--- title: Excuse me, and good manners at the table — a lesson of Mova's school · trees and pragmatics description: «Excuse me, and good manners at the table», a lesson of the everyday course of Mova's primary school, sentence by sentence with dependency trees and pragmatics. It begins: "Excuse me" is a small key that opens many doors: you say it to get past people, to get a shop assistant's attention, after a bu --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/127-excuse-me-and-table-manners/) [home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [school](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/) / [Everyday](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/) / Excuse me, and good manners at the table # Excuse me, and good manners at the table Lesson 127 of the everyday course of Mova's primary school: 23 sentences, each with its syntax tree and pragmatics. The lessons are written for Mova, and their agreed trees are part of Mova corpus 0.4 (CC BY-SA 4.0). How Mova does on its tests: [the lesson at school](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/everyday/127-excuse-me-and-table-manners/). - [0](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/127-excuse-me-and-table-manners/0/) — "Excuse me" is a small key that opens many doors: you say it to get past people, to get a shop assistant's attention, after a burp by accident, and "May I please be excused?" before you leave the table. - [1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/127-excuse-me-and-table-manners/1/) — Eating together is shared, so you wait until everyone is seated and served before you start, unless the host says "Start". - [2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/127-excuse-me-and-table-manners/2/) — You ask "Could you please pass the salt?" instead of reaching across, you take a fair share from a shared dish with the serving spoon, and you offer the last piece to others before taking it. - [4](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/127-excuse-me-and-table-manners/4/) — A girl in Boston keeps her tablet in her room at dinner time; instead she tells her family about her day, which is what meals are for. - [5](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/127-excuse-me-and-table-manners/5/) — You say "Excuse me" and wait for people to move when you need to get past them. - [6](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/127-excuse-me-and-table-manners/6/) — "Excuse me" is a polite way to get a stranger's attention, like a shop assistant's. - [7](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/127-excuse-me-and-table-manners/7/) — After a burp or passing wind by accident, you say "Excuse me" quietly. - [8](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/127-excuse-me-and-table-manners/8/) — Before leaving the table early, you ask "May I please be excused?" - [9](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/127-excuse-me-and-table-manners/9/) — When someone sneezes, many people in English-speaking countries say "Bless you". - [10](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/127-excuse-me-and-table-manners/10/) — You wait until everyone is seated and served before eating, unless the host says to start. - [11](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/127-excuse-me-and-table-manners/11/) — You ask for things to be passed instead of reaching across the table. - [12](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/127-excuse-me-and-table-manners/12/) — Knife and fork placed together on the plate show you have finished. - [13](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/127-excuse-me-and-table-manners/13/) — Trying a small bite of a new food, if it is safe for you, is polite. - [14](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/127-excuse-me-and-table-manners/14/) — Elbows stay off the table while you eat. - [15](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/127-excuse-me-and-table-manners/15/) — Soup is eaten quietly, sipping from the side of the spoon, without slurping. - [16](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/127-excuse-me-and-table-manners/16/) — Devices stay away from the table, because meals are a time to talk. - [17](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/127-excuse-me-and-table-manners/17/) — From a shared dish you use the serving spoon and take a fair share, and you offer the last piece before taking it. - [18](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/127-excuse-me-and-table-manners/18/) — A boy in Ohio talked with his mouth full and laughed at the same time; a piece of food went down the wrong way, and he choked until an adult helped him. - [19](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/127-excuse-me-and-table-manners/19/) — A girl in Leeds pushed past people in a crowded corridor without saying excuse me; a younger child was knocked over and hurt his wrist. - [20](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/127-excuse-me-and-table-manners/20/) — Talking or laughing with food in your mouth raises the chance of choking. - [21](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/127-excuse-me-and-table-manners/21/) — If someone is choking and cannot talk or cough, get an adult at once, who can give firm back blows. - [22](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/127-excuse-me-and-table-manners/22/) — Someone's «ex» is a boyfriend, girlfriend or partner they used to be with, and «not for little ears» means grown-up talk that is not for children. - [23](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/127-excuse-me-and-table-manners/23/) — Pushing past people in crowded places can knock someone over, especially small children. - ← previous: [Goodbye, please, thank you and sorry](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/126-goodbye-thanks-and-sorry/) - next →: [A guest at the table, and manners on the phone](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/128-guest-at-the-table-and-the-phone/) - ↑ back to [Everyday](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/)