Proverbs Lesson 14

New Vocabulary

broth

soup, usually made with meat

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cook

to prepare food and usually heat it (verb)

cook

someone who prepares and cooks food (noun--person)

many

a large number of

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spoil

to stop something from being enjoyable or successful

too

used before adjectives and adverbs to mean “more than is allowed, necessary, possible, etc”

Too many cooks spoil the broth

Example 1

The king was going to have a big dinner for his guests, so he hired all the best cooks in the land to make a special broth.

But each cook had a different idea of how to make the best broth.

“We should put more peppers in to make it spicy!” one cook said.

“No, the best broths are sweet. Put in more sugar!” said another.

“More garlic!” said a third..

“No, more onions,” said another.

“More fish!”

“More fruit!”

“More sauce.”

Each cook could make a delicious broth by himself, but together they made a terrible broth.

Example 2

It was a team project at work. But everyone had different opinions. Michael and Sue couldn’t agree on the report. Sam and David both argued about the budget. Jim and Lisa didn’t like the PowerPoint presentation that Adam had made.

And pretty soon...

Talk with a partner:

What do you think the proverb means?

Do you have any similar proverbs in your own language?

Do you agree with the proverb? Why or why not?

Battling Proverbs

Two different proverbs with contradictory meanings.

Which proverb do you agree with?

Think about your own experiences.

Which proverb has been true for you during your life?

Many hands make light work

Or…

Too many cooks spoil the broth

?

worksheet

many

too

the

cooks

broth

spoil

1. Which nouns are countable?

cooks

Which nouns are uncountable?

broth

2. What tense is the verb in? Why?

Present simple

Because it is something that is always true.

3. How could this proverb be re-written in the passive tense?

The broth is spoiled by too many cooks

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3. How would the meaning change?

Too many cooks spoil the broth

We are worried about the bad effect of having too many cooks

The broth is spoiled by too many cooks

We are worried about the quality of the broth.

4. Why is the definite article “the” used? How would the meaning change if the proverb was re-written as “Too many cooks spoil a broth” ?

“the broth” refers to all broths in general

“a broth” refers to one particular broth

“Too many cooks spoil the broth” means that too many cooks will always spoil any broth

“Too many cooks spoil a broth” means that too many cooks can spoil one broth, but another broth could still be okay.

Study at home

https://quizlet.com/_3kampx

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