Meaning & use
a continental breakfast
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Meaning
phrasecountable
a light breakfast of bread, rolls, or pastry with butter and jam, often with coffee or juice, especially in hotels.
Grammar: Countable: use an or the before it, and it can be plural (continental breakfasts).
Patterns
- a continental breakfast is included/served
- have/eat a continental breakfast
- a continental breakfast of something
The hotel price includes a continental breakfast with fresh rolls and coffee.
We had a continental breakfast on the terrace before our meeting.
Guests can choose between a continental breakfast and a full cooked breakfast.
Word forms
| plural | continental breakfasts |
|---|
Common combinations
- continental breakfast is included
- A continental breakfast is included in the room rate.
- continental breakfast buffet
- The continental breakfast buffet offers croissants, fruit, and yogurt.
- serve a continental breakfast
- They serve a continental breakfast until ten o'clock.
- a light continental breakfast
- I prefer a light continental breakfast before an early flight.
- continental breakfast only
- This small hotel offers continental breakfast only, not dinner.
Synonyms and how they differ
- light breakfast
- Use light breakfast when you mean any small morning meal; continental breakfast specifically suggests the European hotel style with bread and coffee.
- European breakfast
- European breakfast is a less common, looser term for a similar meal; continental breakfast is the standard phrase in hotels.
Opposites
Word family
- continent noun
- One of the world's main land areas; continental comes from this word.
- continental adjective
- Relating to mainland Europe or to a continent.
Commonly confused: a continental breakfast or English breakfast? a continental breakfast or brunch?
a continental breakfast vs English breakfast
An English breakfast is a hot cooked meal with eggs, bacon, and toast, while a continental breakfast is cold and light.
a continental breakfast vs brunch
Brunch is a late morning meal that replaces breakfast and lunch; a continental breakfast is just a light early meal.
Practice
The room rate includes ______ continental breakfast with coffee and pastries.
Choose one answer.
An is correct because continental breakfast is a countable singular noun phrase and this is the first mention of it. The would suggest a specific breakfast already known to the listener, and some or any do not fit this countable singular pattern.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “a continental breakfast”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.