Breakdown of Il va acheter l'équipement que je préfère.
je
I
il
he
acheter
to buy
préférer
to prefer
aller
to go
que
that (introducing a clause)
l'équipement
the equipment (m)
Questions & Answers about Il va acheter l'équipement que je préfère.
How would I use the negative adjective aucun to say 'He isn't going to buy a single piece of equipment that I prefer'?
You would say: Il ne va acheter aucun équipement que je préfère. In sentences with a conjugated verb followed by an infinitive (like va acheter), the ne goes before the conjugated verb (va). Then, aucun replaces the article (l') and goes right in front of the singular noun it modifies (équipement).
Why do we use que instead of qui for 'that' in this sentence?
We use que because l'équipement is the object of the verb préfère (I prefer the equipment). You use qui when the word 'that' is the subject of the next verb (for example, 'the equipment that is expensive'). A handy rule of thumb: que is almost always followed by a subject pronoun or noun (like je here), while qui is usually followed directly by a verb.
Why does the accent change to è in je préfère when the infinitive is préférer?
Préférer is a stem-changing verb. In the present tense, whenever the verb ending is silent (like the -e in je préfère), the final é of the stem changes to è to match the pronunciation. For forms where the ending is pronounced (nous préférons, vous préférez), it keeps the é from the infinitive.
Could I use the future tense and say Il achètera instead of Il va acheter?
Yes, but the meaning shifts slightly. Il va acheter is the futur proche (near future: 'he is going to buy'), which is very common in everyday speech and implies a solid plan for the near future. Il achètera is the futur simple ('he will buy'), which can sound slightly more distant or formal.
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