# Acheter Conjugation — Every Tense of the French Verb “To Buy”

> **Acheter** means “to buy”. Présent: **j’achète, tu achètes, il achète, nous achetons, vous achetez, ils achètent**. The **è** appears in every form where that vowel is pronounced, and disappears for *nous* and *vous* where it is not — and unlike most stem changes, it survives right through the futur: *j’achèterai*.

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Updated: 2026-09-16

## Présent — the boot, drawn by an accent

The stem is achèt- in the singular and for ils, and achet- for nous and vous. Same boot shape as the irregular verbs, but here nothing about the sound of the ending changes — only the middle vowel.

| French | English |
|---|---|
| j’achète | I buy |
| tu achètes | you buy |
| il / elle achète | he / she buys |
| nous achetons | we buy |
| vous achetez | you buy |
| ils / elles achètent | they buy |

**The rule, in one line** — If you can hear the vowel, it takes the accent. J’achète is “a-SHET” — the e is pronounced, so it is è. Nous achetons is “ash-TOHN” — the vowel is swallowed entirely, so there is no accent. The spelling is following the pronunciation, not the other way round.

**⚠ This is the most-missed form in French** — A developer who graded 50,000 conjugation answers found ils lèvent — the same pattern, on lever — was the single most-missed form in the entire dataset, wrong about half the time. These verbs look regular, which is exactly why they catch people: nobody expects to have to think.

## The verbs that do this

A small, high-frequency group. Two of them are among the first verbs anyone learns.

| Verb | Means | je form |
|---|---|---|
| acheter | to buy | j’achète |
| lever / se lever | to lift / to get up | je me lève |
| emmener | to take (a person) along | j’emmène |
| préférer | to prefer | je préfère |
| espérer | to hope | j’espère |
| répéter | to repeat | je répète |

**Two slightly different groups** — Acheter and lever have a plain e that becomes è. Préférer, espérer and répéter already have an é, which flips to è. Same idea, same four places — but the second group does not keep the change in the futur, where it stays je préférerai.

## Passé composé — no accent needed

The participle is acheté — regular, and with no è, because the stress has moved onto the final é.

| French | English |
|---|---|
| j’ai acheté | I bought / have bought |
| tu as acheté | you bought / have bought |
| il / elle a acheté | he / she bought / have bought |
| nous avons acheté | we bought / have bought |
| vous avez acheté | you bought / have bought |
| ils / elles ont acheté | they bought / have bought |

## Imparfait — no accent at all

Built from achetons, so the accent is absent from the whole tense: j’achetais.

| French | English |
|---|---|
| j’achetais | I used to buy / was buying |
| tu achetais | you used to buy / was buying |
| il / elle achetait | he / she used to buy / was buying |
| nous achetions | we used to buy / was buying |
| vous achetiez | you used to buy / was buying |
| ils / elles achetaient | they used to buy / was buying |

## Futur and conditionnel — where the accent survives

Here is the detail most tables get wrong by omission. For acheter the è carries into the futur in every form: j’achèterai, tu achèteras, nous achèterons. The same reason applies — that vowel is pronounced throughout.

| French | English |
|---|---|
| j’achèterai | I will buy |
| tu achèteras | you will buy |
| il / elle achètera | he / she will buy |
| nous achèterons | we will buy |
| vous achèterez | you will buy |
| ils / elles achèteront | they will buy |

**⚠ préférer does not do this** — Je préférerai keeps its é in the futur, while j’achèterai takes è. It is the one place the two groups part company, and it is worth a second look if you are writing rather than speaking.

## Conditionnel — would buy

J’achèterais, accent intact. Very common in the shop-window sense: je l’achèterais bien, “I’m tempted”.

| French | English |
|---|---|
| j’achèterais | I would buy |
| tu achèterais | you would buy |
| il / elle achèterait | he / she would buy |
| nous achèterions | we would buy |
| vous achèteriez | you would buy |
| ils / elles achèteraient | they would buy |

## Subjonctif — the boot returns

Exactly the présent’s shape: accent in the boot, none for nous and vous.

| French | English |
|---|---|
| j’achète | (that) I buy |
| tu achètes | (that) you buy |
| il / elle achète | (that) he / she buy |
| nous achetions | (that) we buy |
| vous achetiez | (that) you buy |
| ils / elles achètent | (that) they buy |

## Impératif — no s

Achète ! — an -er verb, so no s, and the accent stays because the vowel is still heard.

| French | English |
|---|---|
| achète ! | buy! (to one person you know) |
| achetons ! | let’s buy! |
| achetez ! | buy! (formal, or to a group) |

## Plus-que-parfait — had bought

J’avais acheté.

| French | English |
|---|---|
| j’avais acheté | I had bought |
| tu avais acheté | you had bought |
| il / elle avait acheté | he / she had bought |
| nous avions acheté | we had bought |
| vous aviez acheté | you had bought |
| ils / elles avaient acheté | they had bought |

## FAQ

### How do you conjugate acheter in the present tense?

J’achète, tu achètes, il / elle achète, nous achetons, vous achetez, ils / elles achètent. The è appears in every form except nous and vous.

### Why does acheter take an accent?

Because the accent marks a vowel that is actually pronounced. J’achète is “a-SHET”; nous achetons is “ash-TOHN”, where the vowel disappears — so the accent disappears with it.

### Is it j’achèterai or j’acheterai in the future?

J’achèterai, with the accent, and it stays in all six forms. This is where acheter differs from préférer, which keeps é in the futur.

### Which verbs follow the acheter pattern?

Lever, se lever, emmener, promener — and, with a slightly different futur, préférer, espérer and répéter.

### What is the past participle of acheter?

Acheté, with avoir and no accent on the stem.

## Related guides

- Appeler conjugation: https://cocoonfrench.com/guides/appeler-conjugation
- Parler conjugation: https://cocoonfrench.com/guides/parler-conjugation
- French verb conjugation: https://cocoonfrench.com/guides/french-verb-conjugation
- All free French guides: https://cocoonfrench.com/guides