French Grammar Explained /
Irregular -RE verbs
There is a family of -re verbs that are conjugated a bit differently to regular -re verbs. Among them are the common verbs prendre (to take), apprendre (to learn) and comprendre (to understand).
There's a full list at the bottom of this page.
Singular Endings
The endings in the singular are the same as regular -re verbs. Note that the final -d of the stem remains, as you would expect:
| | PRENDRE |
je | → | prends |
tu | → | prends |
il/elle/on | → | prend |
Plural Endings
In the plural conjugations the d of the stem prend- goes away, and for ils/elles the n is doubled.
| | PRENDRE |
nous | → | prenons |
vous | → | prenez |
ils/elles | → | prennent |
Elle me prend par la main.
She takes me by the hand.
Nous ne comprenons pas.
We don't understand.
Ils apprennent le chinois.
They are learning Chinese.
Words Conjugated Similarly
reprendre | → | to retake, take again |
surprendre | → | to surprise |
apprendre | → | to learn |
comprendre | → | to understand |