apprennent

Apprennent is the third-person plural present indicative form of the French verb apprendre. Learn and teach are the core meanings of apprendre, and apprennent is used with ils or elles as the subject.

Origin and form: Apprendre comes from Old French aprendre, from Latin apprehendere “to seize, take hold of.” The spelling and pronunciation evolved over time, with the double p and the final -ent signaling the plural present tense in modern French.

Usage: In the present tense, the full conjugation is je apprends, tu apprends, il apprend, nous apprenons, vous apprenez, ils apprennent. Example: Ils apprennent le français. (They are learning French.) It can take à + infinitive to express learning to do something: Ils apprennent à nager. (They are learning how to swim.) When used in the sense “to teach someone something,” apprendre can take a direct object: Il leur apprend le calcul. (He teaches them algebra.) The passé composé uses être or avoir plus le participe passé appris: Ils ont appris. The present participle is apprenant.