When it comes to using to Bring and to Take in French, you cannot just translate. The logic is a bit different in French, so you need to think as a French person would, therefore you need to really understand the meanings of the verb, or in this case, the meaning of the âbase verbsâ porter and mener.
The key is to understand the meanings of the base verbs âporterâ and âmenerâ and the meaning of their prefixes âa-â, âem-â, âra-â and ârem-â.
To Bring and To Take in French â Selecting the Base Verbs
Porter â Mener : Things â People/Animals
The French verb âporterâ means to carry, so itâs used with inanimate objects.
- Je porte ma valise â I carry my suitcase.
- Jâemporte mon parapluie en voyage â Iâm bringing my umbrella on my trip.
- Jâapporte une bouteille chez mon ami â Iâm bringing a bottle to my friendâs house.
The verb âmenerâ means to lead, so itâs used with animate beings: people and animals.
- NapolĂ©on mĂšne ses armĂ©es â Napoleon leads his armies.
- JâemmĂšne mon bĂ©bĂ© au restaurant â Iâm bringing my infant to the restaurant.
- JâamĂšne ma fille Ă lâĂ©cole â Iâm taking my daughter to school.
The Prefixes a-, em-, ra- and rem-
Adding these prefixes to the âbase verbsâ porter and mener, we get:
- From porter: apporter, emporter, rapporter and remporter.
- From mener: amener, emmener, ramener and remmener.
As explained in section 1:
- Prefix + porter is used with things and inanimate objects.
Ex: emporter â to bring things - Prefix + mener is used with people and animals.
Ex: amener â to bring a person
Unfortunately, just like in English with âbringâ and âtakeâ, you will hear many mistakes⊠The verbs based on âmenerâ tend to be used more and more for people (as they should) AND things. Itâs a very common mistake, most people donât know that rule, so itâs an âacceptedâ mistake.

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To Bring and To Take in French â Choosing the Right Prefix
Once you have selected your correct âbase verbâ, the question to ask is whether :
- you are accompanying, staying with the person, or keeping the thing with you,
- OR if you are just dropping it/him/her, leaving it/him/her at destination.
Then, selecting the correct prefix will translate the notion of bring or take in French.
- The prefix âAâ in French means that you are going to leave the thing/person there. This is the idea behind âamenerâ and âapporterâ.
- The prefix âEmâ in French means you are staying with the thing/person. This is the idea behind âemmenerâ and âemporterâ.
- The prefixes âra-â and ârem-â in French can mean either:
â the repetition of an action
â the return to a point of departure
â the return of something to its normal place.
Take and Bring in English
Frederica, in the Disqus comments says: âIn English, we âtakeâ something/someone from here to there, and we âbringâ something/someone with usâ. So I guess there is a bit of a similarity here.
Daniel, in an email to me says: Bring and take are about the perspective of the speaker. Merriam Webster says: bring is to convey, lead, carry, or cause to come along with one toward the place from which the action is being regardedâŠ

4 Examples for Bring and Take in French
- Jâemporte mon parapluie en voyage.
Iâm taking/bringing my umbrella on my trip.
(Itâs a thing and itâs staying with me) - JâemmĂšne mon bĂ©bĂ© au restaurant.
Iâm taking/bringing my infant to the restaurant.
(He/she is a person and I am staying with him/her) - Jâapporte une bouteille chez mon ami.
Iâm taking a bottle to my friendâs house .
(Itâs a thing and Iâm leaving it there â whether I help drinking it or not is not the point!) - JâamĂšne ma fille Ă lâĂ©cole.
Iâm taking my daughter to school.
(Sheâs a person and I am dropping her there)
More verbs for Bring & Take in French
Now, if you are super finicky, there are even more precise verbs that could be used:
- â(re)conduireâ if you are driving and not walking,
- â(r)accompagnerâ if you are just accompanying someone (for the pleasure of their company)âŠ
Someone once corrected my French when I said : âcâest moi qui amĂšne Leyla Ă lâĂ©cole le matinâ using âamenerâ (to take) instead of âconduireâ (to drive)âŠ
6 French Expressions With Amener, Emmener, Apporter, Emporter, Rapporter
- Remporter â to win a competition.
Il a remportĂ© la finale. He won the final match. - Rapporter â to bring something back, to return something.
Je dois rapporter le livre Ă la bibliothĂšque. I have to return the book at the library.
Iâm carrying this book, and then leaving it at the library. - La nourriture Ă emporter â take-out food
Il vend des pizzas Ă emporter. He sells take-out pizzas.
So, although English uses âtakeâ here, you are actually bringing this pizza home with you. The pizza stays with you. - Ramener â to take someone to their home/hotel, to give someone a ride home.
Tu veux que je te ramĂšne ? Would you like me to give you a ride home?
Itâs a person, and you are leaving them at their place. - Porter â to wear + clothing.
Je porte une jupe. I am wearing a skirt. - Tu tâamĂšnes ? â slang â Are you coming?
On se casse, tu tâamĂšnes ? Weâre leaving, are you coming with us? â More French slang expressions.
The French Verb Prendre
The irregular French verb âprendreâ is usually translated by âto takeâ, as in to take a train, to take something in your handâŠ
It can be a synonym of âapporterâ or âemporterâ.
Unfortunately, translating âprendreâ is not always easy since French and English donât always match and there are many expressions with that very common French verb.
- Je prends mon parapluie = jâemporte mon parapluie = Iâm taking my umbrella
- Jâai pris sa main dans ma main = I took her hand in my hand
- Je prends une decision = Iâm making a decision (! French and English donât use the same verb hereâŠ)
- Prendre son pied = idiom, a bit slang but very common. Literally âto take oneâs footâ. It means to have a blast.
Avoid An Embarrassing Mistake With Prendre
Watch out that in French âprendre quelquâunâ has a sexual meaning, just like it can have in English.
Unfortunately, itâs a mistake I hear too often. A student who wants to say âhe takes me homeâ may say âil me prend chez moiâ and this has a sexual meaning in French. You should say âil me ramĂšneâ.
I hope I made things a bit clearer â itâs not an easy lesson. I suggest you remember the examples and learn them by heart since remembering the reasoning may be more tedious than just learning by heart in this case :-)
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