Acheter Conjugation in French

acheter means “buy” in English, and it is a verb French learners meet early — it sits in VerbFlow’s frequency list for French. You use it for shopping at the market, for buying a present, and for talking about what you bought. Because it comes up in everyday conversation so often, learning its forms properly pays off from the very first week. This page gives you the complete conjugation of acheter — every tense, every person, the gerund and the past participle — with notes, examples, common mistakes and a quiz. Here is the verb in a natural sentence: “J'achète du pain.” — “I buy some bread.”

Quick facts

  • Infinitive: acheter
  • English: buy
  • Verb type: Regular with a spelling change (grave-e)
  • Irregular in: present, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative
  • Gerund: en achetant
  • Past participle: acheté
  • Auxiliary: avoir (all perfect tenses are formed with avoir + the past participle)

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.

Full conjugation tables

Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for acheter. Learn the present tense first, then the passé composé and the imperfect, and add the remaining tenses one at a time.

Present indicative

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

Passé simple

Person Form
je achetai
tu achetas
il/elle acheta
nous achetâmes
vous achetâtes
ils/elles achetèrent

Imperfect

Person Form
je achetais
tu achetais
il/elle achetait
nous achetions
vous achetiez
ils/elles achetaient

Future

Person Form
je achèterai
tu achèteras
il/elle achètera
nous achèterons
vous achèterez
ils/elles achèteront

Conditional

Person Form
je achèterais
tu achèterais
il/elle achèterait
nous achèterions
vous achèteriez
ils/elles achèteraient

Present subjunctive

Person Form
je achète
tu achètes
il/elle achète
nous achetions
vous achetiez
ils/elles achètent

Imperfect subjunctive

Person Form
je achetasse
tu achetasses
il/elle achetât
nous achetassions
vous achetassiez
ils/elles achetassent

Present perfect

Person Form
je ai acheté
tu as acheté
il/elle a acheté
nous avons acheté
vous avez acheté
ils/elles ont acheté

Pluperfect (past perfect)

Person Form
je avais acheté
tu avais acheté
il/elle avait acheté
nous avions acheté
vous aviez acheté
ils/elles avaient acheté

Future perfect

Person Form
je aurai acheté
tu auras acheté
il/elle aura acheté
nous aurons acheté
vous aurez acheté
ils/elles auront acheté

Conditional perfect

Person Form
je aurais acheté
tu aurais acheté
il/elle aurait acheté
nous aurions acheté
vous auriez acheté
ils/elles auraient acheté

Imperative (affirmative)

Person Form
tu achète
nous achetons
vous achetez

Imperative (negative)

Person Form
tu achète
nous achetons
vous achetez

Gerund and past participle

Form French
Gerund en achetant
Past participle acheté

When to use each tense

Present indicative

The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. With acheter this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “J'achète un livre.” — “I buy a book.”

Passé simple

The passé simple is used for completed actions in the past, mainly in written and literary French. For example: “J'achetai un livre hier.” — “I bought a book yesterday.”

Imperfect

The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and background description. For example: “J'achetais un livre avant.” — “I used to buy a book before.”

Future

The future is used for what will happen, predictions and plans. For example: “J'achèterai un livre demain.” — “I will buy a book tomorrow.”

Conditional

The conditional is used for what would happen, polite requests and hypothetical situations. For example: “J'achèterais un livre un jour.” — “I would buy a book one day.”

Present subjunctive

The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after que. With acheter this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Bien que j'achète un livre” — “Although I buy a book.”

Imperfect subjunctive

The imperfect subjunctive is used for the past subjunctive: wishes and hypotheticals about the past, in formal and literary French. For example: “Bien que j'achetasse un livre” — “Although I buy a book.”

Present perfect

The present perfect is used for recent past actions and life experience; this is the everyday spoken past tense, the passé composé. For example: “J'ai acheté un livre cette semaine.” — “I have bought a book this week.”

Pluperfect (past perfect)

The pluperfect (past perfect) is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “J'avais acheté un livre avant la fête.” — “I had bought a book before the party.”

Future perfect

The future perfect is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “J'aurai acheté un livre pour demain.” — “I will have bought a book by tomorrow.”

Conditional perfect

The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “J'aurais acheté un livre hier.” — “I would have bought a book yesterday.”

Imperative (affirmative)

The imperative (affirmative) is used for direct commands and instructions. With acheter this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “achète un livre !” — “Buy a book!”

Imperative (negative)

The imperative (negative) is used for prohibitions and negative commands. With acheter this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Ne achète pas un livre !” — “Don't buy a book!”

Gerund and past participle

The gerund en achetant is used after en for an action in progress, and the past participle acheté builds the perfect tenses with avoir. For example: “J'ai acheté des fleurs cette semaine.” — “I have bought some flowers this week.”

Example sentences

Ten natural sentences with acheter, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the French and try to produce it from the English.

  1. “J'achète du pain.” — “I buy some bread.”
  2. “Tu achetas un livre hier.” — “You bought a book yesterday.”
  3. “Il achetait des fleurs avant.” — “He used to buy some flowers before.”
  4. “J'achèterai une robe demain.” — “I will buy a dress tomorrow.”
  5. “Tu achèterais du pain un jour.” — “You would buy some bread one day.”
  6. “Il a acheté un livre cette semaine.” — “He has bought a book this week.”
  7. “J'avais acheté des fleurs avant la fête.” — “I had bought some flowers before the party.”
  8. “Tu auras acheté une robe pour demain.” — “You will have bought a dress by tomorrow.”
  9. “Bien que il achète du pain” — “Although he buys some bread.”
  10. “achète un livre !” — “Buy a book!”

Common mistakes

1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Je acheter du pain.”

✓ Right: “Je achète du pain.”

The infinitive acheter never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated present form achète.

2. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Je achetons un livre.”

✓ Right: “Je achète un livre.”

achetons is the nous form. With je the present form is achète — check the person in the table before you speak.

3. Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Hier, je achète du pain.”

✓ Right: “Hier, j'ai acheté du pain.”

The present achète describes now. For something finished yesterday, use the passé composé ai acheté.

4. Using the passé simple in everyday speech

✗ Wrong: “Hier, je achetai des fleurs.” (in casual conversation)

✓ Right: “Hier, j'ai acheté des fleurs.”

The passé simple achetai belongs in novels and formal writing. In everyday speech, say the passé composé ai acheté.

5. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger

✗ Wrong: “Bien que je achète du pain.”

✓ Right: “Bien que je achète du pain.”

After bien que French needs the subjunctive, so use achète here, not the indicative achète.

6. Using the imperfect for a single finished action

✗ Wrong: “Je achetais une robe avant.” (said of one finished moment)

✓ Right: “J'ai acheté une robe avant.”

The imperfect achetais describes something ongoing or repeated in the past. For one finished action, use the passé composé ai acheté.

Quiz: test yourself

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

  2. What is the il/elle form of acheter in the Passé simple?

    • A) achetas
    • B) acheta
    • C) achetai
    • D) achetâmes

  3. What is the nous form of acheter in the Imperfect?

    • A) achetais
    • B) achetions
    • C) achetait
    • D) achetiez

  4. What is the tu form of acheter in the Future?

    • A) achèterai
    • B) achèteras
    • C) achètera
    • D) achèterons

  5. What is the je form of acheter in the Conditional?

    • A) achèterions
    • B) achèteraient
    • C) achèteriez
    • D) achèterais

  6. What is the il/elle form of acheter in the Present subjunctive?

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

  7. What is the je form of acheter in the Imperfect subjunctive?

    • A) achetassiez
    • B) achetassent
    • C) achetasse
    • D) achetât

  8. What is the gerund of acheter?

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

  9. What is the past participle of acheter?

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

  10. What does acheter mean in English?

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

Answer key

  1. C) achète — The je form of acheter in the present indicative is achète.
  2. B) acheta — The il/elle form of acheter in the passé simple is acheta.
  3. B) achetions — The nous form of acheter in the imperfect is achetions.
  4. B) achèteras — The tu form of acheter in the future is achèteras.
  5. D) achèterais — The je form of acheter in the conditional is achèterais.
  6. B) achète — The il/elle form of acheter in the present subjunctive is achète.
  7. C) achetasse — The je form of acheter in the imperfect subjunctive is achetasse.
  8. A) achetant — The gerund of acheter is en achetant; it is used after en for actions in progress.
  9. C) acheté — The past participle of acheter is acheté; perfect tenses use avoir + acheté.
  10. D) buy — acheter means “buy” in English.

Frequently asked questions

What does acheter mean in English?

acheter means “buy”. You use it for shopping at the market, for buying a present, and for talking about what you bought. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.

Is acheter regular or irregular?

acheter is regular with a spelling change (grave-e), and it is irregular in these tenses: present, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative. The gerund is en achetant and the past participle is acheté.

What are the gerund and past participle of acheter?

The gerund is en achetant — use it after en for actions in progress. The past participle is acheté — use it with avoir for the perfect tenses, as in ai acheté.

How do I say “I buy” in French?

Say “J'achète du pain.” — “I buy some bread.” The je form of the present is achète, and it is the form you will use most often.

What is the difference between acheter and vendre?

acheter means “buy” while vendre means “sell” — they describe different actions, so they are not interchangeable. Compare the full table for vendre and check the meaning in context before you choose.

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