Prendre literally means "to take," but its idiomatic reach is much wider than English take. French uses prendre for meals, transport, personal hygiene, planning, time-measurement, decision-making, and a long tail of fixed idioms (prendre froid, prendre feu, prendre la fuite, prendre la parole). The pattern overlaps with English in some places — take a shower, take the train, take a decision — and diverges in others — catch a cold becomes prendre froid, gain weight becomes prendre du poids, make an appointment becomes prendre rendez-vous.
This page collects the most useful prendre expressions, organized by semantic field. Unlike avoir, faire, and être, prendre keeps a strong literal meaning ("to grasp, to take hold of") in addition to its idiomatic uses, so context disambiguates easily. Most prendre expressions follow regular grammar — the article rules apply normally, with a few notable bare-noun idioms (prendre froid, prendre feu, prendre congé) flagged below.
Meals: prendre + meal name
French uses prendre — not avoir, not manger — for meals as a routine. Prendre le petit déjeuner is closer in feel to "have breakfast" than "eat breakfast"; the act is conceived as taking part in a regular event.
prendre le petit déjeuner = have breakfast.
On prend le petit déjeuner ensemble vers huit heures.
We have breakfast together around eight.
prendre le déjeuner = have lunch. (More commonly conversational French uses déjeuner as a verb directly: je déjeune à midi. Prendre le déjeuner is slightly more formal.)
J'ai pris le déjeuner avec un client important hier.
I had lunch with an important client yesterday.
prendre le dîner = have dinner. (Same caveat: dîner as a verb is more common.)
Tu veux prendre le dîner avec nous samedi soir ?
Do you want to have dinner with us Saturday night?
prendre un café / prendre un verre = have a coffee / have a drink. These are genuinely idiomatic — fixed social rituals.
On prend un café après le travail ?
Want to grab a coffee after work?
Je passe prendre un verre vers vingt heures.
I'll come by for a drink around 8 PM.
Personal hygiene: prendre une douche, un bain
prendre une douche = take a shower. Note the indefinite article une.
Je prends une douche rapide et j'arrive.
I'm taking a quick shower and I'll be right there.
prendre un bain = take a bath.
Après cette journée, je vais prendre un bain bien chaud.
After this day, I'm going to take a nice hot bath.
The pattern uses an indefinite article because the activity is countable (you can take une douche, then later une autre douche). This contrasts with faire la cuisine (where the definite article marks the activity as a category).
Transport: prendre + means of transport
For modes of transport, French uses prendre with the definite article.
prendre le métro / le bus / le train / l'avion / le taxi = take the metro / bus / train / plane / taxi.
Je prends le métro ligne 7 pour aller au travail.
I take metro line 7 to get to work.
On prend le train de huit heures cinquante-deux pour Lyon.
We're taking the 8:52 train to Lyon.
Tu prends l'avion ou le train pour aller à Marseille ?
Are you flying or taking the train to Marseille?
The definite article reflects that the means of transport is a known, recognized category (the system, not a specific instance). Compare with je prends un taxi — using un shifts the meaning slightly toward "I'm hailing a (specific) taxi right now."
Planning and appointments: prendre rendez-vous, prendre une décision
prendre rendez-vous (avec) = make an appointment (with). Note the bare noun rendez-vous — no article.
J'ai pris rendez-vous chez le dentiste pour mardi prochain.
I made an appointment with the dentist for next Tuesday.
Tu peux prendre rendez-vous avec le directeur cette semaine ?
Can you make an appointment with the director this week?
prendre une décision = make a decision. Where English uses "make," French uses prendre.
Il faut prendre une décision avant la fin de la semaine.
We need to make a decision before the end of the week.
prendre des notes = take notes.
Pendant la conférence, j'ai pris beaucoup de notes.
During the lecture, I took a lot of notes.
prendre une photo = take a photo.
On peut prendre une photo devant la tour Eiffel ?
Can we take a photo in front of the Eiffel Tower?
Time and pace: prendre son temps, ça prend
prendre son temps = take one's time. The possessive (mon, ton, son) agrees with the subject.
Prends ton temps, on n'est absolument pas pressés.
Take your time, we're absolutely not in a rush.
Elle prend toujours son temps pour répondre aux mails.
She always takes her time answering emails.
ça prend (du temps) = it takes (time). Impersonal use of prendre for duration.
Combien de temps ça prend pour aller à l'aéroport ?
How long does it take to get to the airport?
Ça m'a pris trois heures pour finir ce rapport.
It took me three hours to finish that report.
prendre le temps de + inf = take the time to. Distinct from prendre son temps (do something unhurriedly): prendre le temps de implies carving out time for a specific task you might otherwise skip.
Prends le temps de bien lire le contrat avant de signer.
Take the time to read the contract carefully before signing.
Je n'ai pas pris le temps de lui répondre, je le regrette maintenant.
I didn't take the time to reply to her, I regret it now.
prendre l'habitude de + inf = get into the habit of. The mirror of avoir l'habitude de (already have the habit): prendre marks the moment of acquiring it.
J'ai pris l'habitude de courir tous les matins avant le travail.
I've gotten into the habit of running every morning before work.
Ne prends pas l'habitude de te coucher si tard, tu vas le regretter lundi.
Don't get into the habit of going to bed so late, you'll regret it on Monday.
Idiomatic states: prendre froid, prendre feu, prendre du poids
These bare-noun expressions are the most idiomatic prendre uses — they don't translate literally and require memorization.
prendre froid = catch a cold. The image is of "taking on" cold, like taking on water.
Mets ton écharpe, tu vas prendre froid.
Put on your scarf, you'll catch a cold.
J'ai pris froid en attendant le bus sous la pluie.
I caught a cold waiting for the bus in the rain.
prendre feu = catch fire.
La voiture a pris feu après l'accident.
The car caught fire after the accident.
prendre du poids = gain weight. The partitive du signals "some quantity of weight."
J'ai pris cinq kilos pendant les vacances de Noël.
I gained five kilos over the Christmas holidays.
The corresponding "lose weight" uses a different verb: perdre du poids.
Speech and ceremony: prendre la parole, prendre congé
prendre la parole = take the floor / start speaking (in a meeting, debate, ceremony). Definite article — "the floor" is a recognized social slot.
Le maire a pris la parole à dix-huit heures précises.
The mayor took the floor at exactly six PM.
prendre congé (de) = take leave (of), say goodbye. Formal/literary register; rarely used in casual speech.
Il a pris congé poliment et a quitté la réception.
He took his leave politely and left the reception.
prendre la peine de + inf = take the trouble to. Often used in negation or rhetorical reproach.
Il n'a même pas pris la peine de répondre à mon mail.
He didn't even take the trouble to reply to my email.
prendre soin de = take care of.
Prends soin de toi, je m'inquiète pour ta santé.
Take care of yourself, I'm worried about your health.
prendre conscience de = become aware of, realize.
Il a pris conscience trop tard de l'importance de ses études.
He realized too late how important his studies were.
Action and movement: prendre la fuite, prendre la tête
prendre la fuite = flee, take flight. Literary or journalistic register; everyday French would say s'enfuir or fuir.
Le voleur a pris la fuite après avoir vu la police.
The thief fled after seeing the police.
prendre la tête (à quelqu'un) = annoy / drive crazy (informal). Literal: "take the head." Highly conversational, slightly slangy.
Arrête de me prendre la tête avec tes questions, j'ai du travail.
Stop bothering me with your questions, I have work to do.
Reflexive: se prendre
The pronominal form se prendre opens a separate idiomatic territory.
se prendre pour = think oneself / pretend to be (someone or something). Strongly idiomatic; usually carries a critical or mocking tone.
Il se prend pour le patron alors qu'il est stagiaire.
He thinks he's the boss when he's actually an intern.
Tu te prends pour qui, à me parler comme ça ?
Who do you think you are, talking to me like that?
s'y prendre (bien / mal) = handle / go about (something well / badly).
Tu t'y prends mal, laisse-moi te montrer.
You're going about it the wrong way, let me show you.
se prendre une claque / un coup = get slapped / get hit. The reflexive marks the experiencer.
Il s'est pris une amende pour stationnement interdit.
He got a parking ticket.
The pattern se prendre + N (negative event) is highly productive in informal French for marking misfortune that befalls the speaker.
A note on past participle: pris, prise
Prendre has an irregular past participle: pris (m.) / prise (f.). The agreement rules of compound tenses apply normally:
J'ai pris une douche ce matin.
I took a shower this morning.
La douche que j'ai prise ce matin était trop froide.
The shower I took this morning was too cold.
In the second example, prise agrees with the preceding direct object la douche (feminine singular). This is the normal avoir-participle agreement rule, not specific to prendre.
Common Mistakes
❌ Je fais une décision.
Incorrect — French uses *prendre une décision*, never *faire*.
✅ Je prends une décision.
I'm making a decision.
❌ J'ai attrapé un froid.
Incorrect — to catch a cold, French uses the bare-noun idiom *prendre froid*.
✅ J'ai pris froid.
I caught a cold.
❌ Je prends mon petit déjeuner.
Awkward but not strictly wrong — the standard idiom uses the definite article: *prendre LE petit déjeuner*.
✅ Je prends le petit déjeuner.
I'm having breakfast.
❌ Je fais un rendez-vous chez le médecin.
Incorrect — appointments are *prendre rendez-vous*, not *faire*. Note: no article on *rendez-vous*.
✅ Je prends rendez-vous chez le médecin.
I'm making a doctor's appointment.
❌ Combien de temps ça fait pour aller à Paris ?
Incorrect — duration uses *ça prend*, not *ça fait*.
✅ Combien de temps ça prend pour aller à Paris ?
How long does it take to get to Paris?
❌ Je prends mon temps pour finir ce projet, je n'ai pas pris le temps.
Confused — *prendre son temps* means going unhurriedly; *prendre le temps de* means carving out time for something specific. Don't mix them in one sentence.
✅ J'ai pris le temps de bien finir ce projet.
I took the time to finish this project properly.
❌ Il prend pour le patron.
Incorrect — *prendre pour* requires the reflexive *se* when meaning to think oneself to be. Without *se*, the meaning shifts to mistaking X for the boss.
✅ Il se prend pour le patron.
He thinks he's the boss.
The takeaway: where English distributes meaning across take, make, have, catch, gain, French overwhelmingly chooses prendre for these scenarios. Once you've drilled the meal/transport/decision/appointment cluster, the more idiomatic uses (prendre froid, prendre la tête, se prendre pour) come naturally because they extend the same metaphor of "taking on" or "taking up." Build a flashcard set of the twenty most useful prendre expressions and you'll find that a substantial chunk of everyday French becomes accessible.
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Start learning French→Related Topics
- Les Expressions Idiomatiques: OverviewB1 — How French builds everyday meaning from fixed verb-plus-noun collocations with avoir, faire, être, and prendre — and why the article disappears.
- Expressions avec AvoirA2 — How French uses avoir — not être — for hunger, thirst, age, fear, need, and dozens of other physical and mental states. The bare-noun pattern explained, with the full inventory.
- Expressions avec FaireB1 — The dozens of fixed expressions French builds with faire — chores, sports, weather, abstract effort, and idiomatic se faire — explained with cultural context and the article rules that govern them.
- Expressions avec ÊtreA2 — How French uses être with prepositions to mark progressive aspect, imminent action, location-states, and dozens of conditions and attitudes — with the rules that govern agreement and prepositions.
- Prendre: Full Verb ReferenceA1 — Prendre is to take — and the model verb for an entire family (apprendre, comprendre, surprendre, entreprendre, reprendre). It also covers a host of senses where English uses 'to have' (prendre un café, prendre le train) or other verbs entirely (prendre froid = catch cold; se prendre pour = think one is). This page is the full reference: every paradigm, every compound tense, the core uses, and the idioms.
- Verbes Pronominaux: OverviewA2 — French pronominal (reflexive) verbs use a pronoun matching the subject — me, te, se, nous, vous, se. They cover four functions: true reflexive, reciprocal, intrinsic, and passive. All pronominal verbs use être in compound tenses.