[General] Shall we have a beer?

[kompstar]

What does "Shall we have a beer?" mean?

Will we go for a beer?
or
Will we have got a beer?

and maybe something different?

 

[emsr2d2]

It's a suggestion that the speaker and the listener drink a beer together somewhere.

 

[kompstar]

Does the suggestion refer to the future?

 

[emsr2d2]

Yes, probably the near future but it could be further in advance.

A: I'm really bored. Do you want to do something?
B: Yes! Shall we have a beer?
A: Great idea. I'll meet you at the pub in ten minutes.

A: I'm looking forward to meeting up with you next Wednesday evening. Any idea what you'd like to do?
B: Shall we have a beer?
A: That sounds good. I'll text you on Wednesday afternoon and see which pub you want to meet at.
B: Great. You could come to my house instead if you like. I have beer here too!

A: Dinner's ready. What are we drinking?
B: Shall we have a beer?
A: Hmm, I can't because I've got to drive later but you can have one if you want. There should be a cold one in the fridge. I'll just have water.

 

[Tdol]

Does the suggestion refer to the future?

Should we have had a beer is a way of making a suggestion, or asking whether it would have been a good idea, about the past.

 

[TheParser]

***** NOT A TEACHER *****

Hello, Kompstar:

You have already received the answer. May I just expand a bit on the word "shall"?

1. "Shall" in general American English is seldom used.

a. Your sentence is one of the ways in which it is still used.

i. "Shall we have a glass of orange juice?" is just a way to say something like "What do you say if we have a glass of orange juice?" or "Do you want to have a glass of orange juice with me?"

ii. Perhaps one of the most popular phrases is when a gentleman says to a lady: "Shall we dance?" (I'm guessing that young men nowadays have another way to ask this question.)