I was under the impression that both amener and emmener mean "to take" someone somewhere. I'm not sure how they differ in usage.
I started wondering after hearing the song L'Homme Que J'Adore, where the singer says:
- L'homme de mes rêves m'amène sur une île
Or maybe it's really:
- L'homme de mes rêves m'emmène sur une île
And how do emporter and apporter fit into this?
« amener quelqu'un ou quelque chose quelque part » is « to take someone or something to somewhere » The emphasis is on the destination which is rarely omitted.
« emmener quelqu'un » is « to take someone with oneself ». The emphasis is on with oneself; the destination and the origin is often not mentioned and not important. The dictionary of the Academy says « Contrairement à Emporter, qui le plus souvent s'emploie avec des noms d'êtres inanimés, Emmener s'emploie uniquement avec des noms d'êtres animés. » (in bold, and hinting that the usage in fact doesn't agree with them :-))
I now respond to your 1. « L'homme de mes rêves m'amène sur une île. »
and 2. « L'homme de mes rêves m'emmène sur une île. » :
In 1, what is important is that she reaches the island. In 2, what is important is that she goes there with the man of her dreams. I can't listen to the song from here, but 2 is more probable.
Tu pourrais trouver cet article intéressant. Je vais rapporter les informations plus important ici:
The English verbs to bring and to take have four French equivalents: amener, emmener, apporter, and emporter. This causes all kinds of confusion, but it really is very simple once you understand the differences.
To bring
The French verbs apporter and amener are used to indicate that you are bringing someone/something with you to the place where you are.
Apporter can only be used with things you can carry, whereas amener has to be used with people, animals, and vehicles.
- J'ai amené mon frère à la fête. = I brought my brother to the party.
To take
Emporter and emmener are used to mean that you are taking someone/something to a different place than you are right now.
Emporter is for things you can carry, while emmener is for people, animals, or vehicles.
- J'ai emmené mon frère à la fête. = I took my brother to the party.
Summary
As the others said, it's a matter of reference according to whether you're considering the target or the destination:
Amène-moi ta sœur, je dois lui parler. (Bring your sister here, I need to talk to her: from there -> to here)
Emmène ta sœur au jardin zoologique. (Take your sister to the zoo: from here -> to there)
If that's easier for you to grasp, the same distinction exists with émigrer (emmigrate) and immigrer (immigrate): both deal the concept of changing country (migrer), but émigrer is leaving one country, and immigrer is entering the other. While you do both at the same time, your country of origin will say you emmigrate while your country of destination will say you immigrate.
Again, since it's a matter of reference, the difference is subtle and can show which part you want to emphasize:
L'homme de mes rêves m'amène sur une île
Puts the focus on the destination, so the island is what's important, while:
L'homme de mes rêves m'emmène sur une île
Puts the focus on sweeping you away from where you are now, and the fact that it's to an island doesn't really matter. Considering the island is explicitely specified, and the source is not, I would tend to think the first makes more sense; but that's not to say the second is incorrect.
As for the original song, quite honestly I can't make it out for sure whether Alisson Adams Tucker says one or the other. Sure, the subtitle lyrics say emmène but that's just what whoever put the subtitles thought.
Il y a quatre verbes : amener, apporter, emmener, emporter.
La différence entre Emporter et Apporter est la analogue à la différence, en anglais, entre Go to et Come from : il s’agit du point de vue. Si je suis chez moi et que je prends mon livre pour aller à l’université, je dis : « J’emporte le livre » ou « J’emmène le livre ». Si je suis à l'université, je dis : « J’ai apporté le livre » ou « J’ai amené le livre ». S’il y a une notion de restitution on peut dire « J’ai rapporté le livre que je vous ai emprunté ».
La différence entre Emporter et Emmener d'une part, et Apporter et amener d'autre part, est qu'on ne peut pas utiliser emporter ni apporter si ces verbes sont suivis par un objet animé, comme une personne.
Cet exemple est donc correct mis à part l'orthographe et la typographie :
– Tu as mon livre avec toi ?
– Non, je te l’amène demain.
The two verbs are very similar and can often be used in the same context:
"Emmener" means to take out of the current place and to another place.
"Amener" means to take from one place to another, or to lead to another place.
“Amener” is when you're talking about someone, or a pet, just like “emmener”. However, “amener” contains the idea of a destination, where as “emmener” contains the idea of a starting point.
So in your particular song, it would be appropriate to say “amène”, since you're going to the island.
Even though it's not a site dedicated to this kind of topic, you'll find more information on that page.
The verb “porter” means to carry, so it’s used with inanimate objects.
Je porte ma valise. I carry my suitcase.
J’emporte mon parapluie en voyage. I’m bringing my umbrella on my trip.
J’apporte une bouteille chez mon ami. I’m bringing a bottle to my friend’s house.
The verb “mener” means to lead, so it’s used with animate beings: people and animals.
Napoléon mène ses armées. Napoleon leads his armies.
J’emmène mon bébé au restaurant. I’m bringing my infant to the restaurant.
J’amène ma fille à l’école. I’m taking my daughter to school.
Adding these prefixes to the “base verbs” porter and mener, we get:
From porter: apporter, emporter, rapporter and remporter
From mener: amener, emmener, ramener and remmener
Prefix + porter is used with things and inanimate objects.
Ex: emporter: to bring things
Prefix + mener is used with people and animals.
Ex: amener – to bring a person
Once you have selected your correct “base verb”, the question to ask is whether you are accompanying, staying with the person, or keeping the thing with you, or if you are just dropping it/him/her, leaving it/him/her at destination.
Then, selecting the correct prefix will translate the notion of bring or take in French.
A-: you are going to leave the thing/person there. This is the idea behind “amener” and “apporter”.
Em-: you are staying with the thing/person. This is the idea behind “emmener” and “emporter”.
The prefixes ra- and rem- in French can mean any of:
– the repetition of an action
– the return to a point of departure
– the return of something to its normal place
This is an excerpt from a French Today post.
« Amener » se dit pour le fait de diriger le déplacement de quelque chose d'un point à un autre au cours d'une action qui n'est consacré qu'à ce but particulier; le préfixe « a- » a le sens d'« exprimer une idée de passage d'un état à un autre, ou de direction vers un lieu » (TLFi)
« Emmener » se dit pour le fait de faire prendre part à quelque chose ou à quelqu'un à un déplacement mais pas nécessairement d'un point à un autre ; l'idée dans ce verbe est que ce qui est emmené fait partie d'une ligne d'action mais n'est pas l'objet de l'action. Le sens du préfixe « en- », qui prend ici la forme spéciale « em- » en raison du m initial de la racine « mener », est défini comme étant celui d'« évoquer l'entrée dans un espace déterminé » (TLFi).
