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SPANISH VERB

adquirir

to acquire

  • #176 most used
  • Irregular -ir verb
  • Gerund: adquiriendo
  • Past participle: adquirido

Conjugation

Tap any form to hear it. The part that changes is in colour.

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

  1. yo I acquire
  2. tú you acquire
  3. usted, él, ella he/she acquires
  4. nosotros we acquire
  5. vosotros Spain you all acquire
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they acquire

Past

Pretérito indefinido · finished actions

  1. yo I acquired
  2. tú you acquired
  3. usted, él, ella he/she acquired
  4. nosotros we acquired
  5. vosotros Spain you all acquired
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they acquired

Imperfect

Pretérito imperfecto · “used to” and “was …ing”

  1. yo I used to acquire
  2. tú you used to acquire
  3. usted, él, ella he/she used to acquire
  4. nosotros we used to acquire
  5. vosotros Spain you all used to acquire
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they used to acquire

Future

Futuro · plans and promises; in speech, “voy a hablar” is just as common

  1. yo I will acquire
  2. tú you will acquire
  3. usted, él, ella he/she will acquire
  4. nosotros we will acquire
  5. vosotros Spain you all will acquire
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they will acquire

Conditional

Condicional · “would”

  1. yo I would acquire
  2. tú you would acquire
  3. usted, él, ella he/she would acquire
  4. nosotros we would acquire
  5. vosotros Spain you all would acquire
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they would acquire

Present subjunctive

Presente de subjuntivo · wishes, doubts, “que …”

  1. yo (that) I acquire
  2. tú (that) you acquire
  3. usted, él, ella (that) he/she acquire
  4. nosotros (that) we acquire
  5. vosotros Spain (that) you all acquire
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas (that) they acquire

Past subjunctive

Imperfecto de subjuntivo · “if I were”, “si …”

  1. yo (if) I acquired
  2. tú (if) you acquired
  3. usted, él, ella (if) he/she acquired
  4. nosotros (if) we acquired
  5. vosotros Spain (if) you all acquired
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas (if) they acquired

Imperative

Imperativo · requests and orders; a negative one uses the subjunctive (no hables)

  1. tú acquire!
  2. usted acquire! (formal)
  3. nosotros acquire! (let’s)
  4. vosotros Spain acquire! (all of you)
  5. ustedes acquire! (all of you)

How to use adquirir

One sentence for each tense, the way people say it.

  1. Present

    Con los años uno adquiere más paciencia.

    With the years you acquire more patience.

  2. Past

    Adquirimos la casa con un préstamo del banco.

    We bought the house with a bank loan.

  3. Imperfect

    Antes la gente adquiría los boletos en la taquilla.

    People used to get the tickets at the box office.

  4. Future

    Con la práctica adquirirás más confianza al hablar.

    With practice you'll gain more confidence when speaking.

  5. Conditional

    Yo adquiriría el seguro de viaje, por si acaso.

    I'd get the travel insurance, just in case.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Es importante que los niños adquieran buenos hábitos.

    It's important that children acquire good habits.

  7. Past subjunctive

    El contrato exigía que adquiriéramos una garantía.

    The contract required us to purchase a warranty.

  8. Imperative

    ¡Adquiera su entrada hoy, mañana costará más!

    Buy your ticket today, tomorrow it'll cost more!

Good to know

  • "Adquirir" is a formal to buy, as in ads and contracts; everyday speech says "comprar".

Verbs like this one

The same pattern, on other verbs: irregular -ir verb.