Want to actually learn this — with audio, spaced repetition and progress tracking?

Study in the app →

Help improve this content. If something looks off, let us know →

English · CEFR Band 1 (A1) · Chapter 21

Shopping Faire des achats

Acheter et vendre : shop, store, market, supermarket, money, buy, sell, customer, shop assistant. La grammaire clé, c'est « want to » + un verbe — I want to buy this, I want to go to the shop. L'anglais garde le petit mot « to » entre « want » et le verbe suivant. Le coréen colle le souhait directement au verbe, donc les Coréens oublient souvent le « to » : « I want buy this » ✗ → « I want to buy this » ✓. Coin prononciation : le « sh » de shop, la diphtongue de buy et le « to » faible de « want to ».

I want buy or I want to buy? — I want buy ou I want to buy ?

  1. Emma Minsu, what do you want to buy? Minsu, que veux-tu acheter ?
  2. Minsu I want buy this bag. Je veux acheter ce sac. (lapsus : il faut « to » entre want et le verbe → « I want to buy »)
  3. Emma Say "want to": I want to buy this bag. Dis « want to » : I want to buy this bag.
  4. Minsu Oh, I want to buy this bag. It's nice. Ah, je veux acheter ce sac. Il est joli.

At the market — Au marché

  1. Minsu Hello. I want to buy some fruit. Bonjour. Je veux acheter des fruits.
  2. Assistant Yes, we sell fruit here. This market is open every day. Oui, nous vendons des fruits ici. Ce marché est ouvert tous les jours.
  3. Minsu Good. I want to buy some apples and some bread. Bien. Je veux acheter des pommes et du pain.
  4. Assistant Here you are. Thank you! Voici. Merci !
汉字PinyinPOSMeaning
shop n. boutique
store n. magasin (US)
market n. marché
supermarket n. supermarché
money n. argent
buy v. acheter
sell v. vendre
customer n. client
shop assistant n. vendeur
open adj. ouvert

Saying what you want: "want to" + verb Dire ce qu'on veut : « want to » + verbe

To say what you want to do, use "want" + "to" + a verb: I want to buy this, I want to go to the shop, She wants to sell her car. The small word "to" always sits between "want" and the next verb — never leave it out. (For he / she / it, "want" takes -s: she wants to buy.) Korean joins the wish straight to the verb, so Korean speakers often say "I want buy" — in English you must keep the "to": I want to buy.

Pour dire ce qu'on veut faire, utilise « want » + « to » + verbe : I want to buy this, I want to go to the shop, She wants to sell her car. Le petit mot « to » se place toujours entre « want » et le verbe suivant — ne l'oublie jamais. (Pour he / she / it, « want » prend -s : she wants to buy.) Le coréen relie le souhait directement au verbe, donc les Coréens disent souvent « I want buy » — en anglais il faut garder le « to » : I want to buy.

  • I want to buy this bag. Je veux acheter ce sac.
  • Do you want to buy some fruit? Veux-tu acheter des fruits ?
  • I want to go to the shop. Je veux aller à la boutique.
  • She wants to sell her phone. Elle veut vendre son téléphone.

Want to actually learn this — with audio, spaced repetition and progress tracking?

Study in the app →

Report an issue

Spotted an error or have a suggestion? Every report helps us improve this content.