How to Conjugate "Emmener" (to Take)

Similar to the verb, amener (to take or bring), emmener also means "to take" in French. This may be a simple verb, but conjugating it to the past, present, or future tense can be a little complicated. There are a few things to watch out for, which we'll examine in a short French lesson.

Conjugating the French Verb Emmener

When a verb ends with -e_er like emmener, the spelling needs to be changed for some of the conjugations. These are called stem-changing verbs and in many cases, the second 'E' changes to an accented è. While this may not make much difference in the pronunciation, it certainly does when you're writing it.

If you pay attention to that small detail, the rest of the conjugations are easy. The infinitive endings that are attached to the verb stem are similar to those found in regular -er verbs, which make up the majority in the French language. If you have a few of those memorized, simply apply those endings to emmener.

To conjugate emmener to mean "taking," "will take," or "took," match the subject pronoun to the appropriate tense. For instance, "I am taking" is "j'emmène" while "we will take" is "nous emmènerons." Practicing each of these in sample sentences will help you memorize them.

Subject	Present	Future	Imperfect
j'	emmène	emmènerai	emmenais
tu	emmènes	emmèneras	emmenais
il	emmène	emmènera	emmenait
nous	emmenons	emmènerons	emmenions
vous	emmenez	emmènerez	emmeniez
ils	emmènent	emmèneront	emmenaient

The Present Participle of Emmener

For emmener, the present participle is emmenant. There is no change to the verb stem, instead we simply add the ending -ant. Not only is this a verb, it may be used as an adjective, gerund, or noun as well.

The Past Participle and Passé Composé

The past tense can be formed using either the imperfect or the passé composé. To construct the latter, conjugate the auxiliary verb avoir, then attach the past participle emmené. As an example, "I took" is "j'ai emmené" and "we took" is "nous avons emmené."

More Simple Emmener Conjugations

There are a few more common conjugations of emmener that you may need to know. However, those discussed above should be a priority in your studies.

When the verb's action is not guaranteed, you might use the subjunctive verb mood. Similarly, the conditional verb mood is used when something else needs to occur in order for the "taking" to happen. In formal writing, you might also encounter the passé simple or the imperfect subjunctive.

Subject	Subjunctive	Conditional	Passé Simple	Imperfect Subjunctive
j'	emmène	emmènerais	emmenai	emmenasse
tu	emmènes	emmènerais	emmenas	emmenasses
il	emmène	emmènerait	emmena	emmenât
nous	emmenions	emmènerions	emmenâmes	emmenassions
vous	emmeniez	emmèneriez	emmenâtes	emmenassiez
ils	emmènent	emmèneraient	emmenèrent	emmenassent

The imperative verb form is used for requests and demands. When using it, keep things short and sweet and drop the subject pronoun: use "emmène" rather than "tu emmène."

	Imperative
(tu)	emmène
(nous)	emmenons
(vous)	emmenez