Questions & Answers about Nous prenons un verre au café.
Why does prenons mean 'are having' instead of 'are taking'?
The verb prendre literally means 'to take'. However, French uses prendre instead of avoir (to have) when talking about consuming food or drinks. So, while we say 'we are having' in English, the French literally say 'we are taking'. How does the spelling work for nous prenons?
Prendre is an irregular verb. To form the nous (we) version, you drop the -dre from the end of prendre and add the standard 'we' ending -ons, giving you prenons. Does un verre literally mean 'a drink'?
It literally translates to 'a glass'. Just like in English when we say 'let us grab a glass', prendre un verre is a very common French idiom for 'having a drink'. Why is it au café instead of à le café?
The word for 'at' or 'to' is à. Because café is a masculine word, it uses le (the). In French, you can never write à le side-by-side; they always combine into the single word au. Learn Nous prenons un verre au café and more in French
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