French guides · Verb tables + audio
Prendre: to take — including your coffee and your train.
Prendre means “to take”, and it covers a lot of ground English hands to other verbs. You do not have a coffee in French, you take one. You do not catch the train, you take it. You do not make a decision, you take it. Learn the table and you have also learnt apprendre, comprendre and surprendre, which follow it exactly.
Présent — where the d goes
This is the table’s one real trick, and it is worth seeing rather than memorising. The singular keeps the d of the infinitive — prends, prends, prend — and the plural throws it away: prenons, prenez, prennent.
| French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|
| je prends | I take | |
| tu prends | you take | |
| il / elle prend | he / she takes | |
| nous prenons | we take | |
| vous prenez | you take | |
| ils / elles prennent | they take |
All three singular forms sound identical — “prañ” — because the final s, s and d are all silent. The d matters for spelling, not for speech. Where you can hear the difference is prennent: the double n un-nasalises the vowel, giving “pren” rather than “prañ”.
Prendre looks like it should follow vendre, and in the singular it does. The plural is where it defects: regular -re verbs keep the stem throughout (vendons, vendent), while prendre drops the d and then doubles the n.
What French takes
The literal “take” is the least of it. These are everyday and none of them uses “take” in English:
| French | Literally | Means |
|---|---|---|
| je prends un café | I take a coffee | I’ll have a coffee |
| on prend le train | one takes the train | we’re getting the train |
| prendre une décision | to take a decision | to make a decision |
| prendre une photo | to take a photo | to take a photo |
| prendre son temps | to take one’s time | to take your time |
| prendre froid | to take cold | to catch a cold |
| ça prend deux heures | that takes two hours | it takes two hours |
| qu’est-ce qui te prend ? | what takes you? | what’s got into you? |
Je prends is the normal way to order once you have decided — it is what you say pointing at a menu. Je voudrais is the more formal request; je vais prendre… (“I’ll take…”) is the most natural of all and what you will hear locals use.
Passé composé — pris
Built with avoir, participle pris — short, irregular, and shared by the whole family (appris, compris, surpris). The final s is silent.
| French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|
| j’ai pris | I took / have taken | |
| tu as pris | you took / have taken | |
| il / elle a pris | he / she took / have taken | |
| nous avons pris | we took / have taken | |
| vous avez pris | you took / have taken | |
| ils / elles ont pris | they took / have taken |
Imparfait — from the plural stem
Take prenons, drop the -ons, add the endings. Because the imparfait always builds off the nous form, the d is absent from this entire tense.
| French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|
| je prenais | I used to take / was taking | |
| tu prenais | you used to take / was taking | |
| il / elle prenait | he / she used to take / was taking | |
| nous prenions | we used to take / was taking | |
| vous preniez | you used to take / was taking | |
| ils / elles prenaient | they used to take / was taking |
Futur and conditionnel — the d comes back
The futur is built from the infinitive minus its final e, so the d returns: prendr-. That makes this the easy half of the verb — je prendrai is as regular as it looks.
| French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|
| je prendrai | I will take | |
| tu prendras | you will take | |
| il / elle prendra | he / she will take | |
| nous prendrons | we will take | |
| vous prendrez | you will take | |
| ils / elles prendront | they will take |
Conditionnel — would take
Same prendr- stem with the imparfait endings. Je prendrais bien un café — “I could go for a coffee” — is a small, very French way of suggesting something.
| French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|
| je prendrais | I would take | |
| tu prendrais | you would take | |
| il / elle prendrait | he / she would take | |
| nous prendrions | we would take | |
| vous prendriez | you would take | |
| ils / elles prendraient | they would take |
Subjonctif — the boot once more
Prenne in the boot, prenions and preniez outside it — the same split as the présent, with the double n in the same four places.
| French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|
| je prenne | (that) I take | |
| tu prennes | (that) you take | |
| il / elle prenne | (that) he / she take | |
| nous prenions | (that) we take | |
| vous preniez | (that) you take | |
| ils / elles prennent | (that) they take |
Impératif — take it
Prends !, prenez ! — handing something over. Prenons is also the standard “let’s” for suggesting a route or a meal: prenons un taxi.
| French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|
| prends ! | take! (to one person you know) | |
| prenons ! | let’s take! | |
| prenez ! | take! (formal, or to a group) |
Plus-que-parfait — had taken
J’avais pris. Useful for explaining a mistake after the fact: j’avais pris le mauvais train.
| French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|
| j’avais pris | I had taken | |
| tu avais pris | you had taken | |
| il / elle avait pris | he / she had taken | |
| nous avions pris | we had taken | |
| vous aviez pris | you had taken | |
| ils / elles avaient pris | they had taken |
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Quick answers
Prendre, answered.
The questions that come up while you are learning the table.