manger at C2 — literary & formal
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Recipes, eaten wages and money spent early.
Beyond the table
High-register French loves the pronominal passive: « ce plat se mange froid », the dish is eaten cold and nobody says by whom. You meet it in recipes, wine notes and the famous « la vengeance est un plat qui se mange froid ». The economic press then extends the verb to money: « l’inflation mange les salaires », « les frais mangent la marge ».
Two written turns complete the picture. « Le boire et le manger » makes nouns of both verbs, and « il en oublie le boire et le manger » says someone is utterly absorbed. « Manger son blé en herbe », literary and slightly old, means spending an income before it comes in, selling the corn while it still stands green. One curiosity to close: « démanger », to itch, is « manger » prefixed.
💡 Focus at this level: Formal — le passif pronominal, le boire et le manger, manger son blé en herbe
👨🏫 How to use « manger » at this level
1. « Le passif pronominal » = « ce plat se mange froid » : the action stated, no agent named.
2. « Le boire et le manger » = food and drink as nouns. Literary, slightly old.
3. « Manger son blé en herbe » = to spend an income before you have earned it.
🔊 Example sentences
✍️ Practice
Rewrite formally: « on mange ce plat froid »
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« Ce plat se mange froid. » The pronominal passive removes the vague « on », as recipes and reviews always do.
What is someone doing when he « mange son blé en herbe » ?
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Spending an income before it comes in, eating the corn while it is still green. It is a warning, and it belongs to writing.
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