IMPORTANT VERBS: TO BUY (I)

Introducción

En esta entrada vamos a hablar sobre el verbo TO BUY. Como ya sabemos, es un verbo irregular, es decir, que para formar el pasado y el participio no se forman añadiendo -ed, sino que el pasado y el participio de este verbo es bought.

Present

I buy bread every day.

He buys bread every day.

Past

You bought bread yesterday

Participle

Lately they have bought bread at the supermarket

Significado

To buy significa comprar. Pero también puede tener otros significados, como tragarse/creerse una excusa. Un ejemplo. En la oración She gave me some excuse about why she didn't went to the concert, but I didn't buy it, buy aquí significa que no nos creemos lo que nos están contando. Otro ejemplo en el mismo sentido sería la oración I can't believe he bought into all that rubbish. 

Otro significado de buy puede ser invitar. Un ejemplo podría ser la oración siguiente Let me buy you a drink.

Sinónimos

Existen varios verbos que pueden ser sinónimos de to buy. Por ejemplo to get, to purchase, to acquire, to pick up o to snap up. Pero existen diferencias.

To get tiene el mismo significado que to buy. Pero get es más coloquial. Ejemplos:

Where did you get that shirt from?

¿Dónde compraste esa camisa?

I got it at the summer sales.

La compré en las rebajas de verano.

To purchase es más formal e implica un montón de dinero.

I purchased a house last week.

Compré una casa la semana pasada.

I purchased a new yatch two years ago.

Compré un yate nuevo hace dos años.

To acquire no se usa demasiado y tiene que ver con inversiones y con la adquisición de derechos.

I acquired the rights to fish in the lake.

Adquirí los derechos de pesca en el lago.

I believe that Members only acquire legitimacy through election.

Creo que los miembros solo consiguen los derechos de legitimidad  a través de la elección.

To pick up, que también puede significar recoger, puede ser usado con el significado de comprar, en el sentido de comprar gangas.  

He picked up those trousers up in the sales.

Él compró aquellos pantalones en las rebajas.

I picked up that car at a reasonable price.

Compré ese coche a un precio muy razonable.

To snap up es muy similar a to pick up. Hace referencia a una oportunidad que no podemos dejar escapar o cuando quedan muy pocas unidades.

There was only one left. I just had to snap them up!

Solo quedaba una, ¡y tenía que comprarla!

I'd snap up as many as you can before they run out of stock.

Compra todas las que puedas antes de que se agoten.

Ejercicios

Traduce al inglés las siguientes oraciones. Recuerda que tienes que usar el verbo TO BUY.

1. Me compré un sombrero.
2. Vamos a comprar una casa.
3. El dinero no hace la felicidad.
4. Paró para comprar jabón.
5. ¿Cuántos libros compró ella?
6. Déjame invitarte a un café.
7. Ella compró cuatro camisetas porque eran baratas.
8. No van a tragarse tu excusa.
9. Compraría 4 coches si tuviese dinero.
10. Yo que tú, no me hubiese comprado ese coche

IMPORTANT VERBS: TO BUY (I) (English entry)

Introduction

In this post we are going to speak about the verb to buy. It is an irregular verb, and that means that the past and the participle don't end in -ed. The past and the participle of this verb is bought.

Present
I buy bread every day.
He buys bread every day.

Past
You bought bread yesterday

Participle
Lately they have bought bread at the supermarket

Meanings

To buy means comprar. But it can also have another meanings, such as tragarse/creerse una excusa. For instance, in the sentence She gave me some excuse about why he didn't went to the concert, but I didn't buy it what we mean is that we don't believe what she told us. Another example on this way. I can't believe he bought into all that rubbish. Another meaning of buy can be invitar. One example could be the following sentence, Let me buy you a drink.

Synonyms

There are several verbs which are synonymous of this verb. For instance, to get, to purchase, to acquire, to pick up or to snap up. But there are differences between them.

To get has the same meaning as the verb to buy. But to get is more colloquial. Examples:

Where did you get that shirt from?
I got it at the summer sales.

To purchase is more formal and it implies a lot of money.

I purchased a house last week.
I purchased a new yatch two years ago.

To acquire isn't used so much. It has to do with investments or with the acquisition of rights.

I acquired the rights to fish in the lake.
I believe that Members only acquire legitimacy through election.

To pick up, which also means recoger, can be used with the meaning of comprar, when dealing with bargains.

He picked up those trousers up in the sales.
I picked up that car at a reasonable price.

To snap up is very similar to pick up. We usually to snap up when it has to do with an opportunity you cannot afford to miss. It can also imply that there are few units left

There was only one left. I just had to snap them up!
I'd snap up as many as you can before they run out of stock.





Exercises



Translate into English the following sentences. Remember that you must use the verb TO BUY.

1. Me compré un sombrero.
2. Vamos a comprar una casa.
3. El dinero no hace la felicidad.
4. Paró para comprar jabón.
5. ¿Cuántos libros compró ella?
6. Déjame invitarte a un café.
7. Ella compró cuatro camisetas porque eran baratas.
8. No van a tragarse tu excusa.
9. Compraría 4 coches si tuviese dinero.
10. Yo que tú, no me hubiese comprado ese coche