Acquérir conjugation: to acquire in every tense

French verb conjugation: 150 verbs in every tense

The French verb acquérir (to acquire) is a useful everyday verb (number 142 of the 150 on this site). It is an irregular verb of the 3rd group with its own stems: j’acquiers, nous acquérons, and a future stem in acquerr- (j’acquerrai). In compound tenses it takes avoir (j’ai acquis), with the past participle acquis. Below you will find every tense, example sentences and a free printable PDF.

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acquérir at a glance: meaning, group and auxiliary

Infinitive: acquérir — to acquire
Group: 3rd group (irregular verbs)
Type: Irregular verb
Auxiliary: takes avoir
Construction: Transitive (direct object)
Frequency: No. 142 of the 150 most common French verbs

The endings are in bold. Tense names are given in French with the English equivalent in parentheses; pronouns and verb forms stay in French, as you will see and hear them.

Indicatif (indicative): acquérir

`Présent (present tense)`

`Présent (present tense) of the verb acquérir`
`j’`	`acquiers`
`tu`	`acquiers`
`il`	`acquiert`
`nous`	`acquérons`
`vous`	`acquérez`
`ils`	`acquièrent`

`Imparfait (imperfect)`

`Imparfait (imperfect) of the verb acquérir`
`j’`	`acquérais`
`tu`	`acquérais`
`il`	`acquérait`
`nous`	`acquérions`
`vous`	`acquériez`
`ils`	`acquéraient`

`Passé simple (simple past, literary)`

`Passé simple (simple past, literary) of the verb acquérir`
`j’`	`acquis`
`tu`	`acquis`
`il`	`acquit`
`nous`	`acquîmes`
`vous`	`acquîtes`
`ils`	`acquirent`

`Futur simple (simple future)`

`Futur simple (simple future) of the verb acquérir`
`j’`	`acquerrai`
`tu`	`acquerras`
`il`	`acquerra`
`nous`	`acquerrons`
`vous`	`acquerrez`
`ils`	`acquerront`

`Passé composé (compound past)`

`Passé composé (compound past) of the verb acquérir`
`j’`	`ai acquis`
`tu`	`as acquis`
`il`	`a acquis`
`nous`	`avons acquis`
`vous`	`avez acquis`
`ils`	`ont acquis`

`Plus-que-parfait (pluperfect)`

`Plus-que-parfait (pluperfect) of the verb acquérir`
`j’`	`avais acquis`
`tu`	`avais acquis`
`il`	`avait acquis`
`nous`	`avions acquis`
`vous`	`aviez acquis`
`ils`	`avaient acquis`

`Passé antérieur (past anterior)`

`Passé antérieur (past anterior) of the verb acquérir`
`j’`	`eus acquis`
`tu`	`eus acquis`
`il`	`eut acquis`
`nous`	`eûmes acquis`
`vous`	`eûtes acquis`
`ils`	`eurent acquis`

`Futur antérieur (future perfect)`

`Futur antérieur (future perfect) of the verb acquérir`
`j’`	`aurai acquis`
`tu`	`auras acquis`
`il`	`aura acquis`
`nous`	`aurons acquis`
`vous`	`aurez acquis`
`ils`	`auront acquis`

Conditionnel (conditional): acquérir

`Conditionnel présent (present conditional)`

`Conditionnel présent (present conditional) of the verb acquérir`
`j’`	`acquerrais`
`tu`	`acquerrais`
`il`	`acquerrait`
`nous`	`acquerrions`
`vous`	`acquerriez`
`ils`	`acquerraient`

`Conditionnel passé (past conditional)`

`Conditionnel passé (past conditional) of the verb acquérir`
`j’`	`aurais acquis`
`tu`	`aurais acquis`
`il`	`aurait acquis`
`nous`	`aurions acquis`
`vous`	`auriez acquis`
`ils`	`auraient acquis`

Subjonctif (subjunctive): acquérir

`Subjonctif présent (present subjunctive)`

`Subjonctif présent (present subjunctive) of the verb acquérir`
`que j’`	`acquière`
`que tu`	`acquières`
`qu’il`	`acquière`
`que nous`	`acquérions`
`que vous`	`acquériez`
`qu’ils`	`acquièrent`

`Subjonctif passé (past subjunctive)`

`Subjonctif passé (past subjunctive) of the verb acquérir`
`que j’`	`aie acquis`
`que tu`	`aies acquis`
`qu’il`	`ait acquis`
`que nous`	`ayons acquis`
`que vous`	`ayez acquis`
`qu’ils`	`aient acquis`

`Subjonctif imparfait (imperfect subjunctive)`

`Subjonctif imparfait (imperfect subjunctive) of the verb acquérir`
`que j’`	`acquisse`
`que tu`	`acquisses`
`qu’il`	`acquît`
`que nous`	`acquissions`
`que vous`	`acquissiez`
`qu’ils`	`acquissent`

`Subjonctif plus-que-parfait (pluperfect subjunctive)`

`Subjonctif plus-que-parfait (pluperfect subjunctive) of the verb acquérir`
`que j’`	`eusse acquis`
`que tu`	`eusses acquis`
`qu’il`	`eût acquis`
`que nous`	`eussions acquis`
`que vous`	`eussiez acquis`
`qu’ils`	`eussent acquis`

Impératif (imperative): acquérir

`Impératif présent (imperative)`

`Impératif présent (imperative) of the verb acquérir`
`(tu)`	`acquiers`
`(nous)`	`acquérons`
`(vous)`	`acquérez`

`Impératif passé (past imperative)`

`Impératif passé (past imperative) of the verb acquérir`
`(tu)`	`aie acquis`
`(nous)`	`ayons acquis`
`(vous)`	`ayez acquis`

Infinitive, participles and gerund of acquérir

`Non-personal forms of the verb acquérir`
`Infinitif présent (present infinitive)`	`acquérir`
`Infinitif passé (past infinitive)`	`avoir acquis`
`Participe présent (present participle)`	`acquérant`
`Participe passé (past participle)`	`acquis (masc. sing.), acquise (fem. sing.), acquis (masc. pl.), acquises (fem. pl.)`
`Gérondif présent (gerund, “while doing”)`	`en acquérant`
`Gérondif passé (past gerund)`	`en ayant acquis`

Example sentences with acquérir

Real French sentences, with the conjugated form in bold, followed by the tense.

Les élèves acquièrent peu à peu le sens de l’orthographe. Présent (present tense)
Nous acquérons de bonnes habitudes en lisant chaque soir. Présent (present tense)
Mes parents ont acquis cette maison il y a dix ans. Passé composé (compound past)
Tu acquerras de l’assurance en t’entraînant. Futur simple (simple future)
Il faut que vous acquériez de la méthode avant l’examen. Subjonctif présent (present subjunctive)
Ils acquerraient plus de confiance s’ils s’exerçaient davantage. Conditionnel présent (present conditional)
L’entreprise acquit un terrain près du port en 1950. Passé simple (simple past, literary)

Watch out with acquérir

Use avoir

In compound tenses acquérir takes avoir (j’ai acquis). The participle acquis agrees only with a direct object placed before the verb.

Irregular stems

Learn the stems, not the endings: the present is j’acquiers / nous acquérons / ils acquièrent, and the future and conditional use acquerr- (j’acquerrai, j’acquerrais).

Other verbs to learn with acquérir

être to be
avoir to have
aller to go
faire to do, to make
dire to say, to tell
pouvoir to be able to, can
vouloir to want
devoir to have to, must
savoir to know
voir to see
venir to come
prendre to take

Review the French tenses

Présent de l’indicatif present tense
Imparfait de l’indicatif imperfect
Passé simple simple past, literary
Futur simple simple future
Passé composé compound past
Plus-que-parfait pluperfect
Passé antérieur past anterior
Futur antérieur future perfect
Conditionnel présent present conditional
Conditionnel passé past conditional
Subjonctif présent present subjunctive
Subjonctif passé past subjunctive
Subjonctif imparfait imperfect subjunctive
Subjonctif plus-que-parfait pluperfect subjunctive
Impératif présent imperative
Impératif passé past imperative
Infinitif présent et passé infinitive, present and past
Participe présent et gérondif present participle and gerund
Participe passé past participle

Questions about acquérir

`How do you conjugate acquérir (to acquire) in the present tense?`

In the présent: j’acquiers, tu acquiers, il acquiert, nous acquérons, vous acquérez, ils acquièrent.

`Does acquérir take être or avoir in the passé composé?`

acquérir takes avoir in compound tenses: j’ai acquis, nous avons acquis. The past participle is acquis.

`What are the future and conditional forms of acquérir?`

Futur simple: j’acquerrai. Conditionnel présent: j’acquerrais. Both are built on the same stem (acquerr-).

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The complete conjugation chart of acquérir on A4 sheets in black and white, ready for your binder or flashcards.

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