Emmener Conjugation: All Tenses of the French Verb “emmener”
Written by Camille Laurent, Lead French Curriculum Editor · Reviewed August 2026
Emmener means to take someone with you to another place. Its endings are the ordinary -er endings, but the e of the stem becomes è whenever the ending after it is silent: j'emmène, nous emmenons.
Emmener is the verb for taking a person or an animal along: emmener les enfants à l'école, emmener quelqu'un au restaurant, emmener le chien chez le vétérinaire. English uses “take” for people and objects alike, so this is one of the places where you have to make a distinction English does not: things are emportés, not emmenés. The accent shift it shows is the same one you get in acheter, lever and mener itself, so learning it here transfers.
The stem has two shapes. Before a silent ending the e becomes è: j'emmène, tu emmènes, il emmène, ils emmènent. Before a pronounced ending it stays flat: nous emmenons, vous emmenez. The imparfait keeps the flat e all the way through, because every imparfait ending is pronounced: j'emmenais, nous emmenions. The future and conditional are the exception you have to memorise, since they carry the accent in all six persons: j'emmènerai, j'emmènerais. The past participle is emmené, with no accent on the first e.
Emmener takes avoir: j'ai emmené ma fille au cinéma. It feels like a movement verb, and the être list is full of movement verbs, but the être verbs are the ones whose own subject goes somewhere. Emmener has a direct object, and transitive verbs take avoir.
Emmener in context
Présent
J'emmène les enfants à la piscine le mercredi. I take the children swimming on Wednesdays.
Imparfait
Mon grand-père nous emmenait à la pêche chaque été. My grandfather used to take us fishing every summer.
Passé composé
Elle a emmené sa mère chez le médecin ce matin. She took her mother to the doctor this morning.
Futur simple
Nous t'emmènerons à l'aéroport demain matin. We'll take you to the airport tomorrow morning.
Subjonctif présent
Il faut que tu emmènes ton frère avec toi. You need to take your brother with you.
Common mistakes with emmener
Dropping the accent before a silent ending
✗ J'emmene ma sœur à la gare.
✓ J'emmène ma sœur à la gare. — I'm taking my sister to the station.
When the ending is silent, the stem vowel has to be written è because that is how it is pronounced: an open e, not the flat e of emmenons. The accent carries real information here, so leaving it off changes how the word reads.
Adding the accent in the imparfait
✗ Il nous emmènait à l'école en voiture.
✓ Il nous emmenait à l'école en voiture. — He used to drive us to school.
The accent appears only when the syllable after it is silent. Imparfait endings are all pronounced (-ais, -ait, -ions), so the stem stays flat: j'emmenais, nous emmenions. The future is the opposite case, and that is exactly why the two get confused.
Using emmener for an object
✗ Je vais emmener une bouteille de vin.
✓ Je vais emporter une bouteille de vin. — I'll bring a bottle of wine.
Emmener is for people and animals, emporter for things you carry away. The pair mirrors amener and apporter, which are the versions used when the destination is where you or your listener already are.
Frequently asked questions
Is emmener a regular verb?
No. Its endings are the standard -er endings, which makes it a first-group verb, though the stem alternates between emmen- and emmèn- and some tables list it apart for that. The rule is mechanical: è before a silent ending, plain e before a pronounced one, plus è throughout the future and conditional.
What is the difference between emmener, amener and emporter?
Emmener takes a person away with you (je t'emmène au cinéma). Amener brings a person to where the conversation is happening (amène ton frère à la fête). Emporter and apporter do the same job for objects: emporter takes a thing away, apporter brings one along.
What is the past participle of emmener?
Emmené, with no accent, giving j'ai emmené. It agrees when a direct object comes before it, so you write je l'ai emmenée for a woman and nous les avons emmenés for a group. The auxiliary is always avoir.
Why is there an accent in j'emmène but not in nous emmenons?
Because French will not leave a bare e in a stressed syllable in front of a silent ending. In j'emmène the -e ending is silent, so the stem vowel carries the stress and is written è. In nous emmenons the ending is pronounced, so the stress moves off the stem and the accent is not needed.
How do you pronounce emmener?
Roughly ahn-muh-NAY: the emm- spelling gives a nasal vowel, not the em of English “empty,” and the double m is not doubled in speech. In j'emmène the middle vowel opens up to sound like the è of père. Ils emmènent sounds the same as il emmène.