Compound Tenses of the French Verb Prendre

Prendre, which  primarily means to take both literally and figuratively, is a general, all-purpose verb  thats  one of the most frequently used in the French language. Its conjugation is irregular  in both the simple and compound forms,  although it has a following of other verbs ending in -prendre, such as apprendre (to learn),  that are conjugated in the same way.   Prendre is also found in a number of idiomatic expressions, such as prendre sa retraite  (to retire), prendre une decision (to make a decision) and the informal prendre a pot (to have a drink). Other Meanings of Prendre In addition to take, the French verb has several other meanings, from catch (as in, I caught him cheating) to be successful (as in, This book is going to be a great success). The reflexive form se prendre  also has several possible meanings, beginning with to consider oneself (something).   The French equivalent of to take is most often prendre,  in the sense of to move something physically from one place to another, to  take transportation,  to take something to eat or to take a size (number). But there are other French verbs as well that mean to take.  Amener,  for instance,  means to take someone or something  with you.  Enlever signifies to take something  off. And  passer un examen means to take a test.   Compound conjugations of  prendre use the auxiliary verb avoir.  To conjugate other verbs that need  avoir  as the  auxiliary verb  in  compound tenses, replace the  past participle  in these conjugations with the past participle of the new verb. Other verbs take  Ãƒ ªtre as the auxiliary verb.   Compound Conjugations of Prendre Pass compos Pluperfect Past subjunctive j ai pris avais pris aie pris tu as pris avais pris aies pris il a pris avait pris ait pris nous avons pris avions pris ayons pris vous avez pris aviez pris ayez pris ils ont pris avaient pris aient pris Future perfect Conditional perfect Pluperfect subjunctive j aurai pris aurais pris eusse pris tu auras pris aurais pris eusses pris il aura pris aurait pris et pris nous aurons pris aurions pris eussions pris vous aurez pris auriez pris eussiez pris ils auront pris auraient pris eussent pris Past anterior Conditional perfect, 2nd form j eus pris eusse pris tu eus pris eusses pris il eut pris et pris nous emes pris eussions pris vous etes pris eussiez pris ils eurent pris eussent pris Past imperative Past infinitive Perfect participle (tu) aie pris avoir pris ayant pris (nous) ayons pris (vous) ayez pris Additional Resources Simple tensesFrench verb conjugator