Is it better to say eat lunch or have lunch in English? Does have lunch have a different meaning to eat lunch? And is it OK to say “have” with other meal words, such as dinner, tea, breakfast, etc?
Let’s look at some answers!
In fact, you can choose to say eat lunch or have lunch – both phrases are OK and usually mean the same thing. It’s just that have lunch is much more natural and common than eat lunch. So, for this reason, in most cases, it’s better to say have lunch instead of eat lunch.
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Is it incorrect to say “eat lunch”?
It’s not wrong to say eat lunch, as in: “I’m eating lunch”, or “When can we eat breakfast?”.
Native English speakers will certainly understand you if you use phrases like these.
So using “eat” in this way is NOT incorrect, but it IS less common – and so may sound unnatural to native speakers.
Have lunch vs eat lunch: differences in meaning
It’s true that in most cases, have lunch and eat lunch share the same meaning. There are a few differences though:
Have lunch = event / occasion
When we say have lunch, for example, “Let’s have lunch” we’re usually talking about lunch as an “event” or “occasion”:
“I like to have lunch at midday.”
In other words, we are not focusing on eating as an action.
Eat lunch = HOW you are eating
But when we say eat lunch, we are often talking about HOW we are eating my lunch – and NOT the event:
“I ate my lunch really quickly, yesterday.”
So, if you’re talking about the WAY you eat your lunch (quickly, slowly, etc), eat lunch is the best phrase to use.
Have lunch / eat lunch: US vs UK English
It is generally more common to hear eat lunch in American (US) English, even when we are talking about lunch as an event.
In British English, we usually say have lunch in this context.
Can I say “have a lunch”?
We never say “have a lunch” as a phrase on its own – this is incorrect.
“I’m hungry. I want to have a lunch, right now”. (Incorrect)
However, if you are describing your lunch, you CAN say “have a + lunch”.
In this case, you must use an adjective (or adverb + adjective) after the “a”:
“I had a really nice lunch with Jane yesterday.” (Correct)
“I’m starving – I think I’ll have a nice, big lunch!” (Correct)
“We’re a bit late, so maybe we’ll just have a quick lunch.” (Correct)
Have + other meal words
As well as have lunch, we can also use have with other meal words.
As you can see in these examples, have can mean eat or drink when we are talking about meals:
- have breakfast
- have dinner
- have supper
- have a sandwich (eat a sandwich)
- have a drink
- have some popcorn
- have some chips
- have a cup of tea / coffee (drink ..)
- have a big meal
- have not enough / lots / too much to eat
Have + lunch: real English dialogue
Here is a real (British) English dialogue between two friends. The dialogue shows you examples of how to use have lunch and other meal combinations in a natural way.
A: Hey Jake, have you had lunch yet?
B: No, I haven’t. I’m starving, actually. Do you want to go somewhere?
A: Sure. How about that Chinese place on the corner. I had some egg fried rice there last week and it was amazing.
B: Ok. Shall we go and look at the menu?
A: Yeah, why not? We could have some tea there, too. They do really nice green tea if you like that kind of thing.
Find out more about how to ask conversational questions and answers about food and other topics here.
