Il a déjà mangé le petit-déjeuner.

He has already eaten breakfast.

Breakdown of Il a déjà mangé le petit-déjeuner.

• il: he
• manger: to eat
• avoir: to have
• le petit-déjeuner: the breakfast
• déjà: already

Questions & Answers about Il a déjà mangé le petit-déjeuner.

Why do we say Il a déjà mangé le petit-déjeuner instead of Il a mangé déjà le petit-déjeuner?

In French, short adverbs like déjà normally appear between the auxiliary verb (a) and the past participle (mangé) in the passé composé. This placement separates a and mangé without breaking the relationship between them, and it is the standard way of placing many — though not all — adverbs in French.

Why do we use the passé composé (a mangé) here?

The passé composé is used to talk about completed past actions. Since the sentence describes an action (eating breakfast) that is already finished, French speakers commonly use il a mangé to express that he has eaten. This contrasts with the imperfect (l’imparfait), which would describe continuous or habitual past actions.

Can we say Il a déjà pris le petit-déjeuner instead?

Yes! In everyday language, manger (to eat) and prendre (to have/take) are both acceptable when talking about meals. So you’ll often hear French speakers say Il a déjà pris son petit-déjeuner or Il a déjà mangé son petit-déjeuner with no significant difference in meaning.

Why do we say le petit-déjeuner and not un petit-déjeuner?

Using le emphasizes a more definite or specific breakfast, often implying it was his usual or expected breakfast. If you used un, it wouldn’t be wrong, but it would sound less specific. It might suggest any breakfast, whereas le suggests “the” breakfast he regularly has or we were already expecting.

How can I remember the spelling and hyphenation of petit-déjeuner?

Petit-déjeuner is treated as a noun phrase that has evolved into a single lexical unit, with most dictionaries using a hyphen. The easiest way to remember is to think of it as one term for “breakfast,” just spelled as petit-déjeuner. If you forget the hyphen, it’s understandable, but standard French spelling includes it.