Breakdown of J'emmène mon chien au parc.
je
I
le chien
the dog
le parc
the park
au
to the / at the (masculine singular)
mon
my (mon, ma, mes)
emmener
to take (someone)
Questions & Answers about J'emmène mon chien au parc.
Why does emmène have a grave accent (è) when the infinitive verb doesn't?
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 j'emmène change the pronunciation?
In the infinitive emmener, the middle e makes a soft uh sound (or is dropped entirely in spoken French). But when it changes to è in j'emmène, it makes an open eh sound, like in the English word pet. Also, the final e is silent, so you clearly pronounce the n at the end of the verb.
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