/pʁɑ̃dʁ/

New to these symbols? How to read French IPA
Line drawing of prendre
Coloured illustration of prendre
#73 of 3,000Core 1000

Translation

to take

Test yourself on prendre

Three quick questions. No account needed.

Know this word? Create a free account to track it.

Word origin

From Latin prendere, a contracted form of prehendere ('to grasp, to seize, to take').

Origin
Latin
Root
prehendere
English cognates
prehensile, apprehend, comprehend

Grammar

Verb type-re irregular (3rd group)

Conjugation

Regular french-irregular conjugation. Pronouns: je, tu, il/elle, nous, vous, ils/elles.

Indicative

Person PresentImperfectPast historicFutureConditional
jeprendsprenaisprisprendraiprendrais
tuprendsprenaisprisprendrasprendrais
il/elleprendprenaitpritprendraprendrait
nousprenonsprenionsprîmesprendronsprendrions
vousprenezpreniezprîtesprendrezprendriez
ils/ellesprennentprenaientprirentprendrontprendraient

Subjunctive

Person PresentImperfect
jeprenneprisse
tuprennesprisses
il/elleprenneprît
nousprenionsprissions
vouspreniezprissiez
ils/ellesprennentprissent

Imperative

Person Affirmative
tuprends
nousprenons
vousprenez

Non-finite

Gerund / present participle
prenant
Past participle
pris · prise · pris · prises

Examples

croissant, .

I'll have a coffee and a croissant, please.

.

She takes the metro every morning.

croissant .

He had a coffee and a croissant before leaving for work.

.

Take the time to think carefully before making your decision.

, .

Take your coat, it's cold outside this morning.

est un verbe irrégulier extrêmement fréquent, modèle d'une famille de verbes en -prendre : apprendre, comprendre, entreprendre, reprendre, surprendre. Il couvre un champ sémantique très large : saisir physiquement, consommer (un repas, un transport), adopter une décision, attraper une maladie.

Prendre une décision (to make a decision), prendre froid (to catch cold), prendre le train (to take the train), prendre du poids (to put on weight) - les collocations avec prendre sont innombrables. S'en prendre à (to blame, to take it out on) et prendre sur soi (to restrain oneself, to take it upon oneself) sont des expressions importantes.

Where this fits

Used in

Stories

(45)

Add to review queue

Track this word in your spaced-repetition queue and be tested on it at the right interval.

Chapters 1 and 2 free

Meet this word in a story

Every course has graded stories written only with words you have been taught, plus grammar drills, a games arcade and printable worksheets. Chapters 1 and 2 are free.

Chapters 1 and 2 free, forever. Plus: 7 days free, then $5 a month for all eleven languages.

Start learning free

French · Free printables

prendre: worksheet, infographic and listicle

Free printable study downloads for the French word "prendre" (to take): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.

This word is taught in chapter 2, lesson 9: prendre, quand, son and 11 more words.