plain water

Forums: English, Esl, Grammar
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When a host asks a guest what he or she wants to drink, do native speakers say "I want plain water" or "I want water" without' plain'.

Where I live, it is common for us to say "plain water" meaning water that has been boiled and cooled without anything being added.

Thanks in advance.

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@tanguatlay,

as a north american i would say either i'll have water (if water was offered) or water, if you have it (if i'm not sure if the host has water)

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I would say "I'd like some water" or "I'll just take some water"

It would be assumed the water is clean.

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@chai2,

Right. Water, or plain water would be water right out of the faucet. One could also express a preference for bottled, or mineral water.

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@tanguatlay,

Hi Tang!

I would say "A cup of black tea please".

Kind regards.
Mark...

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@tanguatlay,

One might say 'Oh, just plain [ole] water' as a polite gesture to show that they don't want the person to go to any trouble.

But it doesn't hold the meaning of "plain water" as in your situation, Ms Tan.

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@tanguatlay,

We don't have to boil water here. The tapwater is fine.

So we would say "water please", or, if bottled is preferred, "mineral water please".
In a restaurant, you can ask for tap water if you don't want to pay a high price for a bottle of mineral water.

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plain water

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