Family ate dinner together every evening.

Meaning: This sentence describes a family's routine of having dinner together in the evening.

Choice of Words: Family means a group of people related by blood or marriage. "Ate" is the past tense of "eat", which means to consume food. Dinner is the main meal of the day, typically eaten in the evening. "Together" means in the company of others.

Alternative Expressions

The family had dinner together each night.

Meaning: This means the same as the first sentence, but it uses the word had instead of ate and night instead of evening.

Choice of Words: Family means a group of people related by birth or marriage. Had is the past tense of the verb have, which can mean to possess or to consume. Dinner is the main meal of the day, typically eaten in the evening. Together means in the same place and at the same time. Each means on each occasion. Night is the time of day between sunset and sunrise.

The family dined together nightly.

Meaning: This means the same as the first two sentences, but it uses more formal language.

Choice of Words: Family means a group of people related by birth or marriage. Dined is a more formal word for ate, which means to consume food. Together means in the same place and at the same time. Nightly means on each night.

Related Expressions