Questions & Answers about J'aime ce jean, je l'achète.
Why is it ce jean (singular) when the English translation says "these jeans" (plural)?
In French, a pair of jeans is treated as a single item: un jean. Because it is a masculine singular noun, we use the masculine singular word ce (meaning "this" or "that"). In English, we think of it as plural ("these jeans"), which makes this a common trap! What does the l' in je l'achète stand for?
The l' is a direct object pronoun replacing ce jean. Because jean is masculine singular, the pronoun is normally le (meaning "it"). However, since the verb achète starts with a vowel, le drops its "e" and becomes l'. Why is there a grave accent in achète but not in the dictionary form acheter?
Acheter (to buy) is a stem-changing verb. When the conjugation stresses the syllable with the first "e" (like with je, tu, il/elle, and ils/elles), that "e" changes to è so that it sounds like "eh". You do not use the accent in the nous and vous forms. If I wanted to ask "Which jeans are you buying?", which form of quel would I use?
Because jean is masculine singular in French, you must use the masculine singular form: quel. You could ask, Quel jean achètes-tu ? Even though we say "which jeans" in English, you do not use the plural quels unless you are actually talking about multiple pairs of jeans! Learn J'aime ce jean, je l'achète and more in French
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