🛍️📆⬅️

How to Say ‘I bought it last week.’ in French

Je l'ai achetée la semaine dernière.

zhuh l ay ash-TAY lah suh-MEN dair-nee-yehr

[zhuh l ay ash-TAY lah suh-MEN dair-nee-yehr]

💬 Usage Tip: L' stands for the dress and joins the next word, so it can't stand alone. Because la robe is feminine, acheté gets an extra e, though it sounds the same.

🇫🇷 In France: Answering a compliment with a little detail about the item is a natural, modest way to deflect it.

Phrase Breakdown

Je l'ai achetée

zhuh l ay ash-TAY

I bought it

Say 'zhuh lay ash-TAY'.

Example

Je l'ai achetée au marché.

I bought it at the market.

Words in this phrase

[zhuh]

Pronoun used by the speaker to identify themselves.

Example

Je suis content.

I am happy.

[l]

it (her)

Object pronoun 'la' shortened before a vowel; here it refers to a feminine thing.

Example

Cette chanson, je l'adore.

That song, I love it.

[ay]

have

Form of 'avoir' used with past participles to make the past tense.

Example

J'ai beaucoup appris grâce à notre discussion.

I learned a lot thanks to our discussion.

achetée

[ash-TAY]

bought

Past participle of 'acheter'; the extra -e agrees with a feminine object placed before the verb.

Example

La voiture, il l'a achetée hier.

The car, he bought it yesterday.

la semaine dernière.

lah suh-MEN dair-nee-yehr

last week

Say 'la smen dehr-NYEHR'.

Example

Il a plu la semaine dernière.

It rained last week.

Words in this phrase

[lah]

the

A definite article preceding a noun.

Example

La porte est ouverte.

The door is open.

semaine

[suh-MEN]

week

Feminine noun for a period of seven days.

Example

Je fais du yoga deux fois par semaine.

I do yoga twice a week.

dernière

[dair-nee-yehr]

last

The final part or time.

Example

C'est la dernière chance.

It's the last chance.

Guides for French learners

Ordering in French: Cafés, Bakeries and Restaurants (with Menu Vocabulary)How to order in French at a café, a bakery and a restaurant: the phrases, the questions staff ask, and the menu and food vocabulary to understand the answers.Hello in French: Greetings, Good Evening and How to Answer "How Are You?"How to say hello in French, when to switch to good evening, how to ask how are you and what to answer, with tu vs vous and native audio.

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