French Phrase
Je prends la soupe.
Meaning
Literally ‘I take the soup’, but in everyday French it is used to say ‘I’ll have the soup’ or ‘I’m taking the soup’. It’s a common way to order or indicate you’re serving yourself the soup.
When to use
Use this sentence when you’re at a restaurant, café, or at home and you want to tell someone (or the server) that you are choosing the soup as your dish. It works both for ordering and for serving yourself.
✦Grammar Breakdown
Jeprendslasoupe
Subject pronoun – Je
The first‑person singular pronoun used before a verb; always written without an accent.
Verb – prendre (present)
‘Prendre’ means ‘to take, to have’. In the present tense, the 1st‑person singular form is ‘prends’ (stem ‘prend‑’ + –s).
Definite article – la
‘La’ is the feminine singular definite article, matching the gender of ‘soupe’.
Noun – soupe
A feminine noun meaning ‘soup’. In a restaurant context it usually refers to the house soup.
🗨In Conversation
Qu’est‑ce que tu veux comme entrée ?
What would you like for a starter?
Je prends la soupe.
I’ll have the soup.
✕Common Mistakes
Je prend la soupe.
Missing the ‘s’ for the 1st‑person singular present tense of ‘prendre’.
Je prends le soupe.
‘Soupe’ is feminine; the article must be ‘la’, not the masculine ‘le’.
Je prends la soupes.
The noun is singular here; use ‘la soupe’ unless you specifically mean multiple soups.
↔Alternatives
Je voudrais de la soupe.
I would like some soup.
Je vais prendre la soupe.
I’m going to take the soup.
Je prends une soupe.
I’m taking a soup.
Cultural Tip
In French meals, soup is traditionally served as a first course (entrée). When you say ‘Je prends la soupe’, you’re usually referring to the house soup that’s on the menu, not a specific type unless it’s been named. Also, French speakers often use ‘prendre’ for ordering food, so you’ll hear ‘Je prends…’ a lot in cafés and bistros.