Manger: Examples, Sentences and Quiz in French

Introduction

Manger means “to eat”, and it is one of the most useful verbs in French — you will meet it in conversation, in books, in films and in every textbook. This page puts the verb to work: twelve example sentences across the tenses, a short dialogue you can act out, a tour of the verb in its most important tenses, the mistakes learners make most often, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. Every form on this page comes from the verified conjugation tables for manger, so you can trust what you read here. Start with the examples, say them aloud, and then test yourself with the quiz at the end.

Example sentences

Twelve sentences with manger, in different tenses and with different subjects. Read the French first, guess the meaning, then check the English.

  1. “Je mange une pomme le matin tous les jours.” — “I eat an apple in the morning every day.”
  2. “Tu manges au restaurant avec Marie tous les jours.” — “You eat at a restaurant with Marie every day.”
  3. “J'ai mangé du pain et du fromage cette semaine.” — “I have eaten bread and cheese this week.”
  4. “Il mangeait une pomme le matin autrefois.” — “He used to eat an apple in the morning in the past.”
  5. “Nous mangerons au restaurant avec Marie demain.” — “We will eat at a restaurant with Marie tomorrow.”
  6. “Tu as mangé du pain et du fromage cette semaine.” — “You have eaten bread and cheese this week.”
  7. “Je mangerais une pomme le matin un jour.” — “I would eat an apple in the morning one day.”
  8. “Il est important que il mange au restaurant avec Marie.” — “It is important that he eat at a restaurant with Marie.”
  9. “Nous avions mangé du pain et du fromage avant la fête.” — “We had eaten bread and cheese before the party.”
  10. “Il mangera une pomme le matin demain.” — “He will eat an apple in the morning tomorrow.”
  11. “Ils mangent au restaurant avec Marie tous les jours.” — “They eat at a restaurant with Marie every day.”
  12. “Mange du pain et du fromage !” — “Eat bread and cheese!”

A short dialogue

Marie and Pierre are talking about an apple in the morning. Read the dialogue aloud, one voice per person, and notice how manger changes with the tense and the subject. Every form of manger below is taken from the verified tables.

Marie : Tu fais quoi, ce soir ? Pierre : “Je mange une pomme le matin tous les jours.” — “I eat an apple in the morning every day.” Marie : Et demain ? Pierre : “Je mangerai au restaurant avec Marie demain.” — “I will eat at a restaurant with Marie tomorrow.” Marie : Tu as fait ça hier aussi ? Pierre : “J'ai mangé du pain et du fromage cette semaine.” — “I have eaten bread and cheese this week.” Marie : Tu ferais ça un jour ? Pierre : “Je mangerais une pomme le matin un jour.” — “I would eat an apple in the morning one day.”

Notice how the dialogue moves through time: the present for what is happening now, the future for tomorrow, the passé composé for yesterday, and the conditional for what someone would do one day. The verb stays the same — only the tense changes — and that is the whole point of learning a conjugation table: one verb, many moments.

Manger in different tenses

The same verb does different jobs in different tenses. Here are the six uses of manger that matter most, each with a sentence you can copy and adapt.

The present: habits and facts

In the present, manger describes habits, facts and what is happening now. The je form is mange: “Je mange une pomme le matin tous les jours.” — “I eat an apple in the morning every day.”

The imperfect: the past as it used to be

In the imperfect, manger describes the past as it used to be — background, habit, an action in progress. The il form is mangeait: “Il mangeait au restaurant avec Marie autrefois.” — “He used to eat at a restaurant with Marie in the past.”

The passé composé: finished actions

In the passé composé, manger reports one finished action, built with avoir plus the participle mangé. The je form is ai mangé: “J'ai mangé du pain et du fromage cette semaine.” — “I have eaten bread and cheese this week.”

The future: what will happen

In the future, manger talks about what will happen. The nous form is mangerons: “Nous mangerons une pomme le matin demain.” — “We will eat an apple in the morning tomorrow.”

The conditional: what would happen

In the conditional, manger talks about what would happen. The tu form is mangerais: “Tu mangerais au restaurant avec Marie un jour.” — “You would eat at a restaurant with Marie one day.”

The subjunctive: wishes and doubts

In the subjunctive, manger appears after triggers such as il est important que. The form is mange, and the sentence keeps the same complement as the other tenses: “Il est important que je mange du pain et du fromage.” — “It is important that I eat bread and cheese.”

Common mistakes

Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Je manger une pomme le matin.”

✓ Right: “Je mange une pomme le matin.”

The infinitive manger never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated form mange.

Using the wrong person’s form

✗ Wrong: “Tu mange une pomme le matin.”

✓ Right: “Tu manges une pomme le matin.”

mange is the je form. With tu you need manges. Check the subject before you choose the form.

Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Je mange une pomme le matin hier.”

✓ Right: “Je ai mangé une pomme le matin hier.”

The time word hier points to the past, so a finished action needs the passé composé ai mangé, not the present.

Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger

✗ Wrong: “Il est important que tu manges au restaurant avec Marie.”

✓ Right: “Il est important que tu manges au restaurant avec Marie.”

After il est important que French needs the subjunctive: manges, not the indicative manges.

Forgetting the auxiliary in the passé composé

✗ Wrong: “Je mangé une pomme le matin.”

✓ Right: “Je ai mangé une pomme le matin.”

The passé composé of manger needs the auxiliary avoir plus the participle mangé: the full je form is ai mangé.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on manger. Choose the right answer, then check the answer key below.

  1. What is the je form of manger in the Present indicative?

    • A) mange
    • B) manges
    • C) mangeons
    • D) mangez

  2. What is the tu form of manger in the Present indicative?

    • A) mangez
    • B) manges
    • C) mange
    • D) mangeons

  3. What is the il/elle form of manger in the Present perfect (passé composé)?

    • A) ai mangé
    • B) as mangé
    • C) avons mangé
    • D) a mangé

  4. What is the nous form of manger in the Imperfect?

    • A) mangeais
    • B) mangeait
    • C) mangeiez
    • D) mangeions

  5. What is the tu form of manger in the Future?

    • A) mangera
    • B) mangerons
    • C) mangeras
    • D) mangerai

  6. What is the je form of manger in the Conditional?

    • A) mangeriez
    • B) mangerais
    • C) mangerait
    • D) mangerions

  7. What is the il/elle form of manger in the Present subjunctive?

    • A) mange
    • B) manges
    • C) mangeions
    • D) mangeiez

  8. What is the je form of manger in the Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait)?

    • A) avais mangé
    • B) avait mangé
    • C) avions mangé
    • D) aviez mangé

  9. What is the gerund of manger?

    • A) en ayant
    • B) en allant
    • C) en mangeant
    • D) en étant

  10. What does manger mean in English?

  • A) to be
  • B) to have
  • C) to go
  • D) to eat

Answer key

  1. A) mange — the je form of manger in the Present indicative is mange. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. B) manges — the tu form of manger in the Present indicative is manges. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) a mangé — the il/elle form of manger in the Present perfect (passé composé) is a mangé. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. D) mangeions — the nous form of manger in the Imperfect is mangeions. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. C) mangeras — the tu form of manger in the Future is mangeras. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. B) mangerais — the je form of manger in the Conditional is mangerais. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. A) mange — the il/elle form of manger in the Present subjunctive is mange. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) avais mangé — the je form of manger in the Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait) is avais mangé. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. C) en mangeant — the gerund of manger is en mangeant. The other options are the gerunds of neighbouring verbs.
  10. D) to eat — manger means “to eat” in English. The other options are the meanings of neighbouring verbs.

Frequently asked questions

What does manger mean in English?

manger means “to eat”. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.

Is manger regular or irregular?

manger is irregular in these tenses: present, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative. The gerund is mangeant and the past participle is mangé.

How do I practise manger every day?

Say one sentence with manger in the present, one in the passé composé and one in the future every day, using the examples on this page as models — for example, “Je mange une pomme le matin tous les jours.”, “J'ai mangé une pomme le matin cette semaine.” and “Je mangerai une pomme le matin demain.”. Then take the quiz again and check your answers against the key.

Pronunciation

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for manger, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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