emprunter Examples, Sentences & Quiz in French

emprunter — borrow — is one of the verbs you will use every day in French. emprunter is the verb for borrowing from the library: it comes up whenever you talk about borrowing a bike or asking for a loan. On this page you will find emprunter in real sentences, grouped by meaning and tense, two short texts that show it in context, the mistakes learners actually make with it, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. Start with the examples, say them aloud, and then test yourself.

Example sentences with emprunter

In the present tense

  • “J'emprunte un livre.” — “I borrow a book.”
  • “Tu empruntes de l'argent.” — “You borrow some money.”
  • “Il emprunte la voiture.” — “He borrows the car.”
  • “Nous empruntons un vélo.” — “We borrow a bike.”
  • “Vous empruntez un livre.” — “You borrow a book.”
  • “Ils empruntent de l'argent.” — “They borrow some money.”

In the passé composé

  • “J'ai emprunté un livre cette semaine.” — “I have borrowed a book this week.”
  • “Tu as emprunté de l'argent cette semaine.” — “You have borrowed some money this week.”
  • “Il a emprunté la voiture cette semaine.” — “He has borrowed the car this week.”
  • “Nous avons emprunté un vélo cette semaine.” — “We have borrowed a bike this week.”
  • “Vous avez emprunté un livre cette semaine.” — “You have borrowed a book this week.”
  • “Ils ont emprunté de l'argent cette semaine.” — “They have borrowed some money this week.”

In other tenses

The same verb in the imperfect, the future, the conditional and the present subjunctive — the four tenses that complete the picture. All forms come from the verified tables.

  • “J'empruntais un livre avant.” — “I used to borrow a book before.”
  • “J'emprunterai de l'argent demain.” — “I will borrow some money tomorrow.”
  • “J'emprunterais la voiture un jour.” — “I would borrow the car one day.”
  • “Bien que il emprunte un vélo” — “Although he borrows a bike.”

emprunter in context

J'emprunte un livre. Tu empruntes de l'argent. Il emprunte la voiture. Nous empruntons un vélo.

I borrow a book. You borrow some money. He borrows the car. We borrow a bike.

J'ai emprunté un livre. Il a emprunté de l'argent. Nous avons emprunté la voiture.

I have borrowed a book this week. He has borrowed some money this week. We have borrowed the car this week.

Common mistakes with emprunter

Mistake 1

Wrong: Je emprunter un livre.

Right: Je emprunte un livre.

The infinitive never takes a subject: after je you need the conjugated form emprunte.

Mistake 2

Wrong: Je empruntons de l'argent.

Right: Je emprunte de l'argent.

empruntons is the nous form. With je, use emprunte.

Mistake 3

Wrong: Hier, je emprunte la voiture.

Right: Hier, j'ai emprunté la voiture.

Yesterday needs the passé composé ai emprunté, not the present.

Mistake 4

Wrong: Bien que je emprunte un vélo.

Right: Bien que je emprunte un vélo.

After bien que French needs the subjunctive emprunte.

Mistake 5

Wrong: Je empruntais un livre hier. (said of one finished moment)

Right: J'ai emprunté un livre hier.

The imperfect describes an ongoing or repeated past. One finished moment yesterday takes the passé composé.

Quiz: test yourself on emprunter

Ten questions on emprunter. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.

  1. What is the tu form of emprunter in the Present indicative?

    • A) empruntes
    • B) emprunte
    • C) empruntons
    • D) empruntez

  2. What is the nous form of emprunter in the Present indicative?

    • A) empruntons
    • B) empruntes
    • C) emprunte
    • D) empruntez

  3. What is the il/elle form of emprunter in the Present perfect?

    • A) as emprunté
    • B) avons emprunté
    • C) ai emprunté
    • D) a emprunté

  4. What is the je form of emprunter in the Imperfect?

    • A) empruntiez
    • B) empruntions
    • C) empruntais
    • D) empruntaient

  5. What is the nous form of emprunter in the Future?

    • A) emprunterons
    • B) emprunterai
    • C) emprunterez
    • D) emprunteras

  6. What is the tu form of emprunter in the Conditional?

    • A) emprunteraient
    • B) emprunterait
    • C) emprunterais
    • D) emprunterions

  7. What is the je form of emprunter in the Present subjunctive?

    • A) empruntions
    • B) empruntent
    • C) empruntes
    • D) emprunte

  8. What is the il/elle form of emprunter in the Imperfect subjunctive?

    • A) empruntât
    • B) empruntasse
    • C) empruntassiez
    • D) empruntasses

  9. What is the gerund of emprunter?

    • A) empruntant
    • B) buvant
    • C) dormant

  10. What is the past participle of emprunter?

  • A) emprunté
  • B) dormi
  • C) bu

Answer key

  1. A) empruntes — The tu form of emprunter in the present indicative is empruntes.
  2. A) empruntons — The nous form of emprunter in the present indicative is empruntons.
  3. D) a emprunté — The il/elle form of emprunter in the present perfect is a emprunté.
  4. C) empruntais — The je form of emprunter in the imperfect is empruntais.
  5. A) emprunterons — The nous form of emprunter in the future is emprunterons.
  6. C) emprunterais — The tu form of emprunter in the conditional is emprunterais.
  7. D) emprunte — The je form of emprunter in the present subjunctive is emprunte.
  8. A) empruntât — The il/elle form of emprunter in the imperfect subjunctive is empruntât.
  9. A) empruntant — The gerund of emprunter is en empruntant; it is used after en for actions in progress.
  10. A) emprunté — The past participle of emprunter is emprunté; perfect tenses use avoir + emprunté.

Frequently asked questions

What does emprunter mean in English?

emprunter means “borrow”. You use it for borrowing from the library, for borrowing a bike, and for asking for a loan.

Is emprunter regular or irregular?

emprunter is regular, and it is irregular in these tenses: none — it is regular in every tense. The gerund is en empruntant and the past participle is emprunté.

How do I say “I borrow” in French?

Say “J'emprunte un livre.” — “I borrow a book.” The je form of the present is emprunte.

Where can I see the full conjugation of emprunter?

On the full conjugation page, which has every tense, and on the Emprunter Present Tense Conjugation in French page.

How to practise emprunter this week

Pick one tense a day and say five sentences with emprunter out loud, using the examples on this page as your starting point. On the first day, use only the present tense and the complements from the examples above — un livre, de l'argent and la voiture — and change only the person, so you hear how emprunte, empruntes and emprunte sound next to each other. On the second day, retell yesterday in the passé composé with ai emprunté and the other perfect forms from the table. On the third day, write three short plans for tomorrow in the future tense, and on the fourth day, turn them into polite conditional sentences. Keep a small notebook and write each new sentence down: seeing en empruntant and emprunté in your own handwriting fixes them in memory far better than reading them once. Finally, take the quiz above again without looking at the answer key — when you can answer all ten questions from memory, move on to the next verb in the hub.

Pronunciation

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for emprunter, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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