# comer de todo



## Mayoide

Hola.
No me suena bien esta oración con _all_, ¿qué opináis?

I like to eat and drink all. (Me gusta comer y beber de todo)

Gracias!


----------



## srb62

"I like eating and drinking a bit of everything"  might be one possibility.


----------



## Mayoide

Gracias! Y por ejemplo I like to eat and drink/eating and drinking everything (sin a bit of), ¿tendría sentido?


----------



## srb62

I'm not sure to be honest!  Using 'everything' could be a bit ambiguous and mean that either you have very catholic tastes in food and like all types OR that you are always very hungry and eat as much food as you can!  I'm not a hundred percent sure what 'de todo' means in your original sentence!


----------



## Mayoide

De todo significa que no tengo problema para comer y beber cualquier cosa, que me gusta comer cualquier tipo de comida y beber cualquier tipo de bebida, que me gusta todo.


----------



## Rubns

"de todo" = anything (more or less)

It means that you don't turn up your nose up at any food.


----------



## srb62

It's quite hard to translate this into English, I think.

I feel that in English, we'd perhaps be more likely to say "I eat anything" (though this could also sound like you'd eat anything, even if it was horrible/bad food!) 

Using 'everything', I can envisage: "What do you like to eat and drink?"  ----- "Oh, I like everything" (but without 'eating'/'drinking' in the answer).


----------



## Mayoide

¿Y qué tal suena I like everything/anything to eat and drink?


----------



## srb62

Without 'to eat and drink', then both "everything" and "anything" sound fine.
If you really want to include eat/drink, then I'd go for something like:

"I like eating or drinking anything"  

but I think, for me, it would be more natural to say "I don't mind what I eat or drink"


----------



## Mayoide

Mil graciassss!!!


----------



## Keahi

Hola.
¿Qué tal "I like all kind of foods and drinks" ?


----------



## AntonMartin

This is the classic all vs every confusion. For example, students who say "all the days" instead of the correct "everyday". Your best sentence would be "I like to eat and drink everything/anything" or I like eating and drinking everything/anything." The phrase "Hay de todo" also translates best as "There's a bit of everything" or "There's all kinds."


----------



## JennyTW

As has been said before, "I like eating and drinking/to eat and drink everything" doesn't work as a translation because it makes you sound like a complete glutton. 

I agree that the natural way to say it in English would be either with "like" - "I like everything" or with "eat" - "I eat everything", but not with both together. 

"I eat a bit of everything" sounds as if you are at a buffet, picking a little from every single plate!

Another option could be; "there's nothing I won't/don't eat or drink".


----------



## onbalance

Mayoide said:


> Gracias! Y por ejemplo I like to eat and drink/eating and drinking everything (sin a bit of), ¿tendría sentido?



_I like to eat and drink everything_ es perfectamente corriente en los EEUU


----------



## srb62

onbalance said:


> _I like to eat and drink everything_ es perfectamente corriente en los EEUU



I don't doubt it!!


----------



## JennyTW

srb62 said:


> I don't doubt it!!


Ha ha ha!


----------



## AntonMartin

I get what you're saying but you might be a little over pedantic. The "bit of everything" could certainly mean in general...it isn't reserved for "buffett scenarios".


----------



## onbalance

JennyTW said:


> Ha ha ha!



Am I missing something?  What's so funny?


----------



## JennyTW

onbalance said:


> Am I missing something?  What's so funny?





 Publicado por onbalance  
I like to eat and drink everything es perfectamente corriente en los EEUU
I don't doubt it!! 

It's just because the US population has a reputation for obesity, maybe because it's "perfectamente corriente" to "like to eat and drink everything"!


----------



## onbalance

Oh, I see. Sweeping generalizations.


----------



## JennyTW

onbalance said:


> Oh, I see. Sweeping generalizations.



It's not a generalization (and far less a sweeping one) to say that the US is the country with the highest rate of obesity in the world. It's a fact. 
http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/hea_obe-health-obesity

Saying that everyone in the States is obese would be a sweeping generalization, but nobody said that.


----------



## SydLexia

onbalance said:


> Oh, I see. Sweeping generalizations.





Only indirectly. It was a comment on your phrase "I like to eat and drink everything" which, with the greatest respect, and maybe with a British ear, doesn't make you sound like the perfect guest... 

To business:

Have we all forgotten the classic context for this phrase?

You are invited to dinner and your host asks, with trepidation, "You do eat gambas, don't you?"

"(Oh,) I'll eat, or drink, anything. Speaking of which......."

"I'll eat anything" is a useful phrase when you are staying the weekend with friends.

"I'll eat or drink anything", sounds a bit like a challenge, out of context.

syd


----------



## onbalance

JennyTW said:


> It's not a generalization (and far less a sweeping one) to say that the US is the country with the highest rate of obesity in the world. It's a fact.
> http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/hea_obe-health-obesity
> 
> Saying that everyone in the States is obese would be a sweeping generalization, but nobody said that.



"I like to eat and drink everything" was the sentence that we were working with. Then, in essence, someone said "How fitting for an American." No one said the US is the country with the highest obesity rate in the world. So, yes, my remark about sweeping generalizations was quite apt. 

In short, I found the joke unfunny.


----------



## JennyTW

onbalance said:


> "I like to eat and drink everything" was the sentence that we were working with. Then, in essence, someone said "How fitting for an American." No one said the US is the country with the highest obesity rate in the world. So, yes, my remark about sweeping generalizations was quite apt.
> 
> In short, I found the joke unfunny.



The someone that said it was you! "i like to eat and drink everything es perfectamente corriente en los EEUU". It was funny because of its double (unintended) meaning. But a joke often ceases to be funny if you have to explain it. 
What were you referring to when you said "sweeping generalization"?


----------



## AntonMartin

Where do you think all those heavy people come from? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obesity_in_the_United_Kingdom


----------



## sound shift

If it were me talking about my eating habits (I think "Me gusta comer de todo" could be used in that context), I could say "I eat all sorts of things".
También podría decir "I like to eat a little of everything", lo cual tiene un matiz de "Intento procurar que mi dieta sea equilibrada".


----------



## JennyTW

AntonMartin said:


> Where do you think all those heavy people come from? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obesity_in_the_United_Kingdom



Yes, of course. And if you look on the link I provided, the UK is the third most "obese country" in the world, after the US and Mexico. But really, all this getting rather off-topic, don't you think?


----------



## Mayoide

Una pregunta relacionada con esto. Hemos estado viendo que se puede decir _I like to eat and drink_ y _I like eating and drinking_. ¿Se podría decir que el inglés americano prefiere el uso del infinitivo después del _like_ y el británico prefiere el segundo, o el uso de uno o de otro no tiene nada que ver con esto?
Gracias a todos!!!


----------



## JennyTW

Mayoide said:


> Una pregunta relacionada con esto. Hemos estado viendo que se puede decir _I like to eat and drink_ y _I like eating and drinking_. ¿Se podría decir que el inglés americano prefiere el uso del infinitivo después del _like_ y el británico prefiere el segundo, o el uso de uno o de otro no tiene nada que ver con esto?
> Gracias a todos!!!



Tendrías que abrir otro hilo para esa pregunta, Mayoide.


----------



## marghera

Going back to the head of the thread, I would say that an equivalent sentence to the original (not a translation in the strict sense of the word but what an English native speaker would probably say under those circumnstances) would be: I am not at all fussy about my food.


----------



## JennyTW

marghera said:


> Going back to the head of the thread, I would say that an equivalent sentence to the original (not a translation in the strict sense of the word but what an English native speaker would probably say under those circumnstances) would be: I am not at all fussy about my food.


Yes, or; I'm not a fussy eater.


----------



## gengo

As another American (and one who did indeed find that joke funny), I'll say that while "I like to eat and drink everything" probably is used in the sense of "Me gusta comer y beber de todo," I personally would not say it that way.  

I would say "I like all kinds of food and drinks."  Or maybe "There is no food or drink I don't like."  But I think the exact wording would depend on the exact context, on the reason for making the statement.

As for infinitive versus gerund selection, I don't think there's a difference between AmEn and BrEn.  Both constructions are grammatically correct, and it's probably just a matter of personal preference and social convention.


----------



## JennyTW

gengo said:


> As another American (and one who did indeed find that joke funny), I'll say that while "I like to eat and drink everything" probably is used in the sense of "Me gusta comer y beber de todo," I personally would not say it that way.
> 
> I would say "I like all kinds of food and drinks."  Or maybe "There is no food or drink I don't like."  But I think the exact wording would depend on the exact context, on the reason for making the statement.
> 
> As for infinitive versus gerund selection, I don't think there's a difference between AmEn and BrEn.  Both constructions are grammatically correct, and it's probably just a matter of personal preference and social convention.



Hi Gengo, glad to hear that! Well, as you've just commented on the infinitive vs gerund issue, in BrE we often make the distinction between what I enjoy doing (gerund) and what I think is a good idea/good for me (infinitive). "I don't like going to the dentist's but I like to go twice a year". What I've read is that in AmE you don't usually make this distinction. Is that right?


----------



## gengo

JennyTW said:


> Well, as you've just commented on the infinitive vs gerund issue, in BrE we often make the distinction between what I enjoy doing (gerund) and what I think is a good idea/good for me (infinitive). "I don't like going to the dentist's but I like to go twice a year". What I've read is that in AmE you don't usually make this distinction. Is that right?



Honestly, I had never thought about such a distinction, but in the example sentence you have given, I would agree that that is how I'd say it, too, though I'm not sure why.  That said, it would sound fine to me to replace the gerund in your example with the infinitive, but not vice versa.  And I can think of other examples in which both forms sound the same to me.

I like to date / dating women who enjoy laughing.
I like to go / going to the movies on weekends.
I like to see / seeing people who work hard to improve themselves.

Do the forms sound different to your ear in these examples?  If so, then I suppose your statement that there is a difference between BrEn and AmEn may be true, because there is no difference to me.


----------



## srb62

onbalance said:


> Am I missing something?  What's so funny?



Of course, this is funny in itself because, either:

You're fitting in with the cultural stereotype of Americans having no sense of irony!! (Let's call it "Ironic Possibility Number One)
or
You're being ironic yourself and pretending not to get the joke. (For convenience, let's call it "Ironic Possibility Number Two").


----------



## srb62

onbalance said:


> Oh, I see. Sweeping generalizations.



Actually, I would first of all say that:
a) I'd never intentionally say something hurtful to anyone - and particularly not on a public forum like this.  However, at the same time.............
b)  the remark was clearly meant in good humour and inoffensively  (and, I felt, not without contemporary cultural-linguistic relevance), so I'm not going to get too upset if someone doesn't find the joke funny.

Now.  As I see it, it was actually quite a reasonable and accurate thing to say, so to criticize it for being a 'sweeping generalization' (and these can sometimes be funny in themselves, anyway) isn't completely accurate.  It's seems reasonable to expect that in a country where such a large () proportion of the population is obese, that one might indeed expect the phrase 'I'll eat anything' to be heard frequently.


----------



## Keahi

Hola.
He seguido este hilo con mucha atención y curiosidad.
Mi sugerencia fue "I like all kind of foods and drinks", lo había leído como traducción "light" de "Tener buen diente", que quiere decir que alguien es de buen comer sin llegar a ser un glotón.
Supongo que el hilo se ha alargado porque en inglés debe pasar lo mismo que en castellano. 
Me explico:
"I like to eat anything", sería como decir Me gusta comer cualquier cosa, si te encuentras en una reunión con gente que conoces por primera vez y van a comer, evitarás decir esto. Sin embargo si tu novia por fin te va a presentar a sus padres (qué miedo!!!) y te dice "Habrá conejo para la cena", tu respondes, "No hay problema, yo como cualquier cosa".
"I like to eat everything", Me gusta comer de todo, lo mismo que la anterior pero en esta parece que estás diciendo "Soy un poco glotón".
"I like all kind of foods and drinks", Me gusta comer todo tipo de comida y bebida, esto siempre es positivo, incluso se puede tomar como sinónimo de "Tener buen paladar", que es una persona que conoce diversas gastronomías y las disfruta, para nada se toma como un glotón.
++
"I like eating and drinking a bit of everything", esto en castellano sería como decir "De todo tipo de comida hay algo que me gusta" (ser selectivo para comer), me parece que no es la idea pero yo sólo estoy intentando aclararme.
"I don't mind what I eat or drink". No preocupa lo que me vayas a dar de comer (me va saber igual de espantoso o no me importa porque siempre es delicioso), Demasiado ambiguo.
El mejor contexto es esto que ha dicho Srb62:
"What do you like to eat and drink?"  ----- "Oh, I like everything".
¿Que te gustaría comer y beber? Pues, a mí me gusta de todo".
¿Estoy en lo cierto con las comparaciones?


----------



## gengo

Keahi, remember that it has to be "all kind*s* of xxx."  You will hear native speakers use the singular, but that is incorrect.  And if you look at post #32, you'll see that this (all kinds) was what I suggested, too.  I think it is the best way to convey the idea of "de todo" here, but the context might make another form better.


----------



## Keahi

Ajá.
All kinds, tardaré en acostumbrarme a esto. 
¿Es siempre "All kinds"? pregunto, ¿nunca es "All kind"?
Si es así podría usar el truco de traducirlo como "Todos los tipos de xxx..."


----------



## gengo

Keahi said:


> ¿Es siempre "All kinds"? pregunto, ¿nunca es "All kind"?



all kinds of  (todos los tipos de)
every kind of  (todo tipo de)
all kind of


----------



## Keahi

Ok.
Gracias por responder.
Un saludo.


----------

