Irregular French Verb PRENDRE

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The irregular French verb PRENDRE is an important one to learn. Many times this verb is idiomatic in nature which means you wouldn’t necessarily think of using it in many ways that you should if you come from an English speaking background.

In this lesson we will look at eight different ways to use the verb PRENDRE in the present and passé composé tenses. Watch the video lesson and use the text below as a support guide.

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👉 Watch my video tutorial on the verb PRENDRE at the bottom of this post 👈

Present tense conjugation of PRENDRE

je prends	nous prenons
tu prends	vous prenez
il – elle – on prend	ils – elles prennent

Passé composé conjugation of PRENDRE

j’ai pris	nous avons pris
tu as pris	vous avez pris
il – elle – on a pris	ils – elles ont pris

CLICK HERE FOR PRENDRE CONJUGATION CHARTS IN 11 TENSES

Examples using PRENDRE from the video lesson below

to pick something up	Je prends ce qu’il y a sur la table. I’m picking up what is on the table.   J’ai pris ce qu’il y avait sur la table. I picked up what was on the table.
to have food or drink	Tu prendras un café? Will you have a coffee?   Tu as pris un café? Did you have a coffee?
to put on weight	Il prend un peu de poids. He’s gaining a little weight.   Il a pris un peu de poids. He gained a little weight.
to take a day off	Elle prend son vendredi. She is taking off Friday.   Elle a pris son vendredi. She took off Friday.
to pick someone up	Nous passerons vous prendre. We will come pick you up.   Nous sommes passés vous prendre. We came to pick you up.
to develop bad habits	Vous prenez de mauvaises habitudes! You’re developing bad habits!   Vous avez pris de mauvaises habitudes! You developed bad habits!
to get bread	Ils nous prennent le pain. They’re getting the bread for us.   Ils nous ont pris le pain. They got the bread for us.
to go by car	Elles prennent leur voiture. They’re going by car.   Elles ont pris leur voiture. They went by car.

More examples using PRENDRE

PRENDRE J’ai pris les clés qui étaient sur la table.	to take to pick something up I took the keys that were on the table.
PRENDRE J’ai pris un thé et un croissant.	to have food or drink I had a tea and a croissant.
PRENDRE N’oublie pas de prendre de l’argent.	to take with you Don’t forget to bring some money.
PRENDRE Quelqu’un a pris mon téléphone.	to steal Somebody stole my phone.
PRENDRE On va prendre le train.	to take as a means of transportation We are going to take the train.
PRENDRE Ça ne prend que 5 minutes.	to take an amount of time It only takes five minutes.
PRENDRE UN COUP Il a pris un coup dans le ventre.	to get hit with something He got hit in the stomach.
PRENDRE DU POIDS J’ai pris 5 kilos.	to put on weight I gained 5 kilos.
PRENDRE Le dentiste pourra me prendre demain.	to receive someone The dentist will be able to see me tomorrow.
PRENDRE QUELQU’UN POUR QUELQU’UN D’AUTRE Je t’ai pris pour quelqu’un d’autre.	to mistake someone for another person I mistook you for someone else.
PRENDRE Ça n’a pas pris.	to take hold It didn’t stick.
PRENDRE Prenez-vous la carte bancaire?	to take; to accept Do you accept credit cards?
PRENDRE Les soldats ont pris le château.	to capture The soldiers captured the castle.
PRENDRE Je vais prendre mon lundi.	to take a day off I’m going to take off Monday.
BIEN PRENDRE Elle a bien pris la nouvelle.	to take something well She took the news well.
ÊTRE UN COEUR À PRENDRE Il n’est pas marié, c’est un coeur à prendre.	to be single He’s not married, he’s available.
PASSER PRENDRE Je passe te prendre vers 19h00.	to pick someone up I’ll come get you around 7:00pm.
PRENDRE À DROITE Allez tout droit, et au coin de la rue vous allez prendre à droite.	to turn right Go straight and at the corner you’re going to take a right.
PRENDRE À GAUCHE Prenez à gauche en arrivant au carrefour.	to turn left Take a left when you get to the intersection.
PRENDRE QUELQU’UN À PART Le professeur m’a pris à part pour m’expliquer le problème.	to take someone aside The teacher took me aside to explain the problem to me.
PRENDRE CONTACT AVEC QUELQU’UN J’ai pris contact avec tous les professeurs de mon fils.	to make contact with someone I got in touch with all of my son’s teachers.
PRENDRE DE BONNES HABITUDES C’est un bon élève qui a pris de bonnes habitudes.	to develop good habits He’s a good student who has developed good habits.
PRENDRE DE L’ESSENCE Je vais aller prendre de l’essence.	to get gas I’m going to get some gas.
SE PRENDRE Il a pris un arbre.	to catch yourself on something to run into something He ran into a tree.
SE PRENDRE QUELQUE CHOSE Il s’est pris une mauvaise note.	to get or receive something He got a bad grade.
SE PRENDRE POUR Tu te prends pour qui?	to take yourself for; to think yourself Who do you think you are?

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Teaching Resources

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French Verb Prendre – Conjugation Chart

French Verb PRENDRE: A1 – B1 Lesson

The verb PRENDRE can be used in simple ways with beginners in the present tense and passé composé. This verb can also be used by upper-intermediate and advanced level learners in clever ways you may have never heard. Many times this verb is idiomatic in nature.

Download your study guide before beginning the video lesson so that you can take notes as you work your way through this important B1 level French lesson.

Next, you will have two printable exercises to complete in the present and passé composé tenses, and three printable crossword puzzles to practice conjugations. These activities are for lower levels.

If you are an upper intermediate or advanced learner, you will like the challenge of the last printable exercise to be completed on paper. In beginner French, we learn to use the verb prendre when talking about food and drinks and in some of the other most obvious ways. This exercise is not intended for beginners.

There are 30 English sentences to translate using the verb prendre in many different ways. Since there are always other ways to translate sentences I have set up the exercise like this. It’s a good way for you to see that even though grossir means to gain weight, one can also say prendre du poids and it means the same thing.

1. Translate: He’s gaining a little weight.

(grossir) : Il grossit un peu.

(prendre): Il prend un peu de poids.

Answer key is included.

Keep in mind that translations can really vary. This exercise will be a good review for building grammatically sound sentences as many different different aspects of the language are included (present, passé composé, futur proche, futur simple, falloir, relative pronouns, lots of idiomatic expressions, and much more).

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Included:

1. Downloadable video lesson
2. Printable lesson guide
3. 2 printable exercises with answer keys
4. 3 crossword puzzles with answer keys
5. 1 advanced translation exercise with answer key

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