»

Activities — Activités by Dawn-Michelle Baude, Ph.D.

Sometimes you don't want to spend money on clothes or food. Sometimes you want to spend it on games and activities. In French, the verb for “to buy” is acheter. It follows the same conjugation map that aimer and other “er” verbs do. Here it is:

MISTAKES TO AVOID Fautes à éviter

It's difficult for English speakers to put the “it” in front of the verb. When you say “I want it” in English, the word “it” follows the verb. But if you say Je veux la instead of Je la veux, you're telling your French friend that you want “there” instead of “it”!

IMPORTANT TIPS TRUCS IMPORTANTS

There are two kinds of tickets in France. Les billets (“tickets”) are for trains, planes and boats. But les tickets (“tickets”) are for buses, movies, and the metro.
<tgroup cols="2"> <colspec align="left" colname="col1" colnum="1" colsep="0" colwidth="50%"/> <colspec align="left" colname="col2" colnum="2" colsep="0" colwidth="50%"/> <thead> <tr> <td><p><B>English</B></p></td> <td><p><B>French</B></p></td> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td><p>to buy</p></td> <td><p><emphasis>acheter</emphasis></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p>I buy</p></td> <td><p><emphasis>j'achète</emphasis></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p>you buy</p></td> <td><p><emphasis>tu achètes</emphasis></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p>he/she/it buys</p></td> <td><p><emphasis>il/elle/il achète</emphasis></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p>we buy</p></td> <td><p><emphasis>nous achetons</emphasis></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p>you buy</p></td> <td><p><emphasis>vous achetez</emphasis></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p>they buy</p></td> <td><p><emphasis>ils/elles achètent</emphasis></p></td> </tr> </tbody> </tgroup> </table> <h2>Buying Tickets — <emphasis>Acheter des tickets</emphasis></h2> <p>What can you buy tickets for? Here's a list to give you some ideas:</p> <table frame="none" width="100%"> <title/> <tgroup cols="2"> <colspec align="left" colname="col1" colnum="1" colsep="0" colwidth="50%"/> <colspec align="left" colname="col2" colnum="2" colsep="0" colwidth="50%"/> <thead> <tr> <td><p><B>English</B></p></td> <td><p><B>French</B></p></td> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td><p>tickets for a soccer game</p></td> <td><p><emphasis>des tickets pour le match</emphasis></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p>tickets for the concert</p></td> <td><p><emphasis>des tickets pour le concert</emphasis></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p>tickets for the museum</p></td> <td><p><emphasis>des tickets pour le musée</emphasis></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p>tickets for the magic show</p></td> <td><p><emphasis>des tickets pour le spectacle de magie</emphasis></p></td> </tr> </tbody> </tgroup> </table> <h2>Time for Tickets! — <emphasis>Le temps des tickets</emphasis></h2> <p>It's time to practice your verb tenses. “Tense” is just another way of saying “time.” You know three verb tenses now: the present (<emphasis>le présent</emphasis>), the near future (<emphasis>le futur proche</emphasis>), and the recent past (<emphasis>le passé récent</emphasis>). You can say that you're buying something, you are going to buy something, or you just bought something. Here's a chart to help you remember:</p> <table frame="none" width="100%"> <title/> <tgroup cols="2"> <colspec align="left" colname="col1" colnum="1" colsep="0" colwidth="50%"/> <colspec align="left" colname="col2" colnum="2" colsep="0" colwidth="50%"/> <thead> <tr> <td><p><B>English</B></p></td> <td><p><B>French</B></p></td> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td><p>I'm buying two tickets to the movies.</p></td> <td><p><emphasis>J'achète deux tickets de cinema.</emphasis></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p>I am going to buy two tickets to the movies.</p></td> <td><p><emphasis>Je vais acheter deux tickets de cinéma.</emphasis></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p>I just bought two tickets to the movies.</p></td> <td><p><emphasis>Je viens d'acheter deux tickets de cinéma.</emphasis></p></td> </tr> </tbody> </tgroup> </table> <!--/gc--> <div id="pagination"><ul><li class="prev"><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/kids-french/going-to-town-aller-en-ville/asking-for-help-demander-de-laide.htm" title="Asking for Help — Demander de l'aide">Asking for Help — Demander de l'aide</a></li><li class="next"><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/kids-french/lets-go-outdoors-allons-dehors/" title="Let's Go Outdoors — Allons dehors">Let's Go Outdoors — Allons dehors</a> </li></ul></div></div> <div id="coda"> <div id="rel"><div class="n5">Related Articles</div><ul> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/kids-french/going-to-town-aller-en-ville/activities-activits.htm" zT="18/1YL/Zn"> Activities — Activités - French for Kids </a></li> <li><a href="http://french.about.com/od/expressions/a/temps.htm" zT="18/1YL/Zn"> Temps - French Expressions with Temps </a></li> <li><a href="http://french.about.com/od/expressions/a/temps_2.htm" zT="18/1YL/Zn"> Temps - French Expressions with Temps </a></li> <li><a href="http://mandarin.about.com/od/grammar/a/aspect.htm" zT="18/1YL/Zn"> Mandarin Chinese Aspect - Determining Time Frames in Mandarin Chinese ... </a></li> <li><a href="http://mandarin.about.com/od/time/a/time_expression.htm" zT="18/1YL/Zn"> Time Expressions For The Past - Using Time Expressions For Past Events... </a></li> </ul></div> <div id="sec"><div class="n5">Read More Going to Town — Aller en ville</div><ul><ul class="col1"><li ><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/kids-french/going-to-town-aller-en-ville/transportation-les-transports.htm">Transportation — Les transports</a></li> <li ><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/kids-french/going-to-town-aller-en-ville/asking-for-directions-demander-son-chemin.htm">Asking for Directions — Demander son chemin</a></li> <li ><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/kids-french/going-to-town-aller-en-ville/spending-money-dpenser-de-largent.htm">Spending Money — Dépenser de l'argent</a></li> </ul><ul class="col2"><li ><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/kids-french/going-to-town-aller-en-ville/keeping-your-money-safe-garder-son-argent-en-securit.htm">Keeping Your Money Safe — Garder son argent en securité</a></li> <li ><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/kids-french/going-to-town-aller-en-ville/asking-for-help-demander-de-laide.htm">Asking for Help — Demander de l'aide</a></li> <li class="btO">Activities — Activités</li> </ul></ul></div> </div> <script>if(zSbL<1)zSbL=3;zSB(2);zSbL=0</script> </div> <div id="widgets"><script type="text/javascript">if(z336>0){w('<div id="adB">'+ap[0]+at[4]+as[0]);adunit('','','about.com',ch,gs,336,280,'1','bb',3);w('</div>')}if(z155>0){w('<div id="adP">'+ap[0]+at[4]+as[0]);adunit('','','about.com',ch,gs,336,155,'1','ps',4);w('</div>')}</script> <div id="pg" class="pane"><div class="n3">Shopping</div><div class="cntnr"><a href="http://shop.everything.com/product/the-everything-kids-learning-french-book"><img src="http://0.tqn.com/d/np/kids-french/Cover.jpg"></a><h4><a href="http://shop.everything.com/product/the-everything-kids-learning-french-book">THE EVERYTHING KIDS' LEARNING FRENCH BOOK</a></h4><p><a href="http://shop.everything.com/product/the-everything-kids-learning-french-book">By Dawn-Michelle Baude, Ph.D.</a></p><div id="fp"><a href="http://shop.everything.com/product/the-everything-kids-learning-french-book">Buy This Book</a></div></div></div> <div id="toc" class="pane"><div class="n3">French for Kids Sections</div><ul><li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/kids-french/lets-get-started-allons-y/">Let's Get Started! — Allons-y!</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/kids-french/time-and-dates-lheure-et-les-dates/">Time and Dates — L'heure et les dates</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/kids-french/all-about-me-tout-sur-moi/">All About Me — Tout sur moi</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/kids-french/social-life-la-vie-sociale/">Social Life — La vie sociale</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/kids-french/what-should-we-do-quest-ce-quon-va-faire/">What Should We do? — Qu'est-ce qu'on va faire?</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/kids-french/im-hungry-jai-faim/">I'm Hungry! — J'ai faim!</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/kids-french/going-to-town-aller-en-ville/">Going to Town — Aller en ville</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/kids-french/lets-go-outdoors-allons-dehors/">Let's Go Outdoors — Allons dehors</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/kids-french/getting-along-bien-sentendre/">Getting Along — Bien s'entendre</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/kids-french/appendix-a-english-french-dictionary/">English-French Dictionary</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/kids-french/appendix-b-glossary/">Glossary</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/kids-french/appendix-c-puzzle-answers/">Puzzle Answers</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/kids-french/appendix-d-exercise-answers/">Exercise Answers</a></li> </ul></div></div> <script type="text/javascript">zCi();validateForms();</script> <div id="abf" style="padding-right:0"><ol class="crumbtrail"><li class="home"><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/">Home</a></li><li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/kids-french/">French for Kids</a></li><li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/kids-french/going-to-town-aller-en-ville/">Going to Town — Aller en ville</a></li><li>Activities — Activités</li></ol></div> <div id="aboutinfo" class="hlist"><div id="morefrom"><h6>Visit other About.com sites:</h6><ul><li><a href="http://caloriecount.about.com/" rel="nofollow">Calorie Count</a></li><li class="last"><a href="http://www.allexperts.com/" rel="nofollow">Allexperts.com</a></li></ul></div> <ul id="siteinfo"><li><a href="http://spiderbites.about.com/sitemap.htm">SiteMap</a></li><li><a href="http://www.about.com/gi/pages/hc.htm" rel="nofollow">Help</a></li><li><a href="http://www.about.com/gi/pages/mprivacy.htm" rel="nofollow">Privacy Policy</a></li><li><a href="http://www.about.com/gi/pages/mprivacy.htm#adchoices" rel="nofollow">Your Ad Choices</a></li><li class="last"><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/pform.htm" rel="nofollow">Contact Us</a></li></ul> <ul id="companyinfo"><li class="last"><a href="http://shop.everything.com/ " rel="nofollow">Buy Books</a></li></ul><div id="disclaimer"> </div></div></div> <script type="text/javascript"><!-- zPxA[zPxC]=new Image();zPxA[zPxC++].src="http://b.scorecardresearch.com/p?c1=2&c2=6036459&c7=http%3a%2f%2fwww%2enetplaces%2ecom%2fkids%2dfrench%2fgoing%2dto%2dtown%2daller%2den%2dville%2factivities%2dactivits%2ehtm&c8=Activities%20%26%238212%3b%20Activit%26%23233%3bs&c9=&cv=2.0&cj=1"; adclose() //--> </script> <script type="text/javascript">(function(){var po=document.createElement('script');po.type='text/javascript';po.async=true;po.src='https://apis.google.com/js/plusone.js';var s=document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0];s.parentNode.insertBefore(po,s)})();</script> </body></html>