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Bizt Posted 12 years ago
Grammar

Ready to eat VS Ready to be eaten

Hi,

Found a gem in our English textbook that I wanted to share and ask peoples view on it. Please look at the following:

"Ando Momofuku was the inventor of instant noodles. Instant noodles are very quick to prepare, just pour in hot water and very soon after they are ready to eat"

...now, I'd be correct in saying that the "they" refers to the noodles so by saying, "they are ready to eat", would indicate that the noodles are ready to start eating? (eh, noodles can't eat Emotion: smile. So, "ready to be eaten" might make more sense huh? But, "ready to eat" also in this context sounds about right to me.

Another example - "The students finished their lesson now they are ready to eat" (the students here are not ready to be eaten, obviously)

I know in context both can easily be understood but is there a proper grammatical explanation for the first example or is it just a case of mistaken grammar which has found its way into common usage?

Thanks
Bizt
  

Top answer

That's a great question! "Ready to eat" meaning "ready to be eaten" is quite common, but I can't explain why it's used that way. Let's hope someone better with the terminology of grammar can explain.

— Khoff

  • That's a great question!
  • "Ready to eat" meaning "ready to be eaten" is quite common, but I can't explain why it's used that way.
  • Let's hope someone better with the terminology of grammar can explain.
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3 Answers
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That's a great question! "Ready to eat" meaning "ready to be eaten" is quite common, but I can't explain why it's used that way. Let's hope someone better with the terminology of grammar can explain.
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Found this page which explains this phrase a little, I guess it's just fallen into that usage at some point.

http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/grammarlogs1/grammarlogs271.htm
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bizt"Ando Momofuku was the inventor of instant noodles. Instant noodles are very quick to prepare, just pour in hot water and very soon after they are ready (for you) to eat"
Perhaps that's the reason, but that's just my guess.
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