Der Unterschied zwischen zu Mittag essen gehen und zum Mittagessen gehen
Hi,

Could anybody explain why it's "zu" in the first one? Sorry... wrong forum!

Question

Der Unterschied zwischen zu Mittag essen gehen und zum Mittagessen gehen
Hi,

Could anybody explain why it's "zu" in the first one? Sorry... wrong forum!

Answer

Let me have a shot!

zu Mittag - here Mittag is a certain time.
zum Mittagessen - you go to a place.

In this context zu/zum is rather irrelevant when you speak to people since Mittag essen and Mittagessen is phonetically hard to distinguish.

Answer

Ich finde hier keine Unterschiede..

Answer

Was ißt du zu Mittag? = What do you usually have for lunch?
Was ißt du zum Mittag? = What are you having for lunch today?