acheter Present Tense Conjugation in French

The present of acheter — buy — is the form you need for habits, facts and things happening now. acheter is the verb for shopping at the market: it comes up whenever you talk about buying a present or talking about what you bought. This page gives you the complete present table for acheter, how it is formed, when to use it, the mistakes learners make with it, and a quiz to check yourself. The first example shows it in action: “J'achète du pain.” — “I buy some bread.”

Present conjugation of acheter

Every form in the table below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for acheter. acheter is regular with a spelling change (grave-e) (irregular in the present), so watch out for the forms that break the pattern — they are the ones learners need to memorise.

Present — acheter

Person Form
je achète
tu achètes
il/elle achète
nous achetons
vous achetez
ils/elles achètent

The gerund of acheter is en achetant and the past participle is acheté. The participle matters here because the present is often confused with the other past tenses — keep them apart.

How the present of acheter is formed

The present of acheter is formed from its stem with the present endings. The six forms are achète, achètes, achète, achetons, achetez and achètent. Watch the spelling change (grave-e): the stem changes in some persons, exactly as the table shows. Copy them from the table above exactly as written — do not guess a form from the infinitive.

A note on spelling: the forms in the table are the verified forms. If a form carries an accent, the accent is part of the spelling — for example achète — so always write it exactly as shown.

The present is the tense to learn first for acheter: every other tense in the full table is built from patterns you meet here, and the present is the form you will use most often in conversation.

When to use the present of acheter

Habits and routines

Use the present for something you do regularly. For example: “J'achète du pain.” — “I buy some bread.”

Facts and general truths

Use the present for facts that are true in general. For example: “Il achète un livre.” — “He buys a book.”

Things happening now

Use the present for what is happening at this moment. For example: “Nous achetons des fleurs.” — “We buy some flowers.”

Near future plans

French often uses the present with a time word for a plan that is already fixed. For example: “J'achète une robe.” — “I buy a dress.”

Present vs passé composé: acheter finished, acheter in progress

The present and the passé composé are the two tenses learners confuse most with acheter. The present is for habits, facts and things happening now; the passé composé is for recent past actions and life experience; this is the everyday spoken past tense, the passé composé. Compare the pairs below — the present form comes from this page, the passé composé form from the full conjugation table.

  • Present: “J'achète du pain.” — “I buy some bread.”

  • Passé composé: “J'ai acheté du pain cette semaine.” — “I have bought some bread this week.”

  • Present: “Il achète un livre.” — “He buys a book.”

  • Passé composé: “Il a acheté un livre cette semaine.” — “He has bought a book this week.”

  • Present: “Nous achetons des fleurs.” — “We buy some flowers.”

  • Passé composé: “Nous avons acheté des fleurs cette semaine.” — “We have bought some flowers this week.”

Example sentences: acheter in the present

Six sentences using only the present of acheter, with English translations. Read them aloud — saying the forms is the fastest way to fix them in memory.

  • “J'achète du pain.” — “I buy some bread.”
  • “Tu achètes un livre.” — “You buy a book.”
  • “Il achète des fleurs.” — “He buys some flowers.”
  • “Nous achetons une robe.” — “We buy a dress.”
  • “Vous achetez du pain.” — “You buy some bread.”
  • “Ils achètent un livre.” — “They buy a book.”

Common mistakes in the present of acheter

1. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Je achetons du pain.”

✓ Right: “Je achète du pain.”

achetons is the nous form. With je the present form is achète.

2. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Je acheter un livre.”

✓ Right: “Je achète un livre.”

The infinitive acheter never takes a subject. After je you need achète.

3. Using the passé composé for a habit

✗ Wrong: “Tous les jours, j'ai acheté des fleurs.”

✓ Right: “Tous les jours, je achète des fleurs.”

A habit needs the present achète, not the passé composé.

4. Using the present where the imperfect belongs

✗ Wrong: “Avant, je achète une robe tous les jours.” (said of a repeated habit)

✓ Right: “Avant, je achetais une robe tous les jours.”

For something you did regularly in the past, use the imperfect achetais.

5. Mixing up tu and je

✗ Wrong: “Tu achète du pain.”

✓ Right: “Tu achètes du pain.”

With tu the present form is achètes, not achète. Copy the form for the right person from the table.

Quiz: test yourself on the present of acheter

Ten questions on acheter. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.

  1. What is the je form of acheter in the Present indicative?

    • A) achetez
    • B) achètent
    • C) achètes
    • D) achète

  2. What is the tu form of acheter in the Present indicative?

    • A) achètes
    • B) achetons
    • C) achète
    • D) achètent

  3. What is the il/elle form of acheter in the Present indicative?

    • A) achètent
    • B) achetez
    • C) achètes
    • D) achète

  4. What is the nous form of acheter in the Present indicative?

    • A) achetons
    • B) achetez
    • C) achètent
    • D) achète

  5. What is the vous form of acheter in the Present indicative?

    • A) achète
    • B) achètes
    • C) achetons
    • D) achetez

  6. What is the ils/elles form of acheter in the Present indicative?

    • A) achètent
    • B) achetons
    • C) achète
    • D) achètes

  7. What is the je form of acheter in the Present perfect?

    • A) avons acheté
    • B) ont acheté
    • C) ai acheté
    • D) as acheté

  8. What is the gerund of acheter?

    • A) buvant
    • B) achetant
    • C) dormant

  9. What is the past participle of acheter?

    • A) acheté
    • B) bu
    • C) dormi

  10. What does acheter mean in English?

  • A) sleep
  • B) open
  • C) buy
  • D) drink

Answer key

  1. D) achète — The je form of acheter in the present indicative is achète.
  2. A) achètes — The tu form of acheter in the present indicative is achètes.
  3. D) achète — The il/elle form of acheter in the present indicative is achète.
  4. A) achetons — The nous form of acheter in the present indicative is achetons.
  5. D) achetez — The vous form of acheter in the present indicative is achetez.
  6. A) achètent — The ils/elles form of acheter in the present indicative is achètent.
  7. C) ai acheté — The je form of acheter in the present perfect is ai acheté.
  8. B) achetant — The gerund of acheter is en achetant; it is used after en for actions in progress.
  9. A) acheté — The past participle of acheter is acheté; perfect tenses use avoir + acheté.
  10. C) buy — acheter means “buy” in English.

Frequently asked questions

When do I use the present of acheter?

Use it for habits, facts and things happening now. For acheter that covers shopping at the market, buying a present and talking about what you bought.

Is the present of acheter regular?

acheter is regular with a spelling change (grave-e). In the present it is irregular — copy the forms from the table on this page.

What is the past participle of acheter?

The past participle is acheté. You need it for the passé composé, which uses avoir + acheté.

How do I say “I buy” in the present?

Say “J'achète du pain.” — “I buy some bread.” The je form is achète.

Pronunciation

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for acheter, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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