Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[organica]

I thought 'cook,' when it is used as literal meaning, is usually followed by something to cook such as the name of food. For example, we say, "I usually cook dinner (fish, noodle, meat, etc.) for myself," or "I usually cook for myself."

I've also encountered the expressions, "I cook myself dinner (or a meal)."
If it is correct, why?

Also, I learned that when you do not use heat, you use "make" instead, as in "I made a sandwich (a salad, etc.)" Then why do we say, "I made soup, instead of "I cooked soup."

Is it better to say that we use "made" for any type of food or something easy to prepare, and use "cook" only for the things that need heat?

By the way, do we cook spagetti?

Thank you.

[hitori2k6]

Organica,

You're correct to say "I cook dinner for myself".

But in everyday usage, it would be understood if
you also said "I cook myself dinner" even if it
isn't grammatically correct.

Your question about making soup is kind of tricky
because again, it leans more toward every day speaking
(idiomatically) rather than being grammatically or
literally correct.

You could also just say "I heated up some soup".

Or "I made a cake" (even though you're baking it,
which also requires heat).

Yes, we would say "I cook spaghetti".

I hope this helps.

[organica]

Thank you very much. It helps.

Organica