tikaku de hirugohan wo tabemasen ka.

近く means nearby or a nearby place.

The particle で marks the place where an action happens. So 近くで means:

• nearby
• at a nearby place
• somewhere close by

In this sentence, it tells you where the eating would happen.

で is used because 食べる is an action, and で marks the location where an action takes place.

• 近くで食べる = eat nearby
• 学校で勉強する = study at school

By contrast, に is often used for:

• destination: 学校に行く = go to school
• existence: 机の上に本がある = there is a book on the desk
• specific time: 3時に行く = go at 3 o’clock

So here, since someone is eating somewhere, で is the correct particle.

昼ご飯（ひるごはん） means lunch.

It is a very common, natural everyday word.
A few related words are:

• 昼ご飯 = lunch, everyday and casual-neutral
• 昼食（ちゅうしょく） = lunch, a bit more formal
• お昼（おひる） = noon / lunch, depending on context

In this sentence, 昼ご飯 sounds very normal and conversational.

The ご in ご飯 is part of the standard word ご飯, which originally means cooked rice, but very often means a meal in everyday Japanese.

So:

• 朝ご飯 = breakfast
• 昼ご飯 = lunch
• 晩ご飯 / 夜ご飯 = dinner

Even though ご can sometimes be an honorific prefix, in ご飯 it is simply part of the usual word.

を marks the direct object of the verb.

Here:

• 昼ご飯 = the thing being eaten
• 食べませんか = won’t [you] eat?

So 昼ご飯を食べませんか literally means:

• Won’t you eat lunch?

More naturally in English:

• Would you like to have lunch?
• Shall we have lunch?

This is a very common Japanese pattern.

〜ませんか literally looks negative:

• 食べません = do not eat / will not eat
• 食べませんか = won’t you eat?

But in actual use, 〜ませんか is often a polite invitation or suggestion.

So:

• 昼ご飯を食べませんか。 = Would you like to have lunch?
• 一緒に行きませんか。 = Would you like to go together?

It is softer and more polite than a direct command or a blunt suggestion.

Not exactly.

• 食べませんか = Would you like to eat? / Shall we eat?
  This is an invitation to the other person.

• 食べましょうか = Shall we eat? or sometimes Shall I eat? depending on context
  This is more like proposing an action.

For inviting someone, 食べませんか often feels very natural and polite.
食べましょうか can also work, but the nuance is a little different.

Very roughly:

• 食べませんか = inviting the other person
• 食べましょうか = suggesting that the group do it

Japanese often leaves out the subject when it is obvious from context.

In 近くで昼ご飯を食べませんか。, the subject is not stated, but the meaning is understood from the situation.

Depending on context, it can feel like:

• Would you like to have lunch nearby?
• Shall we eat lunch nearby?

Japanese does this very often. If the subject or topic is already clear, it is usually omitted.

Because it is not necessary here.

Japanese often leaves out information that is already understood. In a real conversation, the speaker does not need to say something like:

• 私たちは近くで昼ご飯を食べませんか。

That would sound more explicit than needed in many situations.

The short form:

• 近くで昼ご飯を食べませんか。

sounds natural because the important part is simply the invitation.

It can mean both, depending on context.

近く usually means:

• nearby
• close by
• near here
• in the vicinity

If two people are talking in an office, school, or while walking around, 近くで will usually be understood as somewhere near the place we are now.

So this sentence often means something like:

• Would you like to have lunch somewhere nearby?

Yes. It is in the polite style because of 食べませんか.

• dictionary form: 食べる
• polite negative: 食べません
• polite negative question/invitation: 食べませんか

This is a normal, polite way to invite someone, such as:

• a coworker
• a classmate you are not extremely close to
• someone you want to speak to politely

It is not overly formal, but it is respectful and natural.

A more casual version would be:

• 近くで昼ご飯を食べない？

This uses 食べない？, the casual negative question form.

Compare:

• 食べませんか？ = polite invitation
• 食べない？ = casual invitation

Both can mean:

• Want to have lunch nearby?
• How about eating lunch nearby?

Use 食べない？ with friends or people you are close to.

Yes, but Japanese word order is more flexible than English in some ways.

The basic structure here is:

• 近くで = where
• 昼ご飯を = what
• 食べませんか = verb + invitation

So the sentence is organized like:

[place] + [object] + [verb]

That is a very common Japanese pattern.

English would usually say:

• Would you like to eat lunch nearby?

Japanese puts the verb at the end, which is normal.

Literally, yes. But that is usually not the best natural English translation.

Because 〜ませんか is commonly used for invitations, a more natural translation is:

• Would you like to have lunch nearby?
• Shall we have lunch nearby?
• How about having lunch nearby?

So while the literal form is negative, the real function is often an invitation, not a true negative question.