emprunter Present Tense Conjugation in French

The present of emprunter — borrow — is the form you need for habits, facts and things happening now. emprunter is the verb for borrowing from the library: it comes up whenever you talk about borrowing a bike or asking for a loan. This page gives you the complete present table for emprunter, how it is formed, when to use it, the mistakes learners make with it, and a quiz to check yourself. The first example shows it in action: “J'emprunte un livre.” — “I borrow a book.”

Present conjugation of emprunter

Every form in the table below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for emprunter. emprunter is regular (regular in the present), so watch out for the forms that break the pattern — they are the ones learners need to memorise.

Present — emprunter

Person Form
je emprunte
tu empruntes
il/elle emprunte
nous empruntons
vous empruntez
ils/elles empruntent

The gerund of emprunter is en empruntant and the past participle is emprunté. The participle matters here because the present is often confused with the other past tenses — keep them apart.

How the present of emprunter is formed

The present of emprunter is formed from its stem with the present endings. The six forms are emprunte, empruntes, emprunte, empruntons, empruntez and empruntent. Copy them from the table above exactly as written — do not guess a form from the infinitive.

A note on spelling: the forms in the table are the verified forms. If a form carries an accent, the accent is part of the spelling — for example emprunte — so always write it exactly as shown.

The present is the tense to learn first for emprunter: every other tense in the full table is built from patterns you meet here, and the present is the form you will use most often in conversation.

When to use the present of emprunter

Habits and routines

Use the present for something you do regularly. For example: “J'emprunte un livre.” — “I borrow a book.”

Facts and general truths

Use the present for facts that are true in general. For example: “Il emprunte de l'argent.” — “He borrows some money.”

Things happening now

Use the present for what is happening at this moment. For example: “Nous empruntons la voiture.” — “We borrow the car.”

Near future plans

French often uses the present with a time word for a plan that is already fixed. For example: “J'emprunte un vélo.” — “I borrow a bike.”

Present vs passé composé: emprunter finished, emprunter in progress

The present and the passé composé are the two tenses learners confuse most with emprunter. The present is for habits, facts and things happening now; the passé composé is for recent past actions and life experience; this is the everyday spoken past tense, the passé composé. Compare the pairs below — the present form comes from this page, the passé composé form from the full conjugation table.

  • Present: “J'emprunte un livre.” — “I borrow a book.”

  • Passé composé: “J'ai emprunté un livre cette semaine.” — “I have borrowed a book this week.”

  • Present: “Il emprunte de l'argent.” — “He borrows some money.”

  • Passé composé: “Il a emprunté de l'argent cette semaine.” — “He has borrowed some money this week.”

  • Present: “Nous empruntons la voiture.” — “We borrow the car.”

  • Passé composé: “Nous avons emprunté la voiture cette semaine.” — “We have borrowed the car this week.”

Example sentences: emprunter in the present

Six sentences using only the present of emprunter, with English translations. Read them aloud — saying the forms is the fastest way to fix them in memory.

  • “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.”

Common mistakes in the present of emprunter

1. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Je empruntons un livre.”

✓ Right: “Je emprunte un livre.”

empruntons is the nous form. With je the present form is emprunte.

2. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Je emprunter de l'argent.”

✓ Right: “Je emprunte de l'argent.”

The infinitive emprunter never takes a subject. After je you need emprunte.

3. Using the passé composé for a habit

✗ Wrong: “Tous les jours, j'ai emprunté la voiture.”

✓ Right: “Tous les jours, je emprunte la voiture.”

A habit needs the present emprunte, not the passé composé.

4. Using the present where the imperfect belongs

✗ Wrong: “Avant, je emprunte un vélo tous les jours.” (said of a repeated habit)

✓ Right: “Avant, je empruntais un vélo tous les jours.”

For something you did regularly in the past, use the imperfect empruntais.

5. Mixing up tu and je

✗ Wrong: “Tu emprunte un livre.”

✓ Right: “Tu empruntes un livre.”

With tu the present form is empruntes, not emprunte. Copy the form for the right person from the table.

Quiz: test yourself on the present of emprunter

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  5. What is the vous form of emprunter in the Present indicative?

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

  6. What is the ils/elles form of emprunter in the Present indicative?

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

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

    • A) ai emprunté
    • B) ont emprunté
    • C) avez emprunté
    • D) avons emprunté

  8. What is the gerund of emprunter?

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

  9. What is the past participle of emprunter?

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

  10. What does emprunter mean in English?

  • A) borrow
  • B) open
  • C) sleep
  • D) drink

Answer key

  1. C) emprunte — The je form of emprunter in the present indicative is emprunte.
  2. D) empruntes — The tu form of emprunter in the present indicative is empruntes.
  3. A) emprunte — The il/elle form of emprunter in the present indicative is emprunte.
  4. A) empruntons — The nous form of emprunter in the present indicative is empruntons.
  5. D) empruntez — The vous form of emprunter in the present indicative is empruntez.
  6. B) empruntent — The ils/elles form of emprunter in the present indicative is empruntent.
  7. A) ai emprunté — The je form of emprunter in the present perfect is ai emprunté.
  8. C) empruntant — The gerund of emprunter is en empruntant; it is used after en for actions in progress.
  9. B) emprunté — The past participle of emprunter is emprunté; perfect tenses use avoir + emprunté.
  10. A) borrow — emprunter means “borrow” in English.

Frequently asked questions

When do I use the present of emprunter?

Use it for habits, facts and things happening now. For emprunter that covers borrowing from the library, borrowing a bike and asking for a loan.

Is the present of emprunter regular?

emprunter is regular. In the present it is regular — copy the forms from the table on this page.

What is the past participle of emprunter?

The past participle is emprunté. You need it for the passé composé, which uses avoir + emprunté.

How do I say “I borrow” in the present?

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

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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