188 - How to Conjugate “Prendre” (To Take) in French (Present Tense)

In this episode, you’ll learn how to conjugate French verb prendre (to take) in French in the present tense.

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Transcript

🎙188 – How to Conjugate “Prendre” (To Take) in French (Present Tense)

Hello everyone! Bonjour tout le monde. 💛

Welcome back to the French Made Easy podcast. This is episode 188 — numéro 188 !

Today, we’re adding another essential verb to your French conjugation toolbox — and it’s one you’ll hear (and use) all the time: “prendre,” which means to take.

But prendre is a very versatile verb — it doesn’t always just mean “to take.” Sometimes it means to have, especially with food — like prendre un café (to have a coffee). It can also mean to catch — like prendre le bus (to catch the bus) — or even to make, like prendre une décision (to make a decision).

I’ll do a separate episode about all those later — so we can look at all the other ways prendre is used in French where it doesn’t literally mean “to take.”

Anyway, back to today’s episode — we’ll focus on how to conjugate prendre in the present tense.

As always, if you’re new to the podcast, welcome! Make sure you’ve got your lesson’s cheat sheet ready so you can follow along while you listen. And after the episode, practice what you’ve learned inside the French Made Easy Exercise Library — you’ll find all the links in the episode notes.

Before we jump in: the present tense is the tense we use to talk about things happening right now or things we do regularly.

Conjugation:

Now, let’s conjugate the verb prendre in the present tense.

• je prends – I take
• tu prends – you take
• il / elle prend – he / she takes
• on prend – we take (informal)
• nous prenons – we take
• vous prenez – you take (formal or plural)
• ils / elles prennent – they take

Example sentences:

• Je ne prends pas de café le matin. (I don’t have a coffee in the morning.)

➡️ That’s one example where prendre doesn’t quite mean “to take.” In French, when talking about food or drinks, prendre often means “to have” — like to have a coffee.

• Tu prends toujours le bus pour aller à l’école. (You always take the bus to go to school.)
• Il prend son temps pour répondre. (He takes his time to answer.)
• On prend un verre ce soir ? (Shall we grab a drink tonight?)
• Nous prenons beaucoup de photos en vacances. (We take a lot of photos on vacation.)
• À quelle heure vous prenez votre déjeuner ? (What time do you have lunch?)
• Elles prennent des cours de français ensemble. (They take French classes together.)

Quick Recap’:

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

Et voilà ! That’s how you conjugate prendre in the present tense.

Don’t forget to head over to the Exercise Library to get some extra practice. The exercises really help it stick, so don’t skip them!

Thanks so much for listening, and I’ll chat with you next week.

À bientôt, bye! 🖤