Emporter Conjugation in French: Complete Charts, Tenses, and Guide

Mastering emporter conjugation in French is a major milestone for French language learners. While emporter is a regular first-group (-er) verb, its usage frequently creates confusion when compared to related verbs such as apporter, amener, and emmener.

In this complete guide, you will find step-by-step conjugation charts across all standard tenses, essential grammar notes, pronunciation tips, and common expressions used by native speakers.

Meaning and Grammatical Profile

  • Infinitive: emporter
  • Meaning: to take away, to carry off, to take with oneself (inanimate objects)
  • Group: 1st group (-er regular verb)
  • Auxiliary: avoir (uses être in pronominal form s'emporter)
  • Past participle: emporté
  • Present participle: emportant

    • Complete Conjugation Tables

    Present Indicative (Présent)

The present tense is used for habitual actions and events happening right now.

Subject Pronoun Conjugation English Equivalent
:--- :--- :---
J' emporte I take / I am taking
Tu emportes You take (informal)
Il / Elle / On emporte He / She / One takes
Nous emportons We take
Vous emportez You take (formal/plural)
Ils / Elles emportent They take

Note: The endings -e, -es, and -ent are completely silent. Only the stem /ɑ̃pɔʁt/ is pronounced.

Compound Past (Passé Composé)

Used for completed actions in the past. It pairs the present tense of avoir with the past participle emporté.

Subject Pronoun Conjugation English Equivalent
:--- :--- :---
J' ai emporté I took / I have taken
Tu as emporté You took
Il / Elle / On a emporté He / She took
Nous avons emporté We took
Vous avez emporté You took
Ils / Elles ont emporté They took

Example: J'ai emporté mon parapluie au cas où. (I took my umbrella just in case.)

Imperfect (Imparfait)

Used for continuous past actions, descriptions, and past habits.

Simple Future (Futur Simple)

Subject Pronoun Conjugation English Equivalent
:--- :--- :---
J' emportais I used to take / was taking
Tu emportais You used to take
Il / Elle / On emportait He was taking
Nous emportions We used to take
Vous emportiez You were taking
Ils / Elles emportaient They were taking

Used for future plans and promises.

Present Conditional (Conditionnel Présent)

Subject Pronoun Conjugation English Equivalent
:--- :--- :---
J' emporterai I will take
Tu emporteras You will take
Il / Elle / On emportera He / She will take
Nous emporterons We will take
Vous emporterez You will take
Ils / Elles emporteront They will take

Used for polite requests or hypothetical statements.

Present Subjunctive (Subjonctif Présent)

Subject Pronoun Conjugation English Equivalent
:--- :--- :---
J' emporterais I would take
Tu emporterais You would take
Il / Elle / On emporterait He / She would take
Nous emporterions We would take
Vous emporteriez You would take
Ils / Elles emporteraient They would take

Required after verbs expressing emotion, desire, necessity, or doubt.

  • Que j'emporte
  • Que tu emportes
  • Qu'il/elle/on emporte
  • Que nous emportions
  • Que vous emportiez
  • Qu'ils/elles emportent

Example: Il faut que vous emportiez ces documents. (You must take these documents with you.)

Imperative (Impératif)

Commands and suggestions omit subject pronouns. Notice no final -s for tu:

  • Emporte ! (Take! - informal)
  • Emportons ! (Let's take!)
  • Emportez ! (Take! - formal/plural)

    • Emporter vs. Apporter vs. Emmener vs. Amener

A classic trap for English speakers is choosing the wrong verb:

Idiomatic Uses

Verb Focus Object Type
:--- :--- :---
Emporter Taking something away from the current spot Inanimate objects only
Apporter Bringing something to the destination Inanimate objects only
Emmener Taking someone along away from a place People / pets
Amener Bringing someone to a destination People / pets

1. À emporter : "Takeout / To go". When ordering food: Sur place ou à emporter ? (For here or to go?)

2. L'emporter sur : "To win against" or "to prevail over". (L'équipe locale l'a emporté sur son rival.)

3. S'emporter : "To lose one's temper". (Ne t'emporte pas pour si peu ! - Don't lose your temper over such a small thing!)