English-French  French grammar  French words and phrases  Forums

French-English translation of prendre

 French word:

English-French


 Got a question about French? French forum
 Professional translation service
 Understanding French property contracts
 STUCK? French phrases and basic vocab
 French on your iPhone
 FREE word puzzle game

1 prendre Verb, transitive

How to pronounce prendre

(a) (with hands: pick up, steal) to take an object, person, necessary item; je l'ai pris dans l'armoire I took it from the cupboard; ~ qn par le bras to take sb by the arm

(b) to buy, get (Infml); (when presented with item) to take; to book a seat; to take a room; oui, je le prends yes, I'll take it; je prends le rouge I'll take the red one; où prends-tu tes vêtements? where do you buy your clothes?, where do you get your clothes from?

(c) (=occupy, occupy oneself with) to take leave, money, time, holidays, bath, shower

(d) to take medicine; to take in sun

(e) to have a meal, food, drink; tu veux aller ~ un café? do you want to go for a coffee?, do you fancy a coffee? (Infml)

(f) to take, travel by, go by, get (Infml) plane, taxi, car, take a road

(g) (in car etc) to pick somebody up; je passe te ~ à 20h I'll come and pick you up at 8pm

(h) to catch a thief; to take a hostage; to catch an illness; (Infml) qu'est-ce qui te prend? what's up with you?, what's got into you?

(i) to take on an employee

(j) to write down information, take (down) notes; to take a photo

(k) (=interpret) to take; ~ qch au sérieux to take sth seriously; il m'a pris pour mon frère he thought I was my brother, he mistook me for my brother

(l) ~ sur soi de faire qch to take it upon oneself to do sth


Present
je prends, tu prends, il/elle prend, nous prenons, vous prenez, ils/elles prennent
Imperfect
je prenais, tu prenais, il/elle prenait, nous prenions, vous preniez, ils/elles prenaient
Future
je prendrai, tu prendras, il/elle prendra, nous prendrons, vous prendrez, ils/elles prendront
Perfect
j' ai pris, tu as pris, il/elle a pris, nous avons pris, vous avez pris, ils/elles ont pris
Present subjunctive
je prenne, tu prennes, il/elle prenne, nous prenions, vous preniez, ils/elles prennent

Click here to see the full conjugation

2 prendre Verb, intransitive

How to pronounce prendre

(a) (of fire) to start, (of match) light, (of forest) catch fire; (of trend) to catch on, (of a show) be a success

(b) ~ à gauche to turn left

3 se prendre Verb, pronominal   Pronounce

(a) s'en ~ à qn to take it out on sb, put the blame on sb

Terms from the DGT glossary

French termEnglish term
Unité à prendre en considérationUnit of qualification
Précautions à prendrePrecautions to be taken
Décisions à prendre par la CommissionDecisions to be taken by the Commission
Dispositions à prendre sur les lieux de travailArrangements in workplaces

Bookmark this dictionary  English-French  Spanish-English  English-Spanish  Basic French phrases and vocabulary  Grammar tips and articles  Translate computing terms  Glossary of French business terms


Unless otherwise specified, the French dictionary and other French grammar and translation material provided on this site is written by Neil Coffey. Suggestions are always welcome for new material for the French dictionary. You may also wish to visit the site's French language discussion forum, where you post questions on topics such as French grammar, translation, French culture or the French language in general. For on-the-spot updates and suggestions, follow the author on Twitter.
Unless otherwise stated, the French dictionary and editorial content on this site are Copyright © Javamex UK 2017. All rights reserved.