Learn French: Les enfants prennent un soda et une limonade. - The children are having a soda and a lemonade.

Les enfants prennent un soda et une limonade.

The children are having a soda and a lemonade.

Breakdown of Les enfants prennent un soda et une limonade.

to have (a meal/drink) / to take

le soda

the soda

Questions & Answers about Les enfants prennent un soda et une limonade.

The lesson is about boire (to drink), so why does the sentence use prennent?

In French, it is very common to use the verb prendre (to take) when talking about having food or drinks, just like we say 'to have a drink' in English. You could perfectly well say Les enfants boivent... (The children drink...), but prennent sounds very natural when ordering or consuming something.

How do I pronounce prennent? Do I say the -ent at the end?

No, the -ent ending on French verbs in the 'they' form (like ils prennent or elles prennent) is completely silent! You just pronounce the base of the word, so it sounds like 'pren'.

Should I pronounce the s at the end of Les in Les enfants?

Yes! Because enfants starts with a vowel, you must make a 'liaison' (a linking sound). The normally silent s in Les is pronounced like a 'z', connecting the two words smoothly: 'Lez-enfants'.

Why does it say un soda but une limonade?

In French, every noun has a gender, even objects and drinks. Soda is masculine, so it uses the masculine word for 'a' (un). Limonade is feminine, so it uses the feminine word for 'a' (une). You have to memorize the gender along with the vocabulary word!