Lesson 176: Understanding Verbs -- prendere

The verb, prendere, is a regular verb in the present tense but has an irregular past participle (preso), taking avere in compound tenses. Prendere is also irregular in the passato remoto:


The verb has the following meanings in English, of which I highlighted the most important ones that you're likely to encounter (see the post on the differences between prendere and portare):

1. to take, in the sense of picking something up, taking something
   
   Hai preso il mio portafoglio? Non posso trovarlo!
   Did you take my wallet? I can't find it!
   
   
2. to catch, something moving or in motion
   
   Ho preso al volo il vaso prima che abbia colpito il pavimento.
   I caught the vase in mid-air before it hit the floor.
   
   
3. to take, a form of transportation
   
   Abbiamo preso il treno a Milano.
   We took the train to Milan.
   
   
4. to take, a particular street
   
   No, no! Ti ho detto...devi prendere la prima strada a sinistra, non a destra!
   No, no! I told you, you have to take the first street on the left, not the right!
   
   
5. to take, one's medicine or drugs
   
   Mamma deve prendere la sua medicina ogni sera prima di andare a letto.
   Mom has to take her medicine every evening before going to bed.
   
   Giovanni ha smesso di lavora da quando ha cominciato a prendere droghe.
   Giovanni has stopped working since he started to take drugs.
   
   
6. to get, in the sense of purchasing something
   
   Mio padre prende sempre L'Espresso perché adora gli articoli.
   My father always gets L'Espresso because he adores the articles.
   
   
7. to get, to catch, in the medical sense, such as catching a cold, virus, illness
   
   
8. to have, to eat, usually in a bar, restaurant or caffe
   
   Quando il cameriere arriva, digli che prenderò un'insalata.
   When the waiter arrives, tell him that I'll have a salad.
   
   Prendiamo un caffè con Luigi! Non l'ho visto per un settimana.
   Let's have coffee with Luigi. I haven't seen him for a week.
   

Here are some useful expressions with prendere -- if you know of one that I've missed and think it is worth adding, leave a comment or email it to me:

• farsi prendere to get caught
• prendere una decisione to make a decision
• prendere posto to take one's seat
• prendere alla lettera to take literally
  
• prendere in giro to tease/make fun of, to make a fool out of, to take for a "ride"
  
  Abbiamo preso in giro Emilio dopo che ha pianto al cinema.
  We teased Emilio after he cried at the movies.
  
  
• prendere in affitto to rent
  
• prendere una telefonata to take a phone call
• prendere da + qualcuno to take after someone
  
  Maddai, prendi da tuo padre! Sei sempre maleducato con gli sconosciuti!
  Jesus, you take after your father! You are always so rude with strangers.
  
  
• prendere a fare to start doing
• prendere in prestito to borrow
  
• prendere tempo to stall (for time)
• farsi prendere da to get involved in
• prendere qualcuno per qualcun altro to mistake someone for somebody else
  
  Ho preso uno sconosciuto per il mio amico, Roberto.
  I mistook a stranger for my friend, Roberto.
  
  
• prendere il polso to take one's pulse
  
  L'infermiera mi ha preso il polso.
  The nurse took my pulse.