Prendere Conjugation in Italian
prendere means “to take” in English, and it is one of the first verbs Italian learners meet — it sits at number 13 in VerbFlow’s frequency list for Italian verbs. 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. This page gives you the complete conjugation of prendere — every tense, every person, the gerund and the past participle — with notes, examples, common mistakes and a quiz. Here is the verb in a natural sentence: “Io prendo un caffè ogni giorno.” — “I take a coffee.”
Quick facts
- Infinitive: prendere
- English: to take
- Verb type: Irregular -ere verb
- Irregular in: passato-remoto, past-participle, present-perfect, pluperfect
- Gerund: prendendo
- Present participle: prendente
- Past participle: preso
- Auxiliary: avere (all perfect tenses are formed with avere + the past participle)
- Ending: -ere verbs; pattern ere in the verified tables
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. Learn the spelling of the forms first, and listen to a native speaker for the sounds rather than trusting an invented transcription. The forms below are the ones that matter: once you can read prendere in every tense, you can recognise it in speech even before you can pronounce every form perfectly.
Three things to remember about prendere
- It is irregular in 4 tense(s): passato-remoto, past-participle, present-perfect, pluperfect. Learn those forms as a set instead of guessing them from the infinitive, because the stem changes in ways no rule predicts.
- The perfect tenses use avere: the passato prossimo is formed with avere in the present plus the past participle preso. The tables on this page give the participle in the masculine singular form, exactly as it appears in the verified dump; agreement with the subject is a separate step that depends on the sentence, not on the verb table.
- The participles are prendente and preso: keep both in mind as you read the tables, because the present participle appears as an adjective and the past participle appears in every perfect tense. If you know those two forms and the present tense, you already know the skeleton of the whole conjugation.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for prendere. Learn the present tense first, then the passato prossimo and the imperfect, and add the remaining tenses one at a time.
Present indicative (presente)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | prendo |
| tu | prendi |
| lui/lei | prende |
| noi | prendiamo |
| voi | prendete |
| loro | prendono |
The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. For example: “Io prendo un caffè ogni giorno.” — “I take a coffee”
Passato remoto
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | presi |
| tu | prendesti |
| lui/lei | prese |
| noi | prendemmo |
| voi | prendeste |
| loro | presero |
The passato remoto is used for completed actions in the distant past, mostly in written and literary Italian and in the south of Italy. For example: “Io presi un caffè ieri.” — “I took a coffee”
Imperfect (imperfetto)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | prendevo |
| tu | prendevi |
| lui/lei | prendeva |
| noi | prendevamo |
| voi | prendevate |
| loro | prendevano |
The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and for background description. For example: “Io prendevo un caffè una volta.” — “I used to take a coffee”
Future (futuro semplice)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | prenderò |
| tu | prenderai |
| lui/lei | prenderà |
| noi | prenderemo |
| voi | prenderete |
| loro | prenderanno |
The future is used for what will happen, for predictions and for probability. For example: “Io prenderò un caffè domani.” — “I will take a coffee”
Conditional (condizionale)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | prenderei |
| tu | prenderesti |
| lui/lei | prenderebbe |
| noi | prenderemmo |
| voi | prendereste |
| loro | prenderebbero |
The conditional is used for what would happen, for polite requests and for hypothetical situations. For example: “Io prenderei un caffè un giorno.” — “I would take a coffee”
Present perfect (passato prossimo)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | ho preso |
| tu | hai preso |
| lui/lei | ha preso |
| noi | abbiamo preso |
| voi | avete preso |
| loro | hanno preso |
The passato prossimo is used for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken Italian. For example: “Lui ha preso un caffè questa settimana.” — “He has taken a coffee”
Pluperfect (trapassato prossimo)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | avevo preso |
| tu | avevi preso |
| lui/lei | aveva preso |
| noi | avevamo preso |
| voi | avevate preso |
| loro | avevano preso |
The pluperfect is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “Io avevo preso un caffè prima della festa.” — “I had taken a coffee”
Future perfect (futuro anteriore)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | avrò preso |
| tu | avrai preso |
| lui/lei | avrà preso |
| noi | avremo preso |
| voi | avrete preso |
| loro | avranno preso |
The future perfect is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Io avrò preso un caffè per domani.” — “I will have taken a coffee”
Conditional perfect (condizionale passato)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | avrei preso |
| tu | avresti preso |
| lui/lei | avrebbe preso |
| noi | avremmo preso |
| voi | avreste preso |
| loro | avrebbero preso |
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Io avrei preso un caffè ieri.” — “I would have taken a coffee”
Present subjunctive (congiuntivo presente)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | prenda |
| tu | prenda |
| lui/lei | prenda |
| noi | prendiamo |
| voi | prendiate |
| loro | prendano |
The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after che. For example: “È importante che io prenda un caffè.” — “It is important that I take a coffee”
Imperfect subjunctive (congiuntivo imperfetto)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | prendessi |
| tu | prendessi |
| lui/lei | prendesse |
| noi | prendessimo |
| voi | prendeste |
| loro | prendessero |
The imperfect subjunctive is used in the past for wishes and hypotheticals after che, and in if-clauses. For example: “Era importante che io prendessi un caffè.” — “It was important that I take a coffee”
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | prendi |
| lui/lei | prenda |
| noi | prendiamo |
| voi | prendete |
| loro | prendano |
The affirmative imperative is used for direct commands and instructions. For example: “Prendi un caffè!” — “Take a coffee!”
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | prendere |
| lui/lei | prenda |
| noi | prendiamo |
| voi | prendiate |
| loro | prendano |
The negative imperative is used for prohibitions and negative commands. For example: “Non prendere un caffè.” — “Do not take a coffee.”
Gerund
| Form | Italian |
|---|---|
| Gerund | prendendo |
The gerund is used for an action happening at the same time as another action, often with stare for the progressive. For example: “Prendendo un caffè, imparo molto.” — “While taking a coffee, I learn a lot.”
Present participle
| Form | Italian |
|---|---|
| Present participle | prendente |
The present participle is used as an adjective, describing an ongoing action. For example, the participle prendente is used to describe something that is happening at the same time as the main action, much like an English -ing adjective.
Past participle
| Form | Italian |
|---|---|
| Past participle | preso |
The past participle is used with an auxiliary to form the perfect tenses, and as an adjective. For example: “Io ho preso un caffè questa settimana.” — “I have taken a coffee.”
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with prendere, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the Italian and try to produce it from the English.
- “Io prendo un caffè ogni giorno.” — “I take a coffee”
- “Tu prendesti un caffè ieri.” — “You took a coffee”
- “Lui prendeva un caffè una volta.” — “He used to take a coffee”
- “Io prenderò un caffè domani.” — “I will take a coffee”
- “Tu prenderesti un caffè un giorno.” — “You would take a coffee”
- “Lui ha preso un caffè questa settimana.” — “He has taken a coffee”
- “Io avevo preso un caffè prima della festa.” — “I had taken a coffee”
- “Tu avrai preso un caffè per domani.” — “You will have taken a coffee”
- “È importante che io prenda un caffè.” — “It is important that I take a coffee”
- “Prendi un caffè!” — “Take a coffee!”
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’s form
✗ Wrong: “Io prendi un caffè.”
✓ Right: “Io prendo un caffè ogni giorno.”
prendi is the tu form, not the io form. Match the verb to the subject every time: io goes with prendo.
3. Using the present for a finished past action
✗ Wrong: “Io prendo un caffè ieri.”
✓ Right: “Io ho preso un caffè questa settimana.”
Yesterday points to the past, so the present is wrong here. Use the passato prossimo ho preso for a finished action yesterday.
4. Using the wrong auxiliary in the passato prossimo
✗ Wrong: “Io sono preso un caffè.”
✓ Right: “Io ho preso un caffè questa settimana.”
The passato prossimo of prendere is formed with avere plus the past participle preso: the io form is ho preso. Check the auxiliary in the table above before you build a perfect tense.
5. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
✗ Wrong: “È importante che io prendo un caffè.”
✓ Right: “È importante che io prenda un caffè.”
After è importante che Italian needs the subjunctive, so use prenda here, not the indicative prendo.
6. Using the gerund instead of the past participle in a perfect tense
✗ Wrong: “Io ho prendendo un caffè.”
✓ Right: “Io ho preso un caffè questa settimana.”
The perfect tenses need the past participle preso, not the gerund prendendo. The gerund belongs in progressive constructions, never after an auxiliary in a perfect tense.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on prendere. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
What is the io form of prendere in the Present indicative?
- A) prendi
- B) prendo
- C) prende
- D) prendiamo
What is the lui/lei form of prendere in the Passato remoto?
- A) presi
- B) prendesti
- C) prese
- D) prendemmo
What is the noi form of prendere in the Imperfect?
- A) prendevo
- B) prendevi
- C) prendeva
- D) prendevamo
What is the tu form of prendere in the Future?
- A) prenderai
- B) prenderò
- C) prenderà
- D) prenderemo
What is the io form of prendere in the Conditional?
- A) prenderesti
- B) prenderei
- C) prenderebbe
- D) prenderemmo
What is the lui/lei form of prendere in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?
- A) ho preso
- B) hai preso
- C) ha preso
- D) abbiamo preso
What is the lui/lei form of prendere in the Present subjunctive?
- A) prendiamo
- B) prendiate
- C) prendano
- D) prenda
What is the io form of prendere in the Imperfect subjunctive?
- A) prendessi
- B) prendesse
- C) prendessimo
- D) prendeste
What is the gerund of prendere?
- A) preso
- B) prendendo
- C) prendere
- D) prendo
What does prendere mean in English?
- A) to be
- B) to have
- C) to take
- D) to do, to make
Answer key
- B) prendo — the correct form is prendo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) prese — the correct form is prese. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) prendevamo — the correct form is prendevamo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) prenderai — the correct form is prenderai. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) prenderei — the correct form is prenderei. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) ha preso — the correct form is ha preso. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) prenda — the correct form is prenda. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) prendessi — the correct form is prendessi. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) prendendo — the correct form is prendendo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- 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”. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is prendere regular or irregular?
prendere is irregular: it is irregular in passato-remoto, past-participle, present-perfect, pluperfect. The gerund is prendendo and the past participle is preso.
What are the gerund and past participle of prendere?
The gerund is prendendo — use it with stare for the progressive. The past participle is preso — use it with avere for the perfect tenses, as in ho preso.
Which auxiliary does prendere take in the passato prossimo?
prendere takes avere in the passato prossimo: the io form is ho preso. All four perfect tenses on this page are built with avere plus the past participle preso.
How do I say “I take” in Italian?
Say “Io prendo un caffè ogni giorno.” — “I take a coffee” The io form of the present is prendo, and it is the form you will use most often.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of prendere — every tense of prendere in one place.
- Prendere in the passato prossimo tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Prendere examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- Italian passato prossimo tense guide — the full guide to the passato prossimo tense in Italian.
- Italian irregular verbs — every common irregular Italian verb, grouped by pattern.
- Essere conjugation — another everyday Italian verb.
- Avere conjugation — another everyday Italian verb.
- Italian verbs — the full hub of Italian conjugation pages.
- VerbFlow home — all languages, tools and verb lists.
- Verb Conjugator — practise prendere with the interactive tool.
- Conjugation Chart Printer — practise prendere with the interactive tool.
- Tense Finder — practise prendere with the interactive tool.