Boire — to drink | French Verb Chart
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📚 This is the overview. « boire » is taught level by level — pick your CEFR level below for a full lesson (explanation, pronunciation, exercises & games).
Présent (Indicatif)
- je boisI drink
- tu boisyou drink
- il / elle boithe / she drinks
- nous buvonswe drink
- vous buvezyou drink
- ils / elles boiventthey drink
Passé composé (Indicatif)
- j’ai buI drank
- tu as buyou drank
- il / elle a buhe / she drank
- nous avons buwe drank
- vous avez buyou drank
- ils / elles ont buthey drank
Imparfait (Indicatif)
- je buvaisI was drinking
- tu buvaisyou were drinking
- il / elle buvaithe / she was drinking
- nous buvionswe were drinking
- vous buviezyou were drinking
- ils / elles buvaientthey were drinking
Futur simple (Indicatif)
- je boiraiI will drink
- tu boirasyou will drink
- il / elle boirahe / she will drink
- nous boironswe will drink
- vous boirezyou will drink
- ils / elles boirontthey will drink
Conditionnel présent
- je boiraisI would drink
- tu boiraisyou would drink
- il / elle boiraithe / she would drink
- nous boirionswe would drink
- vous boiriezyou would drink
- ils / elles boiraientthey would drink
Subjonctif présent
- que je boivethat I drink
- que tu boivesthat you drink
- qu’il / elle boivethat he / she drink
- que nous buvionsthat we drink
- que vous buviezthat you drink
- qu’ils / elles boiventthat they drink
Impératif, Participe & Infinitif
- boireinfinitive
- buvantpresent participle
- en buvantgerund (gérondif)
- bupast participle
- bois · buvons · buvezimperative
- avoirauxiliary in compound tenses
📈 « boire » from A1 to native
The same verb grows with your level — from your first words to real native slang.
🎬 The 20-second version
Five phrases with « boire » — guess before the reveal. Practise with the free games → Open this short as a page — transcript included →
📘 How to use Boire
- Very irregular: the stem changes twice — boi- (je bois), buv- (nous buvons), boiv- (ils boivent).
- Drinking + partitive: je bois du café, de l’eau.
- Past participle bu: j’ai bu un café.
🔑 Key forms
🔊 Common expressions
🇬🇧 Boire in plain English: three stems, one café
Boire — to drink — packs three stems into one present tense, the compact tour of everything French verbs do: je bois, tu bois, il boit (stem boi-), nous buvons, vous buvez (stem buv-), ils boivent (stem boiv-). Say the three aloud — bwa, bu-vons, bwav — and the table stops looking arbitrary: French keeps the stressed stem diphthongised and the unstressed one compressed, the same music as venir and devoir. The rest follows the usual machinery: imparfait je buvais (nous-stem, as always), futur je boirai, subjonctif que je boive / que nous buvions, and the passé composé j’ai bu — a past participle so short it fits on a wine label, where France effectively puts it.
Usage is pure daily life: « qu’est-ce que tu bois ? » (what are you drinking — THE café question), « je bois un café », « on boit un verre ? » (shall we get a drink? — un verre, a glass, stands in for the whole social institution). The noun la boisson (drink) and the adjective-participle « bu » round out the family, and one cultural footnote makes the verb memorable: French drinks its verbs precisely — on boit du vin (partitive: some wine), never *le vin* unless you mean wine-in-general. That partitive reflex, drilled with boire, transfers to every food-and-drink sentence you will ever build — the chart above plus one imaginary café order a day, and boire pours itself.
FAQ
What is the past participle of boire?
« Bu » — j’ai bu, tu as bu. « J’ai trop bu » is its most-confessed sentence.
Why is it « nous buvons » and not « nous boivons »?
Unstressed syllables compressed the stem centuries ago: boi- under stress, buv- without. Ils boivent keeps the stress, so the diphthong returns.
How do I offer a drink in French?
« Tu veux boire quelque chose ? » or the idiom « on boit un verre ? ». Accept with « volontiers ! » — gladly.
🔊 Example sentences
✍️ Practice
Qu’est-ce que tu ___ ? (present)
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bois
nous ___ (boire) du café (stem buv-)
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buvons
passé composé : elle a ___ (past participle)
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bu
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🎯 More practice — conjugation drill — all six tenses
je ___ (Boire — present)
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bois
tu ___ (Boire — passé composé)
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as bu
il ___ (Boire — imperfect)
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buvait
nous ___ (Boire — future)
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boirons
vous ___ (Boire — conditional)
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boiriez
Go further: this chart is one small piece — get the full picture in our guide Master the present tense — the full beginner guide.
Boire conjugation FAQ
What is the present tense of boire?
je bois, tu bois, il / elle boit, nous buvons, vous buvez, ils / elles boivent. Full charts for every tense are above, each form with audio.
What is the past participle of boire?
bu — the passé composé is « j’ai bu ». Boire uses avoir as its auxiliary verb.
How do you say boire in the future tense?
« je boirai » — the future stem never changes across persons, only the endings do.
What does boire mean in English?
to drink. It is one of the essential French verbs — drill the present first, then the passé composé; those two tenses carry most conversations.
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🎬 All seven CEFR levels, end to end
« boire » at every CEFR level — the tense, its forms and the mechanic that makes it stick. Practise it with the free games →