Emporte

Emporte is the third person singular present indicative of the French verb emporter, meaning to carry away or to take away with oneself. It is a transitive verb and is used to describe physically taking something, as in il emporte le livre (he takes the book away). It can also be used figuratively, for example emporter la victoire (to win the victory) or être emporté par une émotion (to be carried away by an emotion).

Etymology and usage extend beyond the basic sense of carrying. Emporter derives from en- plus porter, with assimilation of the initial n to the following p, and ultimately from Latin portare, to carry. The expression à emporter is common in commerce and food service, indicating items that can be taken away rather than consumed on site.

Grammatical notes: emporter is a transitif verb. Its present tense forms are: j'emporte, tu emportes, il emporte, nous emportons, vous emportez, ils emportent. The past participle is emporté, used with the auxiliary être in compound tenses (il est emporté). The form j’emporte illustrates elision before a vowel.

See also: porter, emporté, remporter. Examples include Le joueur a emporté le match and Le colis est emporté par le vent. The phrase carried away by emotion, emporté par l’enthousiasme, shows a figurative usage common in French.