[Idiom] dinner

[Will17]

Hello!

Which are correct, please?:

-To cook dinner or to cook the dinner

-To prepare dinner or to prepare the dinner

Thank you
W

 

[mykwyner]

In my dialect, AmE, they are both idiomatically correct and are used interchangeably.

 

[bhaisahab]

In my dialect, AmE, they are both idiomatically correct and are used interchangeably.

Both are used in BrE too.

 

[Barb_D]

They are not interchangeable for me!

I need to get home to cook dinner. I would NOT use "the" there unless we had already spoken about a dinner party or something that I had prepare.

After working in the office all day, I actually like to cook dinner. It's fun and relaxing for me. I would not use "the" there either. I would only use it in something like "I actually like to cook the dinner that my family has been looking forward to all day." (Because I'm such a great cook, I guess.)

 

[bhaisahab]

They are not interchangeable for me!

I need to get home to cook dinner. I would NOT use "the" there unless we had already spoken about a dinner party or something that I had prepare.

After working in the office all day, I actually like to cook dinner. It's fun and relaxing for me. I would not use "the" there either. I would only use it in something like "I actually like to cook the dinner that my family has been looking forward to all day." (Because I'm such a great cook, I guess.)

I would usually say "I'm going to cook the dinner". I wonder if this is another Brit/Am difference? (I do all the cooking in our house, I like it too).

 

[Barb_D]

Interesting. I would never say that as a stand-alone, no-context statement.

Maybe you Brits felt bad about not using the "the" when you're in the hospital so it migrated to meal times? :-D