Prendere Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Italian

prendere — to take — is one of the verbs you will use every day in Italian. It is a non-reflexive, irregular -ere verb, and it comes up in conversation, at work and at home. It means to take, to get and to catch, and it covers taking a coffee, taking a train and taking an object from a table. Its passato remoto and past participle are irregular, while the present is regular apart from the doubled consonant in the third-person plural. On this page you will find prendere 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. The full conjugation tables are on the prendere conjugation page, and the deep dive into its most practised tense is on the prendere passato prossimo tense page.

Example sentences with prendere

In the present tense

  • “Io prendo un caffè ogni giorno.” — “I take a coffee”
  • “Tu prendi un caffè ogni giorno.” — “You take a coffee”
  • “Lui prende un caffè ogni giorno.” — “He takes a coffee”
  • “Noi prendiamo un caffè ogni giorno.” — “We take a coffee”
  • “Voi prendete un caffè ogni giorno.” — “You take a coffee”
  • “Loro prendono un caffè ogni giorno.” — “They take a coffee”

In the passato prossimo

  • “Io ho preso un caffè questa settimana.” — “I have taken a coffee”
  • “Tu hai preso un caffè questa settimana.” — “You have taken a coffee”
  • “Lui ha preso un caffè questa settimana.” — “He has taken a coffee”
  • “Noi abbiamo preso un caffè questa settimana.” — “We have taken a coffee”
  • “Voi avete preso un caffè questa settimana.” — “You have taken a coffee”
  • “Loro hanno preso un caffè questa settimana.” — “They have taken a coffee”

In other tenses

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

  • “Io prendevo un caffè una volta.” — “I used to take a coffee”
  • “Tu prenderai un caffè domani.” — “You will take a coffee”
  • “Lui prenderebbe un caffè un giorno.” — “He would take a coffee”
  • “È importante che noi prendiamo un caffè.” — “It is important that we take a coffee”
  • “Prendi un caffè!” — “Take a coffee!”

How prendere is used

The first thing to know about prendere is its core meaning: to take. It means to take, to get and to catch, and it covers taking a coffee, taking a train and taking an object from a table. Its passato remoto and past participle are irregular, while the present is regular apart from the doubled consonant in the third-person plural. In everyday speech it appears most often in the present and the passato prossimo, the two tenses on this page, because most of what we say is either what we do every day or what we have just done. Learn those two tenses first and the rest of the conjugation becomes a matter of adding forms one at a time. The second thing to know is the company prendere keeps. The present io form is prendo, and it pairs naturally with the time words ogni giorno and sempre for habits, and with adesso for what is happening right now. The passato prossimo io form is ho preso, and it pairs with ieri and questa settimana for finished actions. When you learn a verb form, learn its time words with it, and choosing the tense becomes automatic. The third thing to know is what prendere does not do. It never appears as a bare infinitive after a subject pronoun — after io you need prendo, never prendere. It never takes the wrong auxiliary in the perfect tenses: the passato prossimo is ho preso, built with avere, and the other auxiliary does not belong here. And its participle preso is given in the masculine singular form in the tables, with agreement depending on the sentence, not on the verb table.

Prendere in context

Io prendo un caffè ogni giorno. Tu prendi un caffè ogni giorno. Lui prende un caffè ogni giorno. Noi prendiamo un caffè ogni giorno. That is a normal part of the routine, and that is why the present of prendere is the first form worth learning. Each sentence uses a different person, so read them aloud and notice how the form changes — prendo, prendi, prende, prendiamo — while the meaning stays the same: to take. Io ho preso un caffè questa settimana. Tu hai preso un caffè questa settimana. Lui ha preso un caffè questa settimana. Noi abbiamo preso un caffè questa settimana. That was a normal day, but it is exactly on days like this that the passato prossimo of prendere appears constantly: a finished action, a precise moment, and the story goes on. Compare these sentences with the present ones above: the verb changes tense, but the basic meaning — to take — does not change. That is the difference between a habit and a finished event.

Common mistakes

1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Io prendere un caffè.”

✓ Right: “Io prendo un caffè ogni giorno.”

The infinitive prendere never takes a subject. After io you need the conjugated present form prendo.

2. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Io prendi un caffè.”

✓ Right: “Io prendo un caffè ogni giorno.”

prendi is the tu form, not the io form. The io form is prendo — check the person before you write the form.

3. Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Io prendo un caffè ieri.”

✓ Right: “Io ho preso un caffè questa settimana.”

Ieri points to the past, so use the passato prossimo ho preso here, not the present prendo.

4. Mixing up the auxiliary

✗ Wrong: “Io sono preso un caffè.”

✓ Right: “Io ho preso un caffè questa settimana.”

prendere takes avere in the passato prossimo. The io form is ho preso — the other auxiliary never belongs with this verb.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on prendere across the tenses. Answers with explanations follow each question.

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

    • A) prendo
    • B) prendi
    • C) prende
    • D) prendiamo

  2. What is the io form of prendere in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?

    • A) hai preso
    • B) ha preso
    • C) ho preso
    • D) abbiamo preso

  3. What is the lui/lei form of prendere in the Imperfect?

    • A) prendevo
    • B) prendevi
    • C) prendevamo
    • D) prendeva

  4. What is the noi form of prendere in the Future?

    • A) prenderemo
    • B) prenderò
    • C) prenderai
    • D) prenderà

  5. What is the tu form of prendere in the Conditional?

    • A) prenderei
    • B) prenderesti
    • C) prenderebbe
    • D) prenderemmo

  6. What is the io form of prendere in the Passato remoto?

    • A) prendesti
    • B) prese
    • C) presi
    • D) prendemmo

  7. What is the noi form of prendere in the Present subjunctive?

    • A) prenda
    • B) prendiate
    • C) prendano
    • D) prendiamo

  8. What is the gerund of prendere?

    • A) prendendo
    • B) preso
    • C) prendere
    • D) prendo

  9. What is the past participle of prendere?

    • A) prendendo
    • B) preso
    • C) prendere
    • D) prendo

  10. What does prendere mean in English?

  • A) to be
  • B) to have
  • C) to take
  • D) to do, to make

Answer key

  1. B) prendi — the correct form is prendi. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) ho preso — the correct form is ho preso. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) prendeva — the correct form is prendeva. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) prenderemo — the correct form is prenderemo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) prenderesti — the correct form is prenderesti. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) presi — the correct form is presi. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) prendiamo — the correct form is prendiamo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) prendendo — the correct form is prendendo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. B) preso — the correct form is preso. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  10. C) to take — the correct form is to take. The other options are other forms of the same verb.

Frequently asked questions

What does prendere mean in English?

prendere means “to take”. You use it whenever you talk about to take in Italian, in the present, the past and the future.

Is prendere regular or irregular?

prendere is irregular. prendere is irregular in passato-remoto, past-participle, present-perfect, pluperfect — learn those forms as a set.

What are the gerund and past participle of prendere?

The gerund is prendendo and the past participle is preso. The perfect tenses use avere + preso.

Where can I see the full conjugation of prendere?

On the prendere conjugation page — every tense, every person, with tables. The prendere passato prossimo tense page goes deeper into its most practised tense.

Pronunciation

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

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