English Help Online's Blog

Today I have another verb for you which has a second and surprising meaning; the verb is “agree”. I think most people know the first meaning of  “agree” which is to share another person’s opinion. For example:

I agree with Bill when he says that we have to change our business strategy.

In my opinion, the best music in the world is 80’s pop music. Do you agree?

However, the second meaning of “agree” is for some food to give a person some trouble with their stomach. For example:

I have a stomachache now. I guess the seafood I ate for dinner didn’t agree with me.

My husband can’t eat pickles. They don’t agree with him.

A: Have you ever eaten any Japanese food that didn’t agree with you?

B: No, I can’t think of anything in Japan that didn’t agree with me.

My mother could never eat Korean food because spicy food doesn’t agree with her.

So, it’s important to note that we always use this verb in the negative when talking about food. We DON’T say, “That food agreed with me.” We only talk about it when some food doesn’t agree with us and gives us a stomachache or some other problem.

Also, we DON’T say, “It didn’t agree with my stomach.” That sounds strange. We always say, “It didn’t agree with me.”

In addition, we DON’T use the word “agree” to talk about food we don’t like. It’s only used when some food gives us a medical problem.