

 

[GoesStation]

It's OK to say take me out for an ice cream. It means the same thing.

 

[Raymott]

Not for me. Ice cream is the basic product that often comes in buckets. An ice cream is ice cream on a stick often covered with chocolate - that is, ice cream individualised in some form.
In the context of his lapse in appropriate courting behaviour, it might as well mean the same thing.

 

[GoesStation]

Around here, someone might ask another person "(do you) want to go get an ice cream?" It means the same as "a serving of ice cream", though nobody would suggest going out for a serving of anything.

 

[Aamir Tariq]

I don't mind it. My name "bhaisahab" is Hindi and means "brother" . ;-)

Yeah I know, "Bhai" means "brother" and "Sahab" means "respected". So Bhai Sahab means "Respected brother". And it is very common in Pakistan and probably in India as well. We guys here in the Indian sub-continent are used to using such terminologies very often.

 

[Aamir Tariq]

Around here, someone might ask another person "(do you) want to go get an ice cream?" It means the same as "a serving of ice cream", though nobody would suggest going out for a serving of anything.

Here, if a guests comes over at our home or office. We might serve him/her with ice cream. And we may ask him, "Would you like to have some ice cream?" or "Would you like some ice cream."

Our children wait for us especially on weekends when we don't work they expect us to take them out for some recreation like to some park, my son might ask me to take him out for a mango milkshake, ice cream or whatever he feels like at that time.

Those who are love birds they may also go out to restaurants to eat dinner or lunch. A boy can say to her girlfriend, "I will take you out for a dinner tonight", a girlfriend might ask her boyfriend to take her out to have some ice cream".

 

[Tarheel]

I think you can use "lovebirds" as one word. (When I first saw that sentence I read it as "Those who love birds" but it turned out to be something entirely different.)

I have a question. How does one politely turn down an offer of food?

 

[emsr2d2]

Here, if a [STRIKE]guests[/STRIKE] guest comes [over] [STRIKE]at[/STRIKE] to our home or office, we might serve him/her [STRIKE]with[/STRIKE] ice cream. [STRIKE]And[/STRIKE] We [STRIKE]may[/STRIKE] might ask him, "Would you like to have some ice cream?" or "Would you like some ice cream?"

Our children [STRIKE]wait for us especially on[/STRIKE] particularly look forward to spending time with us at weekends when we don't work. They expect us to take them out for some [STRIKE]recreation[/STRIKE] fun like going to [STRIKE]some[/STRIKE] a park. My son might ask me to take him out for a mango milkshake, ice cream or whatever he feels like at that time.

[STRIKE]Those who are[/STRIKE] Lovebirds [STRIKE]they[/STRIKE] [STRIKE]may[/STRIKE] might also go out to restaurants to eat dinner or lunch. A boy can say to [STRIKE]her[/STRIKE] his girlfriend, "I will take you out for [STRIKE]a[/STRIKE] dinner tonight" or a girlfriend might ask her boyfriend to "take her out to have some ice cream".

Note my corrections above.

I'm not quite sure what the point of your three paragraphs was. We have all agreed that you can say "Would you like some ice cream?" but you can also say "Would you like an ice cream?"

There is nothing wrong with your son asking you to take him out for a milkshake etc.

Note, of course, that "lovebirds" simply means two people in love or in a relationship (the two don't necessarily go together!) It doesn't have to be a boy with his girlfriend or a girl with her boyfriend. It could be a husband and wife, a boy/man and his boyfriend, a girl/woman and her girlfriend, a man with his mistress etc.