The irregular French verb prendre means “to take” and is also used in many idiomatic expressions. This flexible irregular French -re verb has a specific way to use it.
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/One 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 dans vos bras. | You are taking your dog in your arms. |
| Ils/Elles | prennent | They take They are taking | Ils prennent des notes pendant la réunion. | They take notes during the meeting. |
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.
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.