{"id":7583,"date":"2014-10-30T19:55:00","date_gmt":"2014-10-30T19:55:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/italian\/?p=7583"},"modified":"2019-05-22T09:09:28","modified_gmt":"2019-05-22T07:09:28","slug":"prendere-to-take","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/italian\/prendere-to-take\/","title":{"rendered":"Prendere: To Take?"},"content":{"rendered":"

We all know that prendere<\/strong> means to take, as in prendiamo l\u2019autobus o andiamo a piedi?<\/strong> (shall we take the bus or walk?), or prendi questa borsa<\/strong> (take this bag). However prendere<\/strong> is one of those verbs that can be used in many different situations. Let\u2019s look at some of its most common uses:<\/p>\n

1.<\/strong> to catch, to capture, to seize someone or something:<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/u>ha preso la palla al volo<\/strong> = he caught the ball in mid-air
\nla polizia non \u00e8 riuscita a prendere il ladro<\/strong> = the police didn\u2019t manage to catch the robber
\ni gatti prendono i topi e poi ci giocano<\/strong> = cats catch mice and then play with them
\nla citt\u00e0 \u00e8 stata presa dopo un lungo assedio<\/strong> = the town was seized after a long siege<\/p>\n

2.<\/strong> to hit a target:<\/span><\/u><\/span>
\nla pallottola lo ha preso in pieno petto<\/strong> = the bullet hit him right in the chest
\nchi prende quella lattina al primo colpo vince<\/strong> = who hits that tin with the first shot wins
\nil calciatore ha preso il palo<\/strong> = the footballer hit the pole<\/p>\n

3.<\/strong> to collect, to pick up:
\n<\/span><\/u><\/span>vado a prendere i bambini a scuola<\/strong> = I\u2019m going to pick up the children from school
\nMario \u00e8 andato a prendere un pacco all\u2019ufficio postale<\/strong> = Mario has gone to the post office to collect a parcel<\/p>\n

4.<\/strong> to catch an illness, or to make oneself sick by doing something wrong (often used in the reflexive form):<\/span><\/u>
\n<\/span>ho preso il raffreddore\/mi sono preso il raffreddore<\/strong> = I caught a cold
\nieri sera Gianni ha preso una sbronza\/si \u00e8 preso una sbronza<\/strong> = yesterday evening Gianni got drunk<\/span><\/p>\n

5.<\/strong> to be exposed to the natural elements:<\/span><\/u><\/span>
\nquanta pioggia abbiamo preso, siamo completamente zuppi<\/strong> = we were rained on so much, we\u2019re completely soaked
\nMaria \u00e8 in terrazza a prendere il sole<\/strong> = Maria is on the terrazzo sunbathing
\nmentre guardavo la partita ho preso freddo<\/strong> = while I was watching the match I got cold<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
\"rain\"<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u201cquanta pioggia abbiamo preso, siamo completamente zuppi\u201d Photo (CC) by <\/em><\/strong><\/span>Zuerichs Strassen<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

6.<\/strong> to behave towards someone:<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/u>se lo prendi con le buone \u00e8 molto premuroso <\/strong>= if you are polite to him he can be very considerate
\nse non la smetti di dire bugie ti prendo a schiaffi<\/strong> = if you don\u2019t stop telling lies I\u2019ll slap you
\nsi sono presi a male parole<\/strong> = they exchanged insults (literally: they took each other at bad words)<\/em><\/p>\n

7.<\/strong> to take something on a temporary base:<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/u>quando andremo in Sicilia prenderemo a nolo una macchina<\/strong> = when we go to Sicily we\u2019ll hire a car (literally: we\u2019ll take a car on hire)
\n<\/em>ho preso in prestito un libro dalla biblioteca<\/strong> = I borrowed a book from the library (literally: I took a book on loan from the library) <\/em>Read more about the expression<\/em> prendere in prestito<\/strong> HERE<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/span>
\nGianni sta cercando un appartamento da prendere in affitto<\/strong> = Gianni is looking for an apartment to rent (literally: to take on rent)<\/em><\/p>\n

8.<\/strong> to mistake someone or something for someone\/something else:<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/u>scusa, ti avevo preso per tuo fratello<\/strong> = sorry, I mistook you for your brother
\nper chi mi hai preso?<\/strong> = who do you think I am? (literally: whom did you take me for?)<\/em><\/p>\n

Finally<\/strong>,<\/span> <\/span><\/u>here are some common idiomatic expressions which can be translated as \u201cto get the wrong end of the stick\u201d:<\/span><\/u>
\n<\/span>prendere lucciole per lanterne<\/strong> = literally: to take fire flies for lanterns
\nprendere un abbaglio<\/strong> = literally: to take a dazzle
\nprendere un granchio<\/strong> = literally: to take a crab
\nprendere fischi per fiaschi<\/strong> = literally: to take whistles for flasks. Another version of this expression is capire fischi per fiaschi<\/strong> = to understand whistles for flasks, because fischi <\/strong>(whistles) and fiaschi<\/strong> (flasks) sound very similar.<\/p>\n

If you have heard any other expression using the verb prendere<\/strong> whose meaning is not so obvious please let me know!<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

We all know that prendere means to take, as in prendiamo l\u2019autobus o andiamo a piedi? (shall we take the bus or walk?), or prendi questa borsa (take this bag). However prendere is one of those verbs that can be used in many different situations. Let\u2019s look at some of its most common uses: 1…<\/p>\n

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