Bere Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Italian
bere — to drink — is one of the verbs you will use every day in Italian. It is a non-reflexive, irregular -ere verb, and it comes up in conversation, at work and at home. It means to drink, and it is irregular in almost every tense, with the stem bev- in the present and the infinitive shortened to bere. Its forms are worth learning whole, starting with the present and the passato prossimo. On this page you will find bere in real sentences, grouped by meaning and tense, two short texts that show it in context, the mistakes learners actually make with it, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. Start with the examples, say them aloud, and then test yourself. The full conjugation tables are on the bere conjugation page, and the deep dive into its most practised tense is on the bere passato prossimo tense page.
Example sentences with bere
In the present tense
- “Io bevo un caffè ogni giorno.” — “I drink a coffee”
- “Tu bevi un caffè ogni giorno.” — “You drink a coffee”
- “Lui beve un caffè ogni giorno.” — “He drinks a coffee”
- “Noi beviamo un caffè ogni giorno.” — “We drink a coffee”
- “Voi bevete un caffè ogni giorno.” — “You drink a coffee”
- “Loro bevono un caffè ogni giorno.” — “They drink a coffee”
In the passato prossimo
- “Io ho bevuto un caffè questa settimana.” — “I have drunk a coffee”
- “Tu hai bevuto un caffè questa settimana.” — “You have drunk a coffee”
- “Lui ha bevuto un caffè questa settimana.” — “He has drunk a coffee”
- “Noi abbiamo bevuto un caffè questa settimana.” — “We have drunk a coffee”
- “Voi avete bevuto un caffè questa settimana.” — “You have drunk a coffee”
- “Loro hanno bevuto un caffè questa settimana.” — “They have drunk a coffee”
In other tenses
The same verb in the imperfect, the future, the conditional, the present subjunctive and the imperative — the tenses that complete the picture. All forms come from the verified tables.
- “Io bevevo un caffè una volta.” — “I used to drink a coffee”
- “Tu berrai un caffè domani.” — “You will drink a coffee”
- “Lui berrebbe un caffè un giorno.” — “He would drink a coffee”
- “È importante che noi beviamo un caffè.” — “It is important that we drink a coffee”
- “Bevi un caffè!” — “Drink a coffee!”
How bere is used
The first thing to know about bere is its core meaning: to drink. It means to drink, and it is irregular in almost every tense, with the stem bev- in the present and the infinitive shortened to bere. Its forms are worth learning whole, starting with the present and the passato prossimo. In everyday speech it appears most often in the present and the passato prossimo, the two tenses on this page, because most of what we say is either what we do every day or what we have just done. Learn those two tenses first and the rest of the conjugation becomes a matter of adding forms one at a time. The second thing to know is the company bere keeps. The present io form is bevo, and it pairs naturally with the time words ogni giorno and sempre for habits, and with adesso for what is happening right now. The passato prossimo io form is ho bevuto, and it pairs with ieri and questa settimana for finished actions. When you learn a verb form, learn its time words with it, and choosing the tense becomes automatic. The third thing to know is what bere does not do. It never appears as a bare infinitive after a subject pronoun — after io you need bevo, never bere. It never takes the wrong auxiliary in the perfect tenses: the passato prossimo is ho bevuto, built with avere, and the other auxiliary does not belong here. And its participle bevuto is given in the masculine singular form in the tables, with agreement depending on the sentence, not on the verb table.
Bere in context
Io bevo un caffè ogni giorno. Tu bevi un caffè ogni giorno. Lui beve un caffè ogni giorno. Noi beviamo un caffè ogni giorno. That is a normal part of the routine, and that is why the present of bere is the first form worth learning. Each sentence uses a different person, so read them aloud and notice how the form changes — bevo, bevi, beve, beviamo — while the meaning stays the same: to drink. Io ho bevuto un caffè questa settimana. Tu hai bevuto un caffè questa settimana. Lui ha bevuto un caffè questa settimana. Noi abbiamo bevuto un caffè questa settimana. That was a normal day, but it is exactly on days like this that the passato prossimo of bere appears constantly: a finished action, a precise moment, and the story goes on. Compare these sentences with the present ones above: the verb changes tense, but the basic meaning — to drink — does not change. That is the difference between a habit and a finished event.
Common mistakes
1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Io bere un caffè.”
✓ Right: “Io bevo un caffè ogni giorno.”
The infinitive bere never takes a subject. After io you need the conjugated present form bevo.
2. Using the wrong person
✗ Wrong: “Io bevi un caffè.”
✓ Right: “Io bevo un caffè ogni giorno.”
bevi is the tu form, not the io form. The io form is bevo — check the person before you write the form.
3. Using the present for a finished past action
✗ Wrong: “Io bevo un caffè ieri.”
✓ Right: “Io ho bevuto un caffè questa settimana.”
Ieri points to the past, so use the passato prossimo ho bevuto here, not the present bevo.
4. Mixing up the auxiliary
✗ Wrong: “Io sono bevuto un caffè.”
✓ Right: “Io ho bevuto un caffè questa settimana.”
bere takes avere in the passato prossimo. The io form is ho bevuto — the other auxiliary never belongs with this verb.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on bere across the tenses. Answers with explanations follow each question.
What is the tu form of bere in the Present indicative?
- A) bevo
- B) bevi
- C) beve
- D) beviamo
What is the io form of bere in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?
- A) hai bevuto
- B) ha bevuto
- C) ho bevuto
- D) abbiamo bevuto
What is the lui/lei form of bere in the Imperfect?
- A) bevevo
- B) bevevi
- C) bevevamo
- D) beveva
What is the noi form of bere in the Future?
- A) berremo
- B) berrò
- C) berrai
- D) berrà
What is the tu form of bere in the Conditional?
- A) berrei
- B) berresti
- C) berrebbe
- D) berremmo
What is the io form of bere in the Passato remoto?
- A) bevesti
- B) bevve
- C) bevvi
- D) bevemmo
What is the noi form of bere in the Present subjunctive?
- A) beva
- B) beviate
- C) bevano
- D) beviamo
What is the gerund of bere?
- A) bevendo
- B) bevuto
- C) bere
- D) bevo
What is the past participle of bere?
- A) bevendo
- B) bevuto
- C) bere
- D) bevo
What does bere mean in English?
- A) to be
- B) to have
- C) to drink
- D) to do, to make
Answer key
- B) bevi — the correct form is bevi. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) ho bevuto — the correct form is ho bevuto. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) beveva — the correct form is beveva. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) berremo — the correct form is berremo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) berresti — the correct form is berresti. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) bevvi — the correct form is bevvi. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) beviamo — the correct form is beviamo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) bevendo — the correct form is bevendo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) bevuto — the correct form is bevuto. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) to drink — the correct form is to drink. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
Frequently asked questions
What does bere mean in English?
bere means “to drink”. You use it whenever you talk about to drink in Italian, in the present, the past and the future.
Is bere regular or irregular?
bere is irregular. bere is irregular in present, passato-remoto, imperfect, future, conditional, present-perfect, pluperfect, future-perfect, conditional-perfect, present-subjunctive, imperfect-subjunctive, gerund, past-participle, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative — learn those forms as a set.
What are the gerund and past participle of bere?
The gerund is bevendo and the past participle is bevuto. The perfect tenses use avere + bevuto.
Where can I see the full conjugation of bere?
On the bere conjugation page — every tense, every person, with tables. The bere passato prossimo tense page goes deeper into its most practised tense.
Pronunciation
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for bere, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Related pages
- bere conjugation — full tables
- bere in the passato prossimo tense
- Italian passato prossimo tense guide — the full guide to the passato prossimo tense in Italian.
- Italian irregular verbs — every common irregular Italian verb, grouped by pattern.
- Essere conjugation — another Italian verb in this batch.
- Avere conjugation — another Italian verb in this batch.
- Italian verbs — the full hub of Italian conjugation pages.
- VerbFlow home — all languages, tools and verb lists.
- Verb Quiz — practise bere with the interactive tool.
- Conjugation Practice — practise bere with the interactive tool.
- Verb Conjugator — practise bere with the interactive tool.