Learn French: Je perds souvent les bagues et les boucles d'oreilles que j'achète. - I often lose the rings and the earrings that I buy.

We use que (that) because it is the direct object of the verb achète (buy). The subject doing the buying is j' (I). A helpful trick: if the word right after the relative pronoun is a subject like je, tu, il, or a noun, you almost always need que.

Why must we say les bagues et les boucles instead of just les bagues et boucles?

In English, you can say 'the rings and earrings' and skip the second 'the'. In French, you cannot skip the article. You must repeat les before every single noun in a list.

Why is the word order Je perds souvent instead of Je souvent perds like in English?

In French, short adverbs of frequency like souvent (often) are placed directly after the conjugated verb. You can never put an adverb between the subject pronoun (je) and the verb (perds).

What is the literal meaning of boucles d'oreilles?

It translates literally to 'loops of ears' or 'curls of ears'. The word boucle means a loop, buckle, or curl, and oreille means ear.

Why does achète have an accent mark (è) when the infinitive verb acheter does not?