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Anonymous Posted 16 years ago
Grammar

Eat lunch or have lunch

Is it gramatically correct to use "eat" when talking about lunch, dinner, breakfast? E.g. We ate lunch. Have you eaten your lunch? I want to eat my dinner.

Or should we say "have/had" instead? E.g We had lunch. Have you had your lunch? I want to have my dinner.

Reason is I saw this TV program overseas that teaches people english, and that show said that we shouldn't use "eat".

Thanks
  

Top answer

I sure hope that program is wrong, or I've been speaking incorrectly for more than 40 years. I assure you, I eat my lunch, I eat my dinner, and I sometimes remember to eat breakfast.

— BarbaraPA

  • I sure hope that program is wrong, or I've been speaking incorrectly for more than 40 years.
  • I assure you, I eat my lunch, I eat my dinner, and I sometimes remember to eat breakfast.
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16 Answers
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I sure hope that program is wrong, or I've been speaking incorrectly for more than 40 years.

I assure you, I eat my lunch, I eat my dinner, and I sometimes remember to eat breakfast.
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Yes, indeed-- nothing wrong with 'eat' at all, though perhaps many people do say 'have' more often.
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I'm not sure but the case might be that 'have' is more British so if you're working with a British coursebook or programme they say that 'eat' is incorrect.
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There is absolutely no justification for saying it's "incorrect"!

Is it more common to say "have"? Maybe. Probably. But wrong to say "eat"? Absolutely not.
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Sometimes we use "eat" to refer to the process:

How come you're not eating your lunch? Are you sick?

(I'm having lunch but I'm not eating it.)
"Having lunch" may be an occasion. "Let's have lunch."
"Let's eat lunch" might be used when the food is "at hand" but no one is eating.
Perhaps it's a "brown bag" situation.
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Not wrong but a native speker would rarely, if at all, use it!
Same as "I drank a coffee." Well, u don't put coffee on your head do you? Better: I had a coffee.
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AnonymousNot wrong but a native speker would rarely, if at all, use it!Same as "I drank a coffee." Well, u don't put coffee on your head do you? Better: I had a coffee.
Really?? This native speaker uses it ALL THE TIME!
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I'm sorry to interrupt this thread.

Question

What verb do we use for soup, eat or drink? I know have is OK but let's not consider that an option in the meantime.

A: What are you (eating/drinking)?
B: I'm (drinking/eating) soup.

Many Asians actually consume their soup without using a spoon. It's as if they're drinking it.
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AnonymousIs it gramatically correct to use "eat" when talking about lunch, dinner, breakfast? ... I saw this TV program overseas that teaches people english, and that show said that we shouldn't use "eat".Thanks
It is grammatically correct to say "eat lunch", "eat dinner", and so on. But the advice you heard on TV has nothing to do with what is grammatical.
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Right on!
But remember all those guys who said that George Bush was the kind of guy they'd just love to drink a beer with?
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