For a basic table setting, here are two great tips to help you–or your kids–

remember the order of plates and utensils:

1. Picture the word “FORKS.” The order, left to right, is: F for Fork, O for
the Plate (the shape!), K for Knives and S for Spoons. (Okay, you have
to forget the R, but you get the idea!)
2. Holding your hands in front of you, touch the tips of your thumbs to the
tips of your forefingers to make a lowercase ‘b’ with your left hand and a
lowercase ‘d’ with your right hand. This reminds you that “bread and
butter” go to the left of the place setting and “drinks” go on the right.
Emily Post could have used that trick–she was often confused about
which bread and butter belonged to her–and sometimes she used her
neighbor’s! In which case, when it was called to her attention, she would
say to the dismayed lady or gentleman, “Oh, I am always mixing them
up. Here, please take mine!”

Some other things to know:

 Knife blades always face the plate

 The napkin goes to the left of the fork, or on the plate
 The bread and butter knife is optional
When an informal three-course dinner is served, the typical place setting
includes these utensils and dishes:

Our illustration shows how a table would be set for the following menu:

 Soup course
 Salad or first course
 Entree
 Dessert

(a) Dinner Plate: This is the “hub of the wheel” and is usually the first thing to
be set on the table. In our illustration, the dinner plate would be placed where
the napkin is, with the napkin on top of the plate.

(b) Two Forks: The forks are placed to the left of the plate. The dinner fork,
the larger of the two forks, is used for the main course; the smaller fork is
used for a salad or an appetizer. The forks are arranged according to when
you need to use them, following an “outside-in” order. If the small fork is
needed for an appetizer or a salad served before the main course, then it is
placed on the left (outside) of the dinner fork; if the salad is served after the
main course, then the small fork is placed to the right (inside) of the dinner
fork, next to the plate.

(c) Napkin: The napkin is folded or put in a napkin ring and placed either to
the left of the forks or on the center of the dinner plate. Sometimes, a folded
napkin is placed under the forks.

(d) Dinner Knife: The dinner knife is set immediately to the right of the plate,
cutting edge facing inward. (If the main course is meat, a steak knife can take
the place of the dinner knife.) At an informal meal, the dinner knife may be
used for all courses, but a dirty knife should never be placed on the table,
place mat or tablecloth.
(e) Spoons: Spoons go to the right of the knife. In our illustration, soup is
being served first, so the soup spoon goes to the far (outside) right of the
dinner knife; the teaspoon or dessert spoon, which will be used last, goes to
the left (inside) of the soup spoon, next to the dinner knife.

(f) Glasses: Drinking glasses of any kind — water, wine, juice, iced tea — are
placed at the top right of the dinner plate, above the knives and spoons.

Other dishes and utensils are optional, depending on what is being served,
but may include:
(g) Salad Plate: This is placed to the left of the forks. If salad is to be eaten
with the meal, you can forgo the salad plate and serve it directly on the dinner
plate. However, if the entree contains gravy or anything runny, it is better to
serve the salad on a separate plate to keep things neater.

(h) Bread Plate with Butter Knife: If used, the bread plate goes above the
forks, with the butter knife placed diagonally across the edge of the plate,
handle on the right side and blade facing down.

(i) Dessert Spoon and Fork: These can be placed either horizontally above
the dinner plate (the spoon on top with its handle facing to the right; the fork
below with its handle facing left); or beside the plate. If placed beside the
plate, the fork goes on the left side, closest to the plate (because it will be the
last fork used) and the spoon goes on the right side of the plate, to the right of
the dinner knife and to the left of the soup spoon.

(j) Coffee Cup and Saucer: Our illustration shows a table setting that would
be common in a restaurant serving a large number of people at once, with
coffee being served during the meal. The coffee cup and saucer are placed
above and to the right of the knife and spoons. At home, most people serve
coffee after the meal. In that case the cups and saucers are brought tot he
table and placed above and to the right of the knives and spoons.
The formal place setting is used at home for a meal of more than three
courses, such as a dinner party or a holiday meal.

It’s simply the informal place setting taken to the next level, adding glassware,
dishes and utensils for the foods and beverages served with the additional
courses. It’s also used at high-end restaurants that serve multiple courses.

 Knife blades are always placed with the cutting edge toward the plate.
 No more than three of any implement are ever placed on the table,
except when an oyster fork is used in addition to three other forks. If
more than three courses are served before dessert, then the utensils for
the fourth course are brought in with the food; likewise the salad fork
and knife may be brought in when the salad course is served.
 Dessert spoons and forks are brought in on the dessert plate just before
dessert is served.

The placement of utensils is guided by the menu, the idea being that you use
utensils in an “outside in” order. For the illustrated place setting here, the
order of the menu is:

 Appetizer: Shellfish
 First Course: Soup or fruit
 Fish Course
 Entrée
  Salad

(a) Service Plate: This large plate, also called a charger, serves as an

underplate for the plate holding the first course, which will be brought to the
table. When the first course is cleared, the service plate remains in place for
any other courses, such as a soup course, until the plate holding the entrée is
served, at which point the two plates are exchanged. The charger may serve
as the underplate for several courses which precede the entrée.

(b) Butter Plate: The small butter plate is placed above the forks at the left of
the place setting.

(c) Dinner Fork: The largest of the forks, also called the place fork, is placed
on the left of the plate. Other smaller forks for other courses are arranged to
the left or right of the dinner fork, according to when they will be used.

(d) Fish Fork: If there is a fish course, this small fork is placed to the left of
the dinner fork because it is the first fork used.

(e) Salad Fork: If the salad is served after the entrée, the small salad fork is
placed to the right of the dinner fork, next to the plate. If the salad is to be
served first, and fish second, then the forks would be arranged (left to right):
salad fork, fish fork, dinner fork.

(f) Dinner Knife: The large dinner knife is placed to the right of the dinner
plate.

(g) Fish Knife: The specially shaped fish knife goes to the right of the dinner
knife.

(h) Salad Knife (Note: there is no salad knife in the illustration): If used,

according to the above menu, it would be placed to the left of the dinner knife,
next to the dinner plate. If the salad is to be served first, and fish second, then
the knives would be arranged (left to right): dinner knife, fish knife, salad knife.

(i) Soup Spoon or Fruit Spoon: If soup or fruit is served as a first course,
then the accompanying spoon goes to the right of the knives.

(j) Oyster Fork: If shellfish are to be served, the oyster fork goes to the right
of the spoons. Note: It is the only fork ever placed on the right of the plate.
(k) Butter Knife: The small spreader is paced diagonally on top of the butter
plate, handle on the right and blade down.

(l) Glasses: These are placed on the right, above the knives and spoons.
They can number up to five and are placed in the order they will be used.
When there are more than three glasses, they can be arranged with smaller
glasses in front. The water goblet (la) is placed directly above the knives. Just
to the right are placed a red (lc) or white (ld) wine glass. A sherry glass or
champagne flute (le), to accompany a first course or for an opening toast, go
to the right of the wine glasses. Glasses used for a particular course are
removed at the end of the course.

(m) Napkin: The napkin is placed on top of the charger (if one is used) or in
the space for the plate. It can also go to the left of the forks, or under the forks
if space is tight.

Everything on your table should be crisp and sparkling. White linens are still
considered the most formal, but colored or patterned tablecloths or place
mats, and napkins can be just as elegant. Other possible elements include
candles, a centerpiece or multiple flower arrangements, and place cards.
Place mats (if used) are entered in front of each chair, about one to two
inches from the edge of the table. A tablecloth is spread to hang evenly on
each end and on the sides. The average drop is 12 to 18 inches, but don’t
worry if it is a little long or short—you just don’t want it hanging too low, or it
will end up in the diners’ laps.

The most formal table is strictly symmetrical: centerpiece in the exact center,
an even number of candlesticks, place settings spaced evenly around the
table, silverware lined up and at the same distance from the edge of the table.
The space not taken up by place settings is your available real estate. Feel
free to vary flower arrangements and decorations as you like, creating a
balanced and pleasing tablescape. Be careful not to overcrowd the table, and
arrange your decorations so diners seated opposite can see each other.