Prendre means “to take,” but English hides how many constructions that translation covers. Catalan uses prendre for taking an object or route, consuming food or medicine, making a decision, adopting measures, sunbathing, and participating. It also has frequent pronominal meanings in prendre's.
The verb is irregular in a structured way. Present prenc points toward the velar stem prengu- of the simple past and subjunctive, while future and conditional keep transparent prendr-. The participle pres must be learned separately.
Nonfinite forms
| Form | Catalan | English guide |
|---|---|---|
| Infinitive | prendre | to take |
| Perfect infinitive | haver pres | to have taken |
| Gerund | prenent | taking |
| Perfect gerund | havent pres | having taken |
| Participle | pres; presa, presos, preses | taken |
In compound tenses, pres is normally invariable: han pres les mesures necessàries. Its agreeing forms occur adjectivally or passively: una decisió presa per unanimitat. The related participles après, comprès, and reprès carry a grave accent, but bare pres does not.
Indicative: simple and periphrastic tenses
| Tense | jo | tu | ell / ella / vostè | nosaltres | vosaltres | ells / elles / vostès |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present | prenc | prens | pren | prenem | preneu | prenen |
| Imperfect | prenia | prenies | prenia | preníem | preníeu | prenien |
| Periphrastic past | vaig prendre | vas prendre | va prendre | vam prendre | vau prendre | van prendre |
| Simple past | prenguí | prengueres | prengué | prenguérem | prenguéreu | prengueren |
| Future | prendré | prendràs | prendrà | prendrem | prendreu | prendran |
| Conditional | prendria | prendries | prendria | prendríem | prendríeu | prendrien |
Present prenc is velar, but the consonant does not spread through the whole present: prens, pren, prenem, preneu, prenen. Neither third-person pren nor familiar imperative pren carries an accent. The simple past uses prengu-; the periphrastic past is the everyday completed form. Prendre is a second-conjugation verb, not an incoative third-conjugation verb: preneixo is impossible. The synthetic series is especially (formal/literary) in much Central Catalan and remains spoken in some other areas (regional).
Cada matí prenc el tren de les set i aprofito el trajecte per llegir.
Every morning I take the seven o'clock train and use the journey to read.
Quan vivia a Reus, prenia cafè amb la veïna després de dinar.
When I lived in Reus, I used to have coffee with the neighbor after lunch.
Ahir vam prendre un camí rural perquè l'autopista estava tallada.
Yesterday we took a country road because the highway was closed.
Quan tinguem totes les dades, prendrem una decisió definitiva.
When we have all the data, we'll make a final decision.
Compound tenses and subjunctive
| Indicative tense | jo | tu | ell / ella / vostè | nosaltres | vosaltres | ells / elles / vostès |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present perfect | he pres | has pres | ha pres | hem pres | heu pres | han pres |
| Pluperfect | havia pres | havies pres | havia pres | havíem pres | havíeu pres | havien pres |
| Past anterior | haguí pres | hagueres pres | hagué pres | haguérem pres | haguéreu pres | hagueren pres |
| Future perfect | hauré pres | hauràs pres | haurà pres | haurem pres | haureu pres | hauran pres |
| Conditional perfect | hauria pres | hauries pres | hauria pres | hauríem pres | hauríeu pres | haurien pres |
| Subjunctive tense | jo | tu | ell / ella / vostè | nosaltres | vosaltres | ells / elles / vostès |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present | prengui | prenguis | prengui | prenguem | prengueu | prenguin |
| Imperfect | prengués | prenguessis | prengués | prenguéssim | prenguéssiu | prenguessin |
| Present perfect | hagi pres | hagis pres | hagi pres | hàgim pres | hàgiu pres | hagin pres |
| Pluperfect | hagués pres | haguessis pres | hagués pres | haguéssim pres | haguéssiu pres | haguessin pres |
Both subjunctive tenses use prengu-. The spelling gu keeps the hard velar sound before e and i; forms such as prengi are not standard. English “take” normally shows no comparable mood change, so the trigger must come from the larger clause.
La metgessa vol que prenguis la medicació sempre a la mateixa hora.
The doctor wants you to take the medication at the same time every day.
Si haguéssiu pres notes durant la visita, ara tindríeu totes les mides.
If you had taken notes during the visit, you would have all the measurements now.
Three additional periphrastic rows complete the reference. The subjunctive rows have restricted (regional/formal) distribution, while prengués and hagués pres cover ordinary usage.
| Periphrastic tense | jo | tu | ell / ella / vostè | nosaltres | vosaltres | ells / elles / vostès |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indicative past anterior | vaig haver pres | vas haver pres | va haver pres | vam haver pres | vau haver pres | van haver pres |
| Subjunctive past | vagi prendre | vagis prendre | vagi prendre | vàgim prendre | vàgiu prendre | vagin prendre |
| Subjunctive past anterior | vagi haver pres | vagis haver pres | vagi haver pres | vàgim haver pres | vàgiu haver pres | vagin haver pres |
Imperative and pronominal prendre's
| Addressee | Affirmative | Negative |
|---|---|---|
| tu | pren | no prenguis |
| vostè | prengui | no prengui |
| nosaltres | prenguem | no prenguem |
| vosaltres | preneu | no prengueu |
| vostès | prenguin | no prenguin |
The familiar affirmative forms come from the non-subjunctive stem: pren, preneu. Negative commands use the subjunctive: no prenguis, no prengueu. Pronouns attach affirmatively (pren-te-la, preneu-ne una) but precede a negative command (no te la prenguis).
Plain prendre can be fully transitive: pren el llibre. Prendre's is lexical or aspectually natural in several frequent meanings: consuming a whole item (prendre's un cafè), reacting (prendre-s'ho bé/mal), treating something as a joke (prendre-s'ho de broma), or allowing oneself time (prendre's una tarda lliure). The neuter ho refers to the situation; partitive en replaces an indefinite quantity.
—Vols una mica de sopa? —Sí, me'n prendré un bol petit.
—Would you like some soup? —Yes, I'll have a small bowl.
No t'ho prenguis mal: només volíem avisar-te abans que fos massa tard.
Don't take it badly; we only wanted to warn you before it was too late.
Pren-te aquesta pastilla després de sopar i beu força aigua.
Take this tablet after dinner and drink plenty of water.
High-frequency constructions
Catalan says prendre una decisió, not fer una decisió; prendre mesures means adopting measures; prendre part en means participating; prendre consciència de means becoming aware; and prendre el sol means sunbathing. The prepositions belong to the constructions and must be learned with them.
Més de dues-centes persones van prendre part en la consulta ciutadana.
More than two hundred people took part in the public consultation.
Prendre algú per... means mistaking or taking someone for something: L'he pres per la seva germana. Prendre per can also indicate a route or location in certain contexts, but learners should not use it as a universal translation of English “take.” Transport normally appears directly: prendre l'autobús. A physical seizure by illness is often expressed in other ways; collocation determines whether prendre, agafar, or another verb is natural.
(Regional: Valencian) imperfect-subjunctive prenguera... is standard. Some regional paradigms also preserve systematic auxiliary variants such as haja pres and haguera pres. They belong together and should not be sprinkled randomly through a general-Catalan paradigm.
Common Mistakes
❌ Jo preno l'autobús davant de l'ajuntament.
Incorrect—the first-person present is the velar form prenc.
✅ Jo prenc l'autobús davant de l'ajuntament.
I take the bus in front of the town hall.
❌ Ja hem prengut una decisió sobre el local.
Incorrect—the participle is irregular: pres, not prengut.
✅ Ja hem pres una decisió sobre el local.
We have already made a decision about the premises.
❌ Hem de fer una decisió abans de dilluns.
Incorrect collocation—Catalan takes a decision with prendre.
✅ Hem de prendre una decisió abans de dilluns.
We have to make a decision before Monday.
❌ No pren-te això com una crítica personal.
Incorrect—negative commands put the reflexive pronoun before a subjunctive form.
✅ No et prenguis això com una crítica personal.
Don't take this as personal criticism.
❌ Dubto que preneu la drecera amb aquesta boira.
Incorrect for the intended second-person-plural subjunctive—the velar stem is required.
✅ Dubto que prengueu la drecera amb aquesta boira.
I doubt you'll take the shortcut in this fog.
Key Takeaways
The paradigm turns on prenc, prengu-, prendr-, and pres. Keep familiar affirmative pren/preneu apart from negative no prenguis/no prengueu. Learn collocations rather than translating English “take” mechanically, and preserve the pronoun in lexical prendre's constructions such as prendre-s'ho mal.
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