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10 Useful French Phrases with “Prendre”

Prendre is a very important verb in French. It’s used a lot in everyday speaking and it’s used for things you might not expect, where in English you would use verbs like “to have”, “to catch”, “to make”.

Often part of the battle of learning French is understanding how the French say certain things and constructing sentences in that way. There’s not always a direct translation from English to French, so you can’t always think about what you want to say in English and then translate it into French.

Notice that for food and drink we use prendre rather than avoir (to have), because it’s an intake of food or drink.

 

FrenchEnglish
Prendre l'airTo get a breath of fresh air
Prendre un verreTo have a drink
Prendre froidTo catch a cold
Prendre rendez-vous avec quelqu'unTo make an appointment with someone
Prendre du poidsTo put on/gain weight
Prendre bien/ mal une choseTo take something well/badly
Passer prendre quelqu'unTo go pick someone up
Prendre à gauche/ˆ à droiteTo take left/right
Prendre une dŽécisionTo make a decision
Prendre le tempsTo take time

5 Comments

  1. Sarah

    This is a great exercise. You’ve made it really clear how the French say things that in English we’d use other verbs for. I also love the use of audio – perfect for getting correct pronunciation!

    1. Françoise

      Merci beaucoup sarah! I’m glad you like it! And yes, the audio is great because you can practise the phrases in your own time… & a big “Merci” for reading our blog.

  2. LOUIS

    Hello Francoise,its a great exercise but i cant play the audio.;

  3. s

    Merci beucoup.Love this website, Its the pronunciation that is soooo difficile..

    1. Françoise Giordano

      Merci beaucoup …Et Oui, je sais mais avec de la pratique, ça deviendra de plus en plus facile 😉 …

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