Dialogue
Prêter or emprunter: lend a book, borrow it, give it back
Follow one dictionary from Nora to Samir and back. Practise a French borrowing dialogue, compare prêter and emprunter, then check who has the book.
- A2
- 11 lines
- Practice mode
- Learn this in the A2 notebook →
In short
Prêter means lend; emprunter means borrow. Nora lends her dictionary to Samir: Nora prête son dictionnaire à Samir. From the other side: Samir emprunte le dictionnaire à Nora.
Yellow the idea to rememberBlue French to learn
What could you borrow?
Find:
What is the difference between prêter and emprunter?
Read both parts, then use practice mode to say Samir’s lines from the English cues. Nora owns the dictionary; Samir needs it until Friday.
- Samir
Nora, tu peux me prêter ton dictionnaire ?
Ask Nora to lend you her dictionary.
English
Nora, can you lend me your dictionary?
- Nora
Oui. Tu en as besoin pour ton cours ?
English
Yes. Do you need it for your class?
- Samir
Oui. Je peux te l’emprunter jusqu’à vendredi ?
Ask to borrow it until Friday.
English
Yes. Can I borrow it from you until Friday?
- Nora
Bien sûr. Mais j’en ai besoin samedi matin.
English
Of course. But I need it on Saturday morning.
- Samir
D’accord. Je te le rends vendredi après le cours.
Agree to return it after class on Friday.
English
All right. I’ll give it back to you on Friday after class.
- Nora
Parfait. Tiens, le voilà.
English
Perfect. Here you are.
- Samir
Merci ! Je vais en prendre soin.
Thank her and say you’ll take care of it.
English
Thanks! I’ll take care of it.
- Nora
Avec plaisir.
English
You’re welcome.
- Samir
Voilà ton dictionnaire. Merci de me l’avoir prêté.
On Friday, return the dictionary and thank her.
English
Here’s your dictionary. Thanks for lending it to me.
- Nora
Tu as trouvé les mots que tu cherchais ?
English
Did you find the words you were looking for?
- Samir
Oui, il m’a bien aidé.
Say yes and that it really helped you.
English
Yes, it really helped me.
| Subject | French | Direction |
|---|---|---|
| Nora, the lender | Nora prête un dictionnaire à Samir. | Nora → Samir |
| Samir, the borrower | Samir emprunte un dictionnaire à Nora. | Nora → Samir |
| Samir, returning it | Samir rend le dictionnaire à Nora. | Samir → Nora |
French uses à for the person in both prêter quelque chose à quelqu’un and emprunter quelque chose à quelqu’un. English changes from “to” to “from”. The subject and verb tell you the direction.
Nous empruntons ce chemin pour aller au village.
We take this path to get to the village.
Emprunter also means taking a route. With a path as its object, it describes the route you use.