The Verbs Acheter and Préférer

Acheter and Préférer

Illustration of shopping

While learning about shopping for clothes, you need to understand how to use the verbs acheter and préférer. You know how to conjugate an –er verb, so you have already learned all the endings associated with two new verbs. However, acheter and préférer have an additional change to learn. With the verb acheter you will need to add an accent grave to the first e for the je, tu, il/elle/on, and ils/elles forms. With the verb préférer, you will need to reverse the accent on the second e to an accent grave for the je, tu, il/elle/on, and ils/elles forms. This accent results in a change in pronunciation. The nous and vous forms remain the same as the infinitive.

The phrases in the tables below are used in the conjugation of the verbs acheter and préférer. Familiarize yourself with these phrases and practice your pronunciation by repeating each phrase aloud after the speaker. Click each phrase to hear the pronunciation. Some phrases include both the masculine (m) and feminine (f) gender.

Acheter (To Buy)
Singular (s) Plural (p)
French English French English
J’achète I buy Nous achetons We buy
Tu achètes You buy Vous achetez You buy
Il achète (m) He buys Ils achètent (m) They buy
Elle achète (f) She buys Elles achètent (f) They buy
On achète We buy    

Préférer (To Prefer)
Singular (s) Plural (p)
French English French English
Je préfère I prefer Nous préférons We prefer
Tu préfères You prefer Vous préférez You prefer
Il préfère (m) He prefers Ils préfèrent (m) They prefer
Elle préfère (f) She prefers Elles préfèrent (f) They prefer
On préfère We prefer    

Illustration of High Fashion

Haute Couture

For a company in France to be considered Haute Couture (high fashion), it must meet some strict guidelines. For example, it must have its own production workshops and employ twenty or more people. In addition, each year the company must present a spring/summer and a fall/winter collection to the press, and each time they need to have a minimum of seventy-five outfits. The company must also have several fashion shows a year that are open to the public and have at least three live models show the clothes. The biggest problem the industry faces is counterfeiting. Knock-off products can tarnish a company's reputation when people believe a product is actually coming from the Haute Couture company. Similarly, there is a financial cost as the companies lose money to the knock-offs, and the cost of legal protection against those producing the counterfeit products.

 

The Verbs Acheter and Préférer Review

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