Hi James,
As Maarten and Chris have just said, it is the way we say 'open-mouthed' in French,
la bouche ouverte.
Bonne Continuation!
why has the sentence "il mâchait la bouche ouverte" not got "with/avec" in there?
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James W.Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor
why has the sentence "il mâchait la bouche ouverte" not got "with/avec" in there?
This question relates to:French writing exercise "An awful new boyfriend"
Asked 3 years ago
Maarten K. Kwiziq Q&A super contributor
Just one of those situations where French doesn’t always need a preposition “manger/mâcher la bouche ouverte/(fermé)”. My understanding is it would not be “wrong” to use ‘avec’ but it is not the way it is commonly said in France.
The same is heard in English - “he eats/ chews mouth open” - although less frequently.
Chris W. Kwiziq Q&A super contributor
In English you can do something similar, although you'd use a comma:
He chewed, mouth open, before he took a sip of water.
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