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to take(irregular); (afferrare) to grasp, to grab, to seize; (in movimento) to catch(irregular); (raccogliere) to pick up; ~ qcn. per il braccio, per (la) mano to take sb. by the arm, hand; tieni, prendi! here! catch! ~ qcs. al volo to catch sth. in midair; il martello si prende per il manico you hold a hammer by the handle
(sorprendere) to catch(irregular); (catturare) to catch(irregular), to capture; mil. (conquistare) to take(irregular), to seize [città, fortezza]; l’hanno preso mentre rubava they caught him stealing; farsi ~ to be o get caught; prendetelo! stop him! farsi ~ dal panico to get o fly into a panic
(utilizzare) to take(irregular) [mezzo di trasporto, strada]; ha preso l’aereo per andare a Madrid he went to Madrid by air; sei riuscito a prendere il treno? did you manage to catch the train? prendi la prima a destra take the first turn on the right; ~ una curva (imboccare) to go around a bend
(portare) to bring(irregular); (portare via con sé) to take(irregular); (rubare) to take(irregular), to steal(irregular); non ho preso abbastanza soldi I haven’t brought enough money; prendi la sciarpa, fa freddo take your scarf, it’s cold; mi hanno preso tutti i gioielli I had all my jewellery stolen
(ritirare) to get(irregular); ~ un libro in biblioteca to get a book out of the library; ~ indietro to take back [regalo, articolo, merce]
(prelevare) andare a ~ i bambini a scuola to collect the children from school; è venuta a prendermi alla stazione she picked me up at the station; passare a ~ qcn., qcs. to call for o pick up sb., sth.
(consumare) to have(irregular) [bevanda, alimento, pasto];
to take(irregular) [medicina, droga]; non prendi qcs. (da bere, da mangiare)? won’t you have sth. to eat or drink? prenderò il pesce I’ll have the fish; prendere il tè senza zucchero not to put sugar in one’s tea; posso ~ un altro pasticcino? can I have another cake? andare a ~ un caffè, una birra to go for a coffee, beer
(scegliere) to take(irregular); ~ una (camera) doppia to take a double room; ~ una decisione to make o take a decision
(comprare) to get(irregular); prendi anche del prosciutto get some ham too; di solito prendiamo La Stampa we usually take La Stampa
(ricevere, ottenere) to get(irregular) [denaro, stipendio, premio, voto, diploma];
to take(irregular) [lezioni]; (far pagare) to charge; (assumere) to take(irregular) over [direzione, potere];
to assume [controllo]; (accumulare) to put(irregular) on [peso]; (captare) [televisore] to get(irregular) [canale]; prendo 1.000 euro al mese I get 1,000 euros a month; quanto prende all’ora? how much does he charge an hour? ~ una telefonata to take a telephone call; ~ ordini da qcn. to take orders from sb.
(subire) to get(irregular) [schiaffo, scossa, contravvenzione]; ~ qcn. a calci, a pugni to kick, to punch sb.
(accettare) to take(irregular); ~ le cose come vengono to take things as they come; prendere male qcs. to take sth. badly; ~ qcn. in simpatia, in antipatia to take a liking, disliking to sb.
(acquisire) to take(irregular) on [colore, significato];
to put(irregular) on [aria, espressione];
to pick up [accento, abitudine]; ~ cattive abitudini to get into bad habits; ~ da qcn. (assomigliare) to take after sb.
(colpire, raggiungere) to hit(irregular), to strike(irregular) [bersaglio]; (sbattere contro) to hit(irregular), to run(irregular) into, to go(irregular) into [albero, muro]; ho preso un colpo contro il banco I bumped into the desk
(occupare) to take(irregular) up [spazio, tempo]; quanto tempo ti prenderà la riunione? how long will you be in the meeting? costruire il muro non prenderà tanto tempo the wall won’t take long to build; ~ tempo (temporeggiare) to hold off, to stall, to play for time
(alle dipendenze) to take(irregular) [sb.] on [impiegato, assistente, apprendista];
to engage [avvocato, guida]; ~ qcn. come balia to take sb. on as a nanny; ~ qcn. come socio to take sb. into partnership
(coinvolgere) to involve; essere preso da un libro to be involved in a book; farsi ~ da to get involved in
(considerare) to take(irregular); prendiamo Luca, per esempio take Luca, for example; per chi mi prendi? what do you take me for? mi hai preso forse per la tua serva? I’m not your slave, you know! non prenderla come una critica don’t take it as a criticism; ~ qcn. per qualcun altro (confondere) to mistake sb. for sb. else
(trattare) è molto gentile se lo sai ~ he is very nice when you know how to handle him; lui sa come prenderla he knows how to manage her
(misurare) to take(irregular) [misure, pressione, polso]; farsi ~ le misure per to get oneself measured for
(annotare) to take(irregular) down [indirizzo, numero di targa]; ~ appunti to take notes
-rsi le dita nella porta to catch one’s fingers in the door
(assumersi) to take(irregular) on [impegno];
to take(irregular) [merito]; (concedersi) to take(irregular) [ferie]; -rsi a cuore qcn., qcs. to take sb., sth. to heart; -rsi cura di qcn. to take care of sb. to look after sb.; -rsi la libertà di fare qcs. to take the liberty of doing sth.; -rsi due giorni (di vacanza) colloq. to take two days off
(subire) to get(irregular) [schiaffo, sgridata]; -rsi l’influenza to get flu, to catch o come down with flu; -rsi uno spavento to have o get a fright
(con valore reciproco) -rsi per mano to join hands
prendersela (preoccuparsi) to get(irregular) worked up; (arrabbiarsi) to take(irregular) sth. amiss; prendersela con qcn. (incolpare) to go on at sb., to pick on sb.; (sfogarsi) to take it out on sb.
locuzioni idiomatiche ~ o lasciare take it or leave it.