prendre

to take

verb PRAHN-druh Common

Usage Note

Prendre is the everyday verb for grabbing, catching, or having — you take a train, grab a coffee, or make a decision with it. It hides inside dozens of compounds like comprendre (to grasp), apprendre (to learn), and surprendre, and the reflexive s'y prendre means to go about something the right or wrong way.

Examples

"Je vais prendre un café."

Natural Translation

I'm going to have a coffee.

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