Vocabulary · Food and drink
Fruit and vegetables in English
A1
Fruit and vegetables in English: everyday fruit, vegetables and green vegetables, plurals like tomatoes and potatoes, and useful words like fresh and ripe. With British pronunciation (IPA) and examples.
Quick answer
Common fruit
| Word | Meaning | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| apple(n.)“An apple a day...” | a round red or green fruit | /ˈæpəl/ |
| banana(n.) | a long yellow fruit | /bəˈnɑːnə/ |
| orange(n.) | a round citrus fruit with thick skin | /ˈɒrɪndʒ/ |
| strawberry(n.) | a small red fruit with tiny seeds | /ˈstrɔːbəri/ |
| grape(n.) | a small round fruit that grows in bunches | /ɡreɪp/ |
| pear(n.) | a sweet fruit, wide at the bottom | /peə/ |
| peach(n.) | a soft fruit with furry skin | /piːtʃ/ |
| pineapple(n.) | a tropical fruit with spiky skin | /ˈpaɪnæpəl/ |
| lemon(n.) | a sour yellow fruit | /ˈlemən/ |
Vegetables
| Word | Meaning | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| carrot(n.) | a long orange vegetable | /ˈkærət/ |
| tomato(n.) | a soft red fruit eaten as a vegetable | /təˈmɑːtəʊ/ |
| potato(n.) | a vegetable that grows under the ground | /pəˈteɪtəʊ/ |
| onion(n.) | a vegetable that makes you cry | /ˈʌnjən/ |
| garlic(n.) | a strong-smelling plant used in cooking | /ˈɡɑːlɪk/ |
| salad / lettuce(n.) | raw green leaves, or a dish of them | /ˈsæləd/ |
| cucumber(n.) | a long green vegetable, eaten raw | /ˈkjuːkʌmbə/ |
| pepper(n.) | a red, green or yellow vegetable | /ˈpepə/ |
Green vegetables
| Word | Meaning | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| broccoli(n.) | a green vegetable like a small tree | /ˈbrɒkəli/ |
| spinach(n.) | a vegetable with dark green leaves | /ˈspɪnɪtʃ/ |
| cabbage(n.) | a big round vegetable with leaves | /ˈkæbɪdʒ/ |
| cauliflower(n.) | a white vegetable like broccoli | /ˈkɒliflaʊə/ |
| green beans(n.) | long, thin green vegetables in pods | /ɡriːn biːnz/ |
Plurals and useful words
| Word | Meaning | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| fruit(n.) | the sweet part of a plant you eat | /fruːt/ |
| vegetable(n.) | a plant or part of one we eat | /ˈvedʒtəbəl/ |
| a piece of fruit(phrase) | one apple, banana or pear | /ə piːs əv fruːt/ |
| fresh(adj.) | recently picked, not old | /freʃ/ |
| ripe(adj.) | ready to eat | /raɪp/ |
Common mistakes to avoid
I eat fruits every day ❌: fruit is often uncountable
In English, fruit is often uncountable: I eat fruit every day (no -s). For one fruit, say a piece of fruit. Fruits exists, but only for different types of fruit: tropical fruits like mango and papaya.
Tomatos ❌: add -es
Some nouns in -o take -es in the plural: tomato → tomatoes, potato → potatoes. Learn these two by heart.
Practice quiz
Going further
The “Fruit and vegetables” topic is part of the contest vocabulary
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Frequently asked questions
Why is it called a pineapple?+
It comes from pine (the tree) + apple. In the Middle Ages, apple was a word for any round fruit, and a pineapple was a pine cone, the “fruit” of the pine tree. Later, the name moved to the tropical fruit, because it looks like a big pine cone.
What is the plural of potato and tomato?+
Potatoes and tomatoes, with -es. Many nouns that end in a consonant + -o take -es in the plural. But some only take -s: pianos, photos.
Is a tomato a fruit or a vegetable?+
For scientists, a tomato is a fruit, because it grows from a flower and has seeds. In the kitchen, people use it as a vegetable, because we eat it in salty dishes, not in desserts. In everyday English, tomato is on the vegetable list.
Updated on 12 November 2026 by the Big Challenge teaching team. Every year, more than 500,000 students across Europe take part in our English contest, created in 1999. Our teaching approach →
The Big Challenge · Updated on 12 November 2026 · Source: www.thebigchallenge.com/bl/academy/learn-english/vocabulary/fruit-and-vegetables
© The Big Challenge. Copying allowed for classroom use. Every year, more than 500,000 students across Europe take part in our English contest, created in 1999.