Learn French: J'emmène mon chien au parc. - I am taking my dog to the park.

The verb emmener (to take along) is a stem-changing verb. Like acheter or se promener, the unaccented e in the stem changes to è for the je, tu, il/elle/on, and ils/elles forms. This happens so the syllable can be stressed properly. It becomes j'emmène, but we still say nous emmenons.

Why do we use emmène here to mean taking instead of a verb like prends or apporte?

In French, verbs for taking and bringing depend on what you are moving. Use emmener (to take) or amener (to bring) for people and animals—beings that can move on their own. Use emporter or apporter for inanimate objects that you have to carry. Prendre usually means to physically take into your hands or to take transport, so it does not work well for walking your dog to the park.

Quick reminder: why is it au parc instead of à le parc?

In French, the preposition à (to or at) and the masculine definite article le (the) always contract into the single word au. So, to say to the park, you must use au parc.

How does the accent in change the pronunciation?