# Manger Conjugation — Every Tense of the French Verb “To Eat”

> **Manger** means “to eat”. Présent: **je mange, tu manges, il mange, nous mangeons, vous mangez, ils mangent**. The only oddity is that extra **e** in *mangeons* — it is there to keep the *g* soft, and every verb ending in *-ger* does the same thing in exactly the same places.

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Updated: 2026-09-16

## Présent — and the one form that changes

Five of the six forms are textbook regular. Only nous gains the extra letter, because only nous has an ending starting with o.

| French | English |
|---|---|
| je mange | I eat |
| tu manges | you eat |
| il / elle mange | he / she eats |
| nous mangeons | we eat |
| vous mangez | you eat |
| ils / elles mangent | they eat |

**The rule behind it** — In French, g is soft (“zh”) before e, i and y, and hard (“g” as in go) before a, o and u. The stem mang- needs to stay soft, so whenever an ending begins with a or o, an e is slipped in as a buffer. It is a spelling device, not a sound — mangeons is “man-ZHOHN”, two syllables.

**Where else it shows up** — Anywhere the ending starts with a or o: the whole imparfait singular (je mangeais), the nous imperative (mangeons !), and the passé simple. Never in the futur, where the ending starts with e.

## What French eats

Two things worth knowing. French has dedicated verbs for meals, and the partitive article after manger is not optional the way “some” is in English.

| French | Means |  |
|---|---|---|
| je mange du pain | I eat bread | du cannot be dropped |
| je ne mange pas de pain | I don’t eat bread | du → de after a negative |
| petit-déjeuner | to have breakfast | also the noun for it |
| déjeuner | to have lunch | a verb in its own right |
| dîner | to have dinner | same |
| on mange ? | shall we eat? | the everyday call to the table |

**⚠ You cannot say je mange pain** — English drops “some” freely — “I eat bread”. French does not: it needs du, de la, de l’ or des in front of the food. After a negative, all four collapse to a bare de.

## Passé composé — mangé

Perfectly regular: mangé, with avoir. No buffer e needed, because the ending starts with é.

| French | English |
|---|---|
| j’ai mangé | I ate / have eaten |
| tu as mangé | you ate / have eaten |
| il / elle a mangé | he / she ate / have eaten |
| nous avons mangé | we ate / have eaten |
| vous avez mangé | you ate / have eaten |
| ils / elles ont mangé | they ate / have eaten |

## Imparfait — where the e returns

The imparfait endings -ais, -ais, -ait, -aient all start with a, so the buffer is back in four of the six forms. Nous and vous take -ions and -iez, which begin with i, so they drop it: nous mangions, not “mangeions”.

| French | English |
|---|---|
| je mangeais | I used to eat / was eating |
| tu mangeais | you used to eat / was eating |
| il / elle mangeait | he / she used to eat / was eating |
| nous mangions | we used to eat / was eating |
| vous mangiez | you used to eat / was eating |
| ils / elles mangeaient | they used to eat / was eating |

## Futur and conditionnel — no buffer at all

The futur is built on the full infinitive, whose endings all begin with e or a after an r — so the g is already safe. Je mangerai, no extra letter.

| French | English |
|---|---|
| je mangerai | I will eat |
| tu mangeras | you will eat |
| il / elle mangera | he / she will eat |
| nous mangerons | we will eat |
| vous mangerez | you will eat |
| ils / elles mangeront | they will eat |

## Conditionnel — would eat

Je mangerais. Often with bien: je mangerais bien une pizza, “I could go for a pizza”.

| French | English |
|---|---|
| je mangerais | I would eat |
| tu mangerais | you would eat |
| il / elle mangerait | he / she would eat |
| nous mangerions | we would eat |
| vous mangeriez | you would eat |
| ils / elles mangeraient | they would eat |

## Subjonctif — regular

All the endings begin with e or i, so no buffer is needed anywhere: que je mange, que nous mangions.

| French | English |
|---|---|
| je mange | (that) I eat |
| tu manges | (that) you eat |
| il / elle mange | (that) he / she eat |
| nous mangions | (that) we eat |
| vous mangiez | (that) you eat |
| ils / elles mangent | (that) they eat |

## Impératif — mangeons

Mange ! with no s, and mangeons ! keeping its buffer. Bon appétit is what actually gets said at the table — and it is said before anyone starts, by everyone.

| French | English |
|---|---|
| mange ! | eat! (to one person you know) |
| mangeons ! | let’s eat! |
| mangez ! | eat! (formal, or to a group) |

## Plus-que-parfait — had eaten

J’avais mangé.

| French | English |
|---|---|
| j’avais mangé | I had eaten |
| tu avais mangé | you had eaten |
| il / elle avait mangé | he / she had eaten |
| nous avions mangé | we had eaten |
| vous aviez mangé | you had eaten |
| ils / elles avaient mangé | they had eaten |

## FAQ

### How do you conjugate manger in the present tense?

Je mange, tu manges, il / elle mange, nous mangeons, vous mangez, ils / elles mangent.

### Why is it nous mangeons and not nous mangons?

Because g goes hard before o. The extra e keeps it soft — “man-ZHOHN”. It is a spelling device and is never pronounced on its own.

### Which other verbs add an e like manger?

Every verb ending in -ger: nager, partager, voyager, changer, ranger.

### Where does the extra e appear?

Wherever the ending begins with a or o: nous mangeons, the imparfait je mangeais, and the imperative mangeons. Not in the futur, and not in nous mangions.

### How do you say “I eat bread” in French?

Je mange du pain. The du is compulsory — French has no bare noun here. After a negative it becomes de: je ne mange pas de pain.

## Related guides

- Boire conjugation: https://cocoonfrench.com/guides/boire-conjugation
- Commencer conjugation: https://cocoonfrench.com/guides/commencer-conjugation
- French verb conjugation: https://cocoonfrench.com/guides/french-verb-conjugation
- All free French guides: https://cocoonfrench.com/guides