Learn French: Nous prenons un verre avec un collègue. - We are having a drink with a colleague.

Nous prenons un verre avec un collègue.

We are having a drink with a colleague.

Breakdown of Nous prenons un verre avec un collègue.

a / an (masculine)

nous

we / us (object pronoun)

Questions & Answers about Nous prenons un verre avec un collègue.

Why does the English translation say "having a drink" when prenons comes from the verb prendre (to take)?

In French, you don't usually use the verb for "to have" (avoir) when talking about consuming food or drinks. Instead, you use prendre (to take). So, prendre un verre literally translates to "to take a glass," but it is the standard, everyday French expression for "to have a drink."

How do you form prenons from prendre? Where did the "d" go?

Prendre is an irregular verb, which means it doesn't follow the normal pattern. To conjugate it for nous (we), you drop the entire -dre from the end of the verb and add the standard "we" ending -ons. This gives us prenons with no "d" in the middle!

Why is there no word for "are" in Nous prenons to match "We are having"?

French doesn't have a separate "-ing" tense (called the present continuous) like English does. The single French present tense covers both. So, Nous prenons can mean either "We take / We have" or "We are taking / We are having" depending on what makes sense in the context.

The word collègue ends in an "-e". Does that mean it is a feminine word?