Do you wanna go out for a drink?

Today we are going to have an easy mini-lesson ^_^ I hope you enjoy it~!

What's the difference between:

Let's go out for a drink tonight!

and

Let's go out for drinks tonight!

Well, the easy answer is that the A before drink and the S added to drink are the differences between the two. That's correct but what is the difference in MEANING?

In my mind, if a friend says "Do you wanna go out for a drink?"(a drink = 1-2 drinks) it usually means we will go out for one or two drinks, that's it. It isn't going to be a big night of drinking.

I prefer beer so, I usually say "Do you wanna grab a beer after work?" meaning "Do you feel like drinking a beer with me after work?". With a beer meaning one or two beers... this is why many bars have Happy Hour on weekdays to encourage people to grab a drink after work. Happy Hour is a set time (for example 5-7pm, M-F) when bars offer drink specials and even free food!

"Do you wanna go out for drinks?" (drinkS = 2+) has a slightly different meaning. When you use the plural drinkS you are talking about many drinks so, 2 or more! If someone invites you to go out for drinks it is possible you will be out drinking for many hours... ^_- which can be fun from time to time! hahaha

There's one other expression I'd like to teach you today which is:

"Do you wanna go drinking tonight?"

This isn't used all that much by adults because it makes you sound like an alcoholic~! BUT when I was a college student I would often ask my friends this question. It means "Do you want to go out and drink LOTS of alcohol until we are drunk tonight?". Basically, when you talk about going drinking, you are talking about drinking ALOT and maybe even ALL NIGHT.

You might go bar hopping (where you have a few drinks at a bar, then go to another bar for a drink or two and then another bar and another, etc.) or you might sit in one bar with your friends drinking all night...

Hmm, I think that is enough for this lesson, have a good week!

Phil