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by deadbabe 451 days ago
I don’t get it, you can’t just ask “want breakfast?”
1 comments

You can and you do but it sounds "babyish". That's my point. Whereas in some other languages it's idiomatic.
I think you’re overthinking it. I’ve been talking to my kids like they’re just normal people since they were born.

“Oh how old are they, 5? Nope, just turned 3. They speak so well!” shrug

The second language must be biasing you somehow, it’s not hard to talk to your kids.

It's not about how I talk to my kid; he's picking up 2 languages just fine (trying a third but I'll admit I'm slacking a little on that one).

It's about the perception of how children speak in English.

> The second language must be biasing you somehow
"Would you like some breakfast" isn't quite so overly wordy that I'd say it sounds unnatural, but it absolutely is not the bare minimum for idiomatic English.

"Do you want breakfast?" is perfectly grammatical, and "Want breakfast?" would be a totally normal phrasing, even if some might argue that eliding the subject isn't technically correct.

There's even the in-between "You want breakfast?" that relies on the tonal shift at the end of the sentence used for questions.
No it doesn't. I don't ask my colleague "Would you care to go to the bar and drink a beer after work?" I say "Grab a beer later?" As does every other normal person I know. "Get lunch?" Etc.
Even “Lunch?” is enough with someone you know well.