How to Conjugate the French "Amener" (to Bring, Take)

When learning French, you will often need to use the verb amener which means "to take" or "to bring." This is used in the context of "take the dog to the park" or something similar. This is a relatively easy French lesson to follow and good practice for conjugating a stem-changing verb.

How to Conjugate the French Verb Amener

To conjugate a verb means to adapt it to match the subject pronoun you are speaking about. We do the same thing in English, though the conjugations are often simple such as using "takes" instead of "take."

Each verb form for amener is slightly different depending on subject. Pronouns like I, you, he, or we each have their own translation in French -- j', tu, il, nous, etc.

It's also important to know that amener is a stem-changing verb. This means that conjugating the verb uses the same endings as regular -er verbs. That makes this a very easy conjugation.

Study this chart to learn how to conjugate this verb in French. It tells you which form to use with each subject and in each tense. For example, to say "I bring," you will say "j'amène." To say "we will bring," you will say "nous amènerez."

Subject	Present	Future	Imperfect
j'	amène	amènerai	amenais
tu	amènes	amèneras	amenais
il	amène	amènera	amenait
nous	amenons	amènerons	amenions
vous	amenez	amènerez	ameniez
ils	amènent	amèneront	amenaient

Amener and the Present Participle

The present participle of amener is amenant. The -ant ending is similar to the -ing we use in English, which makes the verb mean "bringing" or "taking." This verb form is quite resourceful as it can also be an adjective, gerund, or even a noun in the right context.

Amener in the Past Tense

Passé composé is the most common form of past tense in the French language. When you want to say that you brought or took something, you will need to add the appropriate auxiliary verb. In the case of amener, that is avoir.

We're not quite done, though, because you will also need the past participle of the verb to complete the phrase. For amener, that is simply amené. That is used no matter the subject pronoun.

Now that we know all the pieces for the past tense, let's put it to use. To say "I brought" in French, you will say "j'ai amené." In this case, ai is the conjugate for that "helping" or auxiliary verb, avoir.

More Conjugations of Amener

Those are the simple conjugations of amener and ones that you will use quite often. There are other forms of this verb that you may or may not need, but it's good to be aware of them.

The subjunctive refers to a verb mood expressing that something is uncertain. The conditional is another verb mood that is used when the action might happen under certain conditions.

The passé simple and imperfect subjunctive forms are used in formal writing. Unless you're learning how to write properly in French, it's not likely that you will use them.

Subject	Subjunctive	Conditional	Passé Simple	Imperfect Subjunctive
j'	amène	amènerais	amenai	amenasse
tu	amènes	amènerais	amenas	amenasses
il	amène	amènerait	amena	amenât
nous	amenions	amènerions	amenâmes	amenassions
vous	ameniez	amèneriez	amenâtes	amenassiez
ils	amènent	amèneraient	amenèrent	amenassent

Here's where things can get a bit confusing when conjugating French verbs. The imperative form is another verb mood used to request, give, or make a request.

The primary difference here is that you will not use the subject pronoun. Instead, you simply use the imperative verb form. For example, instead of saying "tu amène" you can simply say "amène."

	Imperative
(tu)	amène
(nous)	amenons
(vous)	amenez

Other Verbs Meaning "To Take"

In English, we use the word "take" in many contexts. There is no single "to take" word in French. As with many languages, French uses a few verbs to indicate the different meanings of "to take." 

Where amener is more like "to bring," accepter means "to accept." The verb for actually "taking" something is prendre. It's a good idea to study all of these at once so you know when to use each.