Prendre Conjugation: All Tenses of the French Verb “prendre”
Written by Camille Laurent, Lead French Curriculum Editor · Reviewed August 2026
Prendre means “to take.” In practice it also covers ordering food and drink, using transport, and making appointments and decisions, which makes it one of the busiest verbs in daily French.
You will use prendre within your first hour in a French-speaking country: je prends un café, je prends le métro, j'ai pris rendez-vous. It is also the model for a whole family of verbs you will need soon after — apprendre, comprendre, reprendre, surprendre — all of which conjugate exactly the same way. Learning prendre properly means learning five verbs at once.
The stem loses letters as you move down the present tense. The singular keeps the d of the infinitive (je prends, tu prends, il prend, with no ending after the d in the third person), while the plural drops it: nous prenons, vous prenez, ils prennent, where the final form doubles the n. The imperfect follows the plural stem (je prenais, nous prenions), the future keeps the full infinitive (je prendrai), and the subjunctive mirrors the present split: que je prenne with two n's, but que nous prenions with one. The past participle is pris.
Prendre in context
Présent
Je prends le métro tous les matins. I take the metro every morning.
Imparfait
Ils prenaient toujours le même café après le travail. They always used to have coffee at the same place after work.
Passé composé
Elle a pris rendez-vous chez le dentiste. She made an appointment at the dentist's.
Futur simple
Nous prendrons le train de sept heures. We'll take the seven o'clock train.
Subjonctif présent
Il faut que tu prennes une décision avant vendredi. You need to make a decision before Friday.
Common mistakes with prendre
Writing il prends with an -s
✗ Il prends le bus à huit heures.
✓ Il prend le bus à huit heures. — He takes the bus at eight.
Je prends and tu prends end in -s, but the third person singular ends after the d: il prend. All three sound identical, so the mistake only shows up in writing.
Doubling the n in nous prenons
✗ Nous prennons le petit-déjeuner à huit heures.
✓ Nous prenons le petit-déjeuner à huit heures. — We have breakfast at eight.
The double n appears only where the ending is silent and the vowel is stressed: ils prennent, que je prenne. Nous prenons and vous prenez keep a single n, and so does the whole imperfect.
Using prendre for taking a person somewhere
✗ Je prends ma sœur à la gare.
✓ J'emmène ma sœur à la gare. — I'm taking my sister to the station.
Prendre takes objects, transport and decisions. For accompanying a person somewhere French uses emmener, and for carrying an object to a place it uses apporter. Je prends ma sœur suggests picking her up bodily.
Expressions with prendre
prendre un verre
to have a drink
prendre une décision
to make a decision
prendre son temps
to take one's time
prendre froid
to catch a cold
prendre rendez-vous
to make an appointment
se prendre pour
to think one is (someone important)
Frequently asked questions
Is prendre an irregular verb?
Yes, it belongs to the third group. The irregularity is concentrated in the stem: the d of the infinitive survives in the present singular and the future but disappears in nous prenons and ils prennent. Its compounds apprendre, comprendre, reprendre and surprendre behave identically.
What is the past participle of prendre?
It is pris, so the passé composé is j'ai pris. Because prendre takes avoir, the participle agrees only when a direct object comes before the verb: les photos que j'ai prises, je les ai prises hier.
Does prendre take avoir or être?
Avoir: j'ai pris, nous avons pris. The reflexive s'y prendre is the exception, as all reflexive verbs take être: je m'y suis mal pris, which means I went about it the wrong way.
What is the difference between prendre, apporter and emmener?
Prendre is picking something up or using it: je prends un taxi. Apporter is bringing an object to a place: j'apporte le dessert. Emmener is taking a person with you: je t'emmène au cinéma. English uses “take” for all three, which is where the confusion starts.
Which verbs are conjugated like prendre?
All of its compounds: apprendre (to learn), comprendre (to understand), reprendre (to take back, to resume), surprendre (to surprise) and entreprendre (to undertake). Learn one table and you have five verbs, including the pattern j'apprends, nous apprenons, ils apprennent.