Prendre and apporter can both refer to transport, but they do not emphasize the same thing. With one, the focus is on the action of taking something with oneself. With the other, the focus is on bringing something to a person or a place. So one can say I take my coat to talk about the object one takes along, and I bring my coat to your place to talk about the movement toward the intended destination. When it concerns a person, prendre can also mean accompanying or taking them along.

The choice depends on the point of reference. Prendre starts from the place or person who already has the object and makes it leave. Apporter starts from the person who transports it and makes the object arrive at the point of reference. One says I take the file from the office if the file leaves the office with me. One says I bring the file to the office if the file arrives at the office through my intervention. The same object can therefore take two different verbs depending on the direction of the movement.

Point of view of the movement

Idea
We use prendre when the thing or person moves away from the place of departure.
We use apporter when the thing or person arrives toward the place of reference.

With a personal object, compare the place of departure and the place of arrival. Take your bag is appropriate if the person must pick it up in order to leave with it. Bring your bag is appropriate if they must bring it to the person speaking or to another specific place. In take your bag and come, the bag accompanies the person who is moving. In bring your bag to the kitchen, the bag must end up in the kitchen. The verb changes as soon as the point of arrival changes.

Choice according to the point of departure

Usage	Explanation
Object that leaves with the person who moves	We choose prendre when the object accompanies someone who leaves the place where we are.
Object that comes toward the speaker	We choose apporter when the object is brought toward the person speaking or toward the place of arrival.

For a person, prendre is commonly used to say that one takes them somewhere. One says I pick up the children at school or he took his sister to the doctor. Apporter is not normally used for a person in this sense. In informal language, one may hear he brought us to the train station in playful or regional expressions, but standard usage prefers to take, to drive or prendre. For a person, prendre therefore remains the usual verb when it involves transporting or accompanying them.

Transporting a person

Usage	Explanation
Taking a person along	We use prendre to say that we accompany or take someone from one place to another.
Apporter with a person	We use apporter with a person only in a familiar or affectionate style.

Prendre also has very common meanings that have nothing to do with transport to a place. It can mean grasping something, as in to take a pen. It can mean consuming, as in to have a coffee, or using, as in to take a shower. It is also used to mean borrowing or choosing, as in to take a book from the library and to take the 8 a.m. train. This verb is therefore very broad, and the context shows which meaning should be understood.

recevoircommencerconsommersupporterutilisersaisiremprunteradopterréserverattraper

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Choisir une attitude ou une manière d’agirChoisir à l’avance une place, un billet ou un serviceEmployer quelque chose pour une action préciseBoire ou manger quelque choseAccepter une situation ou une remarque sans trop réagirAttraper avec la main ou un autre moyen de priseSe mettre à faire quelque chose dans un contexte précisRecevoir quelque chose pour un temps limité avec l’idée de le rendreObtenir quelque chose qui vous est donné ou proposéMettre la main sur une chose qui se déplace ou qu’on cherche

Other common meanings of prendre

Word	Definition
saisir	Catch with the hand or another means of grasping.
consommer	Drink or eat something.
utiliser	Employ something for a specific action.
emprunter	Receive something for a limited time with the intention of returning it.
attraper	Get hold of something that is moving or that one is looking for.
recevoir	Obtain something that is given or offered to you.
supporter	Accept a situation or a remark without reacting too much.
commencer	Start to do something in a specific context.
adopter	Choose an attitude or a way of acting.
réserver	Choose in advance a seat, a ticket, or a service.

Scramble

Apporter puts the object and its arrival at the intended point in the foreground. One says I bring cakes to the birthday party because the cakes go all the way to the party. One says she brought the keys to the neighbor because the keys arrive at the neighbor’s place. The verb is very often used with a complement introduced by to or with a specific place. It is appropriate when the main idea is to get something to someone, a table, an office or a given place.

Meaning and effect of apporter

Usage	Explanation
Object brought to a place	We use apporter to emphasize that the object arrives with a recipient or at a specific place.
Service provided to someone	We use apporter when we want to emphasize that we provide something to a person.
Result or advantage	We can also use apporter to show that an action produces a useful effect.

In some informal or regional usages, apporter may appear where one would expect another verb of movement. In Canada, one often hears to bring someone by car to mean driving them somewhere. In standard French usage, to take or to drive is generally preferred for a person. With objects, normal usage remains the same everywhere: apporter is used to bring something toward a place or toward someone. Broader uses are understood thanks to the context, but they do not replace standard usage.