How do I invite a friend "on my expense"?

I ask my friend to come over to my place and I want him to eat pizza on my expense. Is it correct to say like this:

Come over to my place bro! I will eat you a pizza.

Come over to my home bro! I will make you eat a pizza.

What are some other ways to say this like a native speaker?

Secondly, I want to know if using the word "treat" means inviting someone to food because something good has happened to you. If yes, then how to use it in a sentence? Is this way correct?

I want to take a treat from you.

I'm an Asian and here people speak a mixture of their native language and English. We often use this word but I could never get its correct usage as we use it as a word in our native language sentence. The dictionary shows its usage like this: "he wanted to take her to the pictures as a treat."

Saqeeb

Posted 2017-01-11T08:00:47.333

Reputation: 834

Answers

I'd personally go with this example:

Come over to my place, dude. I'll treat you to a delicious pizza.

to treat means to give someone something, typically food, either because they've done something good to you or you're simply doing it out of sheer generosity.

As for your examples, they sound weird.

Come over to my home bro! I will make you eat a pizza.

That one sounds like you're going to force him to eat pizza—as if you were going to stuff that pizza down his throat or something along those lines. That's obviously not what you want to say.

Come over to my place bro! I will eat you a pizza.

The same thing here. This example does not even make real sense. Sounds like you're going to eat something and as a result you'll produce a pizza for you friend.

Michael Rybkin

Posted 2017-01-11T08:00:47.333

Reputation: 37 124

Is there any other way to say "I'll treat you to a delicious pizza"? And is it okay to say "I want to take a treat from you"? – Saqeeb – 2017-01-11T08:31:05.447

7You could suggest incorporating "eat" the following ways: * Hey, bro! Let's eat a pizza at my place* or Hey, bro! Do you fancy eating a pizza tonight? – Mari-Lou A – 2017-01-11T08:31:21.103

1"I want to take a treat from you" -- I guess, technically that makes sense, but I don't think this example is going to work in the context you've provided. – Michael Rybkin – 2017-01-11T08:34:44.600

@CookieMonster Does it imply that I want him to treat me to "any kind of food" on his expense? or something else? – Saqeeb – 2017-01-11T08:36:36.473

3Yes, that implies that he's going to give you a pizza, not you. – Michael Rybkin – 2017-01-11T08:37:53.537

@CookieMonster "I will eat you a pizza" seems like a perfectly legitimate example of the ethic dative. https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/ethical_dative

– verbose – 2017-01-11T09:13:28.297

@verbose No, it isn't, I'm afraid :( – Araucaria - Not here any more. – 2017-01-11T09:16:53.580

@Araucaria why not? – verbose – 2017-01-11T09:17:35.793

Well, three reasons. Firstly, 'ethical dative" / "ethic dative" constructions such as the Shakespeare quotes given on that Wiki page are not grammatical in modern English, and haven't been for centuries. Secondly, English has no dative case, so those Wiki examples aren't real ethical datives. Thirdly, ethical datives signify "that the person denoted has an interest in or is indirectly affected by the event". I don't think if I invite you to my house and then I eat pizza, that I can pretend it will somehow interest or benefit you!

– Araucaria - Not here any more. – 2017-01-11T09:26:30.063

4Well, I was joking (some might say trolling) in my initial comment, but here's an example. Say you need to have four entire pizzas eaten before midnight, or the king will behead you. You manage to eat three. However, you simply don't have the stomach for the fourth. I might say to you: "Come over to my house, I'll eat you a pizza." – verbose – 2017-01-11T09:50:30.217

@verbose Ha ha :) – Araucaria - Not here any more. – 2017-01-11T10:41:44.303

@verbose yeah, actually, in that context, that phrasing sounds perfectly natural to me (British). I can't think of any realistic scenarious though :D – Muzer – 2017-01-11T11:00:40.790

@Mari-LouA though think he does need to make explicit that he's going to pay — to me, social norms would be to split the cost of a takeaway, unless otherwise mentioned ("It's on my; I'll get it; etc.) – anotherdave – 2017-01-11T20:51:54.363

@FanBoy 'I want to take a treat from you' means that they have a treat (a treat can be a reward in general - or it can also mean junk food / candy) and you're going to take it. It's grammatically correct but unlikely what you actually mean. Are you trying to ask someone to buy you dinner as a reward for one of your accomplishments? – Rob – 2017-01-11T22:48:03.700

Typo. weired sounds *weird* :) – Hanky Panky – 2017-01-12T10:46:06.390

If you want to suggest that you might go to his place for pizza at a later date I think you want something like "maybe sometime you can return the favour" (US favor). Be careful to make clear that this is by his choice and not a requirement of you inviting him. – Chris Petheram – 2017-01-12T11:32:26.317

I don't think I've ever heard someone say "I will eat you a pizza." A similar construction would be, "I will sing you a song", which means, I will sing a song, and the song will be for you to hear. Or, "I will teach you a lesson", meaning, I will teach a lesson, and it will be for your benefit. Etc. But there are only a few verbs that we use this way. No one would say, "I will repair you a car", we'd say, "I will repair your car". Etc. I don't know if there's a simple general rule. – Jay – 2017-09-26T01:19:37.503

I will eat you a pizza doesn't make sense.

I will make you eat a pizza means I will force you to eat a pizza. This does not suggest that it is a treat. Maybe you were thinking of I will make you a pizza. This means that you will make a pizza for the friend.

I want to take a treat from you means that you want to take a thing away from the person. That thing is a treat. This is not an invitation to eat pizza. It sounds like you want to confiscate the treat.

Looking at a dictionary entry, we have

treat
transitive verb
3 a : to provide with free food, drink, or entertainment <they treated us to lunch>

Actually it does not have to be a situation where something good has happened. It could be used in a neutral situation. It could be a sudden, spontaneous thing, or it could even be done if something bad has happened (for example, if you want to cheer up a sad friend). Examples.

That company treated me to lunch again. They really want me to accept their offer.

(Speaking to a child.) I heard that your puppy is sick. How about I treat you to some ice cream? Will that make you feel better?

In your example, we don't know if something good happened. I'm assuming that you just want to hang out with your friend—nothing special. Using your example, we have

Come over to my place bro! I will treat you to pizza.

As a noun, we have

b : the act of providing another with free food, drink, or entertainment <dinner will be my treat>

You could say The pizza/it will be my treat. A common expression is "It's my treat!", or simply "My treat!" So you could say

Come over to my place bro! I'm ordering pizza. My treat!

It's casual and it also means you will be providing the pizza for free. Instead of my treat above, you could say

It's on me!
-or-
I'm buying!

Em.

Posted 2017-01-11T08:00:47.333

Reputation: 44 188

9More of an American-sounding example and so not something I'd say, but I gather you could also say something like "Come over to my place! Pizza's on me!". Saying that something is "on" someone (usually used for food or drink for a group) is an American colloquial expression meaning that that person will pay for it (though I'm sure it's used a lot in Britain). You also have the related expression "on the house" meaning that the establishment (eg the bar/restaurant) is paying for it, ie you're effectively getting it for free. – Muzer – 2017-01-11T11:02:54.317

1I'll second "on me" as the appropriately colloquial level, instead of "my treat," though if said right, the difference is negligible. – None – 2017-01-11T14:18:32.987

I believe the phrase "my treat" covers this, as in:

Come over to my place for pizza, my treat.

"my treat" was referenced in another stack exchange question here:

am21

Posted 2017-01-11T08:00:47.333

Reputation: 505

My initial though almost: Pizza. My Place. My Treat. – user3321 – 2017-01-12T04:43:15.460

You don't even need any of that. You can just state what you want:

Hey man, I'm buying a pizza. Come over and have some.

As other answers have mentioned, "my treat" or "it's on me" are appropriate and can be used, but the way I have it skips out on the need to do that entirely.

user32753

Posted 2017-01-11T08:00:47.333

Reputation:

For your specific question of whether

the word "treat" means inviting someone to food because something good has happened to you.

The answer is no, treating someone and a treat don't necessarily mean that the person treating is paying in celebration of the treater's own good fortune. People definitely do sometimes do this, but then the invitation will make this clear. For example:

I just got a big promotion, so pizza's my treat!

But it's about as likely to go the other way:

You have to let me treat you to pizza—after all, we're celebrating your graduation!

This particular usage of treat is a little confusing, because usually a treat is something unusual and good for the person who receives it. For example, if you give a child a candy (especially on Halloween in the US) we might say here's a treat for you or if you unexpectedly get to take a day off from work you might say what a treat to have time for myself!

But in the specific context of paying for something (often food, but also things like movie tickets) when I give someone else a treat it is still my treat. It seems like we're giving something away and still keeping it, which is contradictory!

To understand these two different usages of treat, you might think of the intention behind the act of treating as something like this:

I want to pay for this activity which we're sharing, and it will be a treat for both of us: it's a treat for you because you get something you like for free, and it's a treat for me because I get the pleasure of your company and (maybe) your gratitude.

1006a

Posted 2017-01-11T08:00:47.333

Reputation: 4 000

In Australia the standard expression for "on my expense" is shout, and is used in the same way as treat for both the verb and noun forms.

shout

VERB
2. NZ Australian - informal [with two objects] Treat (someone) to (something, especially a drink)
- ‘I'll shout you a beer’
- ‘In addition he shouted me my meal, even though it was more of a snack than a meal, which was very generous of him I must say.’

NOUN
2. one's shout British, informal One's turn to buy a round of drinks.
- "Do you want another drink? My shout."

It's interesting that Oxford Dictionaries Online cites the verb as Aust/NZ but the noun as British. I'd have thought that "shout" in reference to drinks is British vernacular in both the noun and verb forms - deriving no doubt from having to shout (call loudly) one's order to the barman in a busy bar - but in Australia it is used not just for drinks but in any situation where "it's my treat" or "I'll treat you" would apply. Hence:

Come over to my place, we're ordering pizza - my shout.

Come over to my place, I'll shout you a pizza!

Come over to my place, I'm shouting pizza.

In egalitarian Australia there is less opprobrium attached to informal language, so it would be perfectly acceptable to use "shout" (in the sense of treat) even in a sophisticated setting such as a high-class restaurant. Note that it would be insulting to use shout where benevolence would be considered patronising; however, the Australian use of "shout" can also carry the connotation of "turn (to buy)", so it's appropriate to use it in this sense even when wealthy business folk scramble to whip out their credit card first:

"No no, you shouted the last lunch - this one's on me."

Chappo Hasn't Forgotten Monica

Posted 2017-01-11T08:00:47.333

Reputation: 353

Yes, "I'll treat you" sounds sort of like bragging. Less strongly, I'd rather not mention buying, either. Just "come over and have a pizza with me."

Laura

Posted 2017-01-11T08:00:47.333

Reputation: 11

2That can be nice, but the friend not being able to afford pizza might be a factor in their decision to come over if you don't reveal your intent. – Preston – 2017-01-12T01:55:56.140

2Don't ask me why, but "my treat!" is less bragging than "I'll treat you". – Martin Bonner supports Monica – 2017-01-12T08:40:09.520

Come over and have a pizza with me. No worries, I will sponsor! ;)

Fida Hasan

Posted 2017-01-11T08:00:47.333

Reputation: 49

1Please [edit] to include an explanation of why this is correct; answers without explanation do not teach the patterns of the language well. – Nathan Tuggy – 2017-01-12T07:26:00.213

"No worries, I will sponsor!" This part something like friendly punch line means free food! – Fida Hasan – 2017-01-12T08:04:36.443

4As a native British English speaker, "I will sponsor" sounds wrong. "I will pay" (although that's a bit too overt about the money), or "my treat" would be more likely. – Martin Bonner supports Monica – 2017-01-12T08:38:52.960

Yes, I agree, "No worries, my treat" is very modest. I aus, i found it more different, they preferably use 'free', just it. So, things vary with culture! – Fida Hasan – 2017-01-12T08:50:39.807

5As an American English speaker, "I will sponsor" is not correct. – None – 2017-01-12T15:06:40.987

1"No worries, it's on me!" would work in U.S. English. (Most people in the U.S. would understand this means you will pay, not that you have already literally dropped a piece of pizza in your own lap.) – David K – 2017-01-12T19:34:32.550

1"I will sponsor" is commonly used in Indian English. – Masked Man – 2017-01-13T05:20:36.897

You should clearly state (edit) in your answer that this variant is common in Indian English, I nearly downvoted this answer because it is non-standard in British English, not only in AmEng. – Mari-Lou A – 2017-01-13T08:16:39.437