Table settings and dining etiquette

To have a proper dinning experience you have to start by setting the table. How is that done propperly? Would you like to learn some useful vocabulary? Let’s get down to business!

Well, you need to begin by covering the table with a clean tablecloth 1. You may then arrange a centrepiece 2 such as a flower arrangement or candlesticks 3 in the middle of the table.

Then you do well in arranging place settings 4 around the table, making sure there is a place for everyone you want to seat. You will also place your set of dinnerware 5 and cutlery 6.

Usually place settings include a place mat 7, with a dinner fork 8 and a smaller salad fork 9 to the left, a table knife 10 and a soup spoon 11 to the right, and a dessert fork 12 and spoon 13 across the top.

Each place setting also has a bread plate 14 and a butter knife 15 on the left, and a drinking glass 16 or tumbler 16 and a wine glass 17 on the right.

Are you serving fish or steak? Then include a fish knife 18 or a steak knife 19 as well. Make sure they are in place before you serve the dish, please!

If you are using place mats and there is no tablecloth, you may place glasses on coasters 20.

A folded napkin 21 should be at each guest’s place.

Salad or soup bowls 22, dinner plates 23 an dessert bowls 24 are brought to the table once the meal begins.

Salt and pepper shakers 25 should be on the table. Jugs 26 full of drinking water should also be on the table.

What if you are serving tea or coffee after the meal?

Well, bring cups 27 and saucers 28 as well as a sugar bowl 29, teaspoons 30 and a small jug of milk 31 or cream to the table.


1 tablecloth: large cloth for covering a dining table.

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2 centrepiece: (in american english we spell ‘centerpiece’). a display placed in the middle of a dining table.

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3 candlestick: a holder for one or more candles (usually tall and thin)

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4 place setting: dishes, glasses and cutlery arranged in place for one person.

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5 dinnerware: a set of matching plates, bowls, cups, saucers, etc. for several people. (also ‘dishware’ or ‘table service’)

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6 cutlery: knives, forks, and spoons used for eating or serving food.

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7 place mat: a flat piece of cloth, wood or plastic at the centre of each place setting on a dining table.

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8 dinner fork: an eating utensil with four prongs used during a main course.

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9 salad fork: 

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10 table knife: the knife used for eating a main course.

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11 soup spoon: a round or oval spoon for eating soup.

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12 dessert fork: a three-pronged fork for eating desserts from a bowl or plate.

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13 spoon:

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14 bread plate: a small plate for buttering bread rolls.

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15 butter knife: a knife with a blunt, rounded end for spreading butter.

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16 drinking glass or tumbler: a drinking glass with straight sides and no stem or handle.

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17 wine glass: a glass with a long stem and a wide base for drinking wine.

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18 fish knife: a knife with a wide blade for eating fish.

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19 steak knife: a knife with a serrated blade for dinners to cut steak at the table.

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20 coasters: a small mat or flat object under a bottle or glass that protects the table.

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21 napkin: a cloth or paper towel for wiping your mouth and hands while eating. (In the United Kingdom we also say ‘serviette’)

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22 bowls: a round dish for soup, salad or a serving of dessert.

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23 dinner plates: a flat dish for eating a meal’s main course.

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24 dessert bowls:

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25 shakers: a container for salt, pepper, chili powder, etc. with small holes from which the contents are shaken out.

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26 jugs: a large container with a handle from which drinking water is poured. (Also ‘pitcher’ in the United States)

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27 cups: a cup for tea or coffee. It usually comes with a matching saucer.

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28 saucers: a small plate usually matching a cup for tea or coffee.

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29 sugar bowl: 

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30 teaspoons:

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31 jug of milk:

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