# To buy: koupit vs kupovat



## farzam

Hi everyone,

I'm currently teaching myself some basic but very important and commonly used verbs, such as the verb "to buy".

Still being a total beginner, I'm rather confused right now as to which form of the verb is generally used. 

For instance, does one use the imperfective "kupovat" or the perfective "koupit" in the following sentences:

"I want to buy bread": *Chci koupit/kupovat chléb.*

"I buy the book": *Kupuji/Koupím knihu.*

Anyone who can explain, please?

Thanks.


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## December25

V češtině existují 2 slovesné vidy: dokonavý a nedokonavý.
I recommend you reading this article.http://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slovesný_vid
 Anyway, here is an example:
I will buy this book : *Koupím si tuhle knihu.*
I often buy books written by Styron : *často si kupuji knihy od Styrona.*


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## francisgranada

A "simplified" explanation:

_Kupovat_ has a durative or iterative aspect e.g.:
- Právě *kupuji* knihy - I _am_ (just) _buying_ books.
- (Teď) nechci *kupovat* knihy - (Now) I don't want to buy books (i.e. I don't want to spend my time with buying books) 
- Každý den *kupuji* chléb - I (_used to) buy_ bread every day.
- Nechci *kupovat* knihy - I don't want to buy books (in general, i.e. not a concrete book and not only once)

But:
- *Koupím* (si) tu knihu - I (will) buy this book
- Nechci *koupit* tu knihu - I don't want to buy this book

(the traslation depends on the context as there are no exact equivalents in English)


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## farzam

Many thanks for the excellent and simplified explanation! 

I was more or less aware of the distinction between the perfective and imperfective, but right now it isn't much of a priority and I wanted to determine which of the two forms might be worth knowing more at this point in the learning process. 

I suppose the use of "dát" vs "dávat" is analogous?

In any case, I'm going to add both to my list of basic verbs.

Thanks again,
farzam


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## francisgranada

farzam said:


> ... I suppose the use of "dát" vs "dávat" is analogous?


 
Yes, however this verb has many "phraseological" usages (as in other languages, too), so you may eventually start a new thread about the verb _dát/dávat_.


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## farzam

francisgranada said:


> Yes, however this verb has many "phraseological" usages (as in other languages, too), so you may eventually start a new thread about the verb _dát/dávat_.



Alright, thanks! I'll just stick to the verb conjugations for the time being and read up on the imperfect and perfective. 

All the best,
Farzam


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