almostgal
Senior Member
Dar es salaam, Tanzania
swahili
- Nov 17, 2014
- #1
Hi,
I just learned and got confused about this Americans and British English differences, for example when asking about whether someone had lunch,
AmE version, " Did you have lunch?", "Yes, I did"
BrE version, "Have you had lunch?", "Yes, I had", but I think "Yes I did"
When speaking about Americans version I see it is better than British, because when let's say I have met co-worker at 8pm (lunch time has passed), who may have been out of the office at lunch time for office duty, say at 1pm, Is it really correct to say "have you had lunch?" could you clarify,
If you say, "Did you have lunch?" means you don't know what time he had lunch but you only know within the stated time which has already passed.
Thank you in advance.
Florentia52
Modwoman in the attic
Wisconsin
English - United States
- Nov 17, 2014
- #2
I can only answer from the AE perspective, but I would ask "Have you had lunch?" if it the person could still possibly do so, and "Did you have lunch?" if, as you suggest, I was asking at 8 p.m.
The response to "Have you had lunch?" is not "Yes, I had," but "Yes, I have," by the way.
almostgal
Senior Member
Dar es salaam, Tanzania
swahili
- Nov 17, 2014
- #3
Thank you Florentia52, but why BE say "have you had lunch?" in this context or does it matter the time interval?, let's say "have you had breakfast?", at what time is it appropriate to ask?, is it only morning?, what if someone appeared to ask you in the noon?
Andygc
Senior Member
Devon
British English
- Nov 17, 2014
- #4
BE
Have you had lunch? It is around or just after lunchtime.
Did you have lunch? It's the evening.
Hmm. Two nations speaking the same language for a change.
almostgal
Senior Member
Dar es salaam, Tanzania
swahili
- Nov 17, 2014
- #5
Andygc, so after lunch time, Does it sound correct to say, Have you had lunch?, because Present perfect says, when using it, you must be able to connect the past and present, also on this connection you must be able to see the result, which you don't see on this context. For example, you met your friend has sweats all over his clothes, you asked him, Have you been exercises?, this make sense, because you can see the result, . by the way your sentence "Two nations speaking the same language for a change", it amused me.
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P
Parla
Member Emeritus
New York City
English - US
- Nov 17, 2014
- #6
After lunch time, does it sound correct to say, "Have you had lunch?"
To comment from an AE point of view: Yes, it's as Andygc said in post #4: It is correct to say "Have you had lunch?" if it's about, or soon after, the usual time for lunch.
If it's much later, we use the past tense.
F
Forero
Senior Member
Maumelle, Arkansas, USA
USA English
- Nov 17, 2014
- #7
For me, the difference between "Have you had lunch?" and "Did you have lunch?" is based on a time interval in the speaker's mind. It could be "lunch time", but it does not have to be.
Glasguensis
Signal Modulation
France
English - Scotland
- Nov 17, 2014
- #8
To me the difference comes from the purpose of asking the question. If I ask "Did you have lunch", it's because I'm interested in whether the person ate. Perhaps I'm their parent, or their supervisor at work, and I don't want them to go hungry. If I ask "Have you had lunch", it's because I'm interested in the person's schedule - perhaps I'm going to invite them to lunch if they haven't already eaten, or I want to know whether they're available to do something else, which they might not be if they're about to go and have lunch now.
Cenzontle
Senior Member
English, U.S.
- Nov 17, 2014
- #9
I agree essentially with Glasguensis: The difference between the two questions depends not so much on the time of day as on my purpose in asking.
I, and other Americans who I'm acquainted with, ask "Have you had lunch?" possibly as an invitation. Your having lunch (or not) is directly relevant to the present moment.
Meanwhile "Did you have lunch?" is part of "Tell me about your day." "Did you visit the restaurant that I recommended?" Etc.
Andygc
Senior Member
Devon
British English
- Nov 17, 2014
- #10
Cenzontle said:
Your having lunch (or not) is directly relevant to the present moment.
Meanwhile "Did you have lunch?" is part of "Tell me about your day." "Did you visit the restaurant that I recommended?" Etc.
Yes, I think that is essentially the same as I intended. If you say "have you had lunch" it could mean "if not, let's go for lunch" or "you have? Good, we can get on with our meeting." Would you, at 2 pm, say "did you have lunch?" as part of "tell me about your day"? Isn't that something you'd do in the evening once you've got home from work, school, the trip away ...
almostgal
Senior Member
Dar es salaam, Tanzania
swahili
- Nov 18, 2014
- #11
Thank you all, your comments helped me a lot, now that I can use these two sentences in a right way.
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