French Prendre "to take"

Overview

Prendre means “to take” and is an irregular verb. Prendre is a verb with a lot of meanings. However, the most important ones will be mentioned in this lesson.

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July 18, 2023

Stephen Sovenyhazy

Prendre, meaning “to take” is another common irregular verb. Below is the conjugation table with example sentences.

Subject Pronoun	Prendre	Meaning	Example	Translation
Je	prends	I take I am taking	Je prends le métro.	I take the metro.
Tu	prends	You take You are taking	Tu prends mon numéro de téléphone.	You take my telephone number.
Il/Elle/On	prend	He/She/One takes He/She/On is taking	Elle prend la dernière chose.	She takes the last thing.
Nous	prenons	We take We are taking	Nous prenons un verre ce soir.	We are having a drink tonight.
Vous	prenez	You take You are taking	Vous prenez votre chien au vétérinaire.	You are taking your chien to the veterinarian.
Ils/Elles	prennent	They take They are taking	Ils prennent leurs idées au chef.	They take their ideas to the boss.

See the Quizlet module for expressions that use prendre.

Examples:

Mathieu et son frère prennent du poids pendant les vacances.

Matthew and his brother gain weight during vacation.

Lucile prend son temps quand elle fait son travail.

Lucile takes her time when she does her work.

Nous prenons à droite dans quelques minutes.

We are taking a right in a couple minutes.

Highlighted Author:

Stephen Sovenyhazy

Stephen is the President of CORE Languages having founded the company in 2007. His focus is on empowering those with a need for community, culture and communication. For over a decade, CORE has helped businesses achieve their strategic international goals by empowering employees to learn and find joy in communicating in a new language and cultural context. With our online instructor-led courses, we now bring this to community members across the globe. A quote from Stephen. "When I started teaching, I sought to bring that same energy, dedication, and sense of purpose into my own classrooms. I founded CORE Languages to expand that vision, seeing the growing need for language training options designed to meet the unique needs of business environments. For over a decade, CORE has helped businesses achieve their strategic international goals by empowering employees to learn and find joy in communicating in a new language and cultural context. With our online instructor-led courses, we now bring this to community members across the globe. It’s a privilege to do what we do and share what we love with you.”

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Common European Framework of Reference for Languages

The CEFR is an international standard used to describe language ability. Here are specific details of the CEFR for this topic.

General Explanation:

Can understand sentences and frequently used expressions related to areas of most immediate relevance (e.g. very basic personal and family information, shopping, local geography, employment). Can communicate in simple and routine tasks requiring a simple and direct exchange of information on familiar and routine matters. Can describe in simple terms aspects of his/her background, immediate environment and matters in areas of immediate need.

Specific Capabilities at this Level

Writing:

I can write short, simple notes and messages relating to matters in areas of immediate needs. I can write a very simple personal letter, for example thanking someone for something.

Spoken Production:

I can use a series of phrases and sentences to describe in simple terms my family and other people, living conditions, my educational background and my present or most recent job.

Spoken Interaction:

I can communicate in simple and routine tasks requiring a simple and direct exchange of information on familiar topics and activities. I can handle very short social exchanges, even though I can’t usually understand enough to keep the conversation going myself.

Reading:

I can read very short, simple texts. I can find specific, predictable information in simple everyday material such as advertisements, prospectuses, menus and timetables and I can understand short simple personal letters.

Listening:

I can understand phrases and the highest frequency vocabulary related to areas of most immediate personal relevance (e.g. very basic personal and family information, shopping, local area, employment). I can catch the main point in short, clear, simple messages and announcements.