Boire Conjugation in French

boire means “drink” in English, and it is a verb French learners meet early — it sits in VerbFlow’s frequency list for French. You use it for ordering a drink in a café, for talking about daily habits at the table, and for describing what you drank yesterday. Because it comes up in everyday conversation so often, learning its forms properly pays off from the very first week. This page gives you the complete conjugation of boire — every tense, every person, the gerund and the past participle — with notes, examples, common mistakes and a quiz. Here is the verb in a natural sentence: “Je bois de l'eau.” — “I drink water.”

Quick facts

  • Infinitive: boire
  • English: drink
  • Verb type: Irregular
  • Irregular in: present, passe-simple, future, conditional, present-subjunctive, imperfect-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative, gerund, past-participle
  • Gerund: en buvant
  • Past participle: bu
  • Auxiliary: avoir (all perfect tenses are formed with avoir + the past participle)

Pronunciation

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for boire, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

Full conjugation tables

Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for boire. Learn the present tense first, then the passé composé and the imperfect, and add the remaining tenses one at a time.

Present indicative

Person Form
je bois
tu bois
il/elle boit
nous buvons
vous buvez
ils/elles boivent

Passé simple

Person Form
je bus
tu bus
il/elle but
nous bûmes
vous bûtes
ils/elles burent

Imperfect

Person Form
je buvais
tu buvais
il/elle buvait
nous buvions
vous buviez
ils/elles buvaient

Future

Person Form
je boirai
tu boiras
il/elle boira
nous boirons
vous boirez
ils/elles boiront

Conditional

Person Form
je boirais
tu boirais
il/elle boirait
nous boirions
vous boiriez
ils/elles boiraient

Present subjunctive

Person Form
je boive
tu boives
il/elle boive
nous buvions
vous buviez
ils/elles boivent

Imperfect subjunctive

Person Form
je busse
tu busses
il/elle bût
nous bussions
vous bussiez
ils/elles bussent

Present perfect

Person Form
je ai bu
tu as bu
il/elle a bu
nous avons bu
vous avez bu
ils/elles ont bu

Pluperfect (past perfect)

Person Form
je avais bu
tu avais bu
il/elle avait bu
nous avions bu
vous aviez bu
ils/elles avaient bu

Future perfect

Person Form
je aurai bu
tu auras bu
il/elle aura bu
nous aurons bu
vous aurez bu
ils/elles auront bu

Conditional perfect

Person Form
je aurais bu
tu aurais bu
il/elle aurait bu
nous aurions bu
vous auriez bu
ils/elles auraient bu

Imperative (affirmative)

Person Form
tu bois
nous buvons
vous buvez

Imperative (negative)

Person Form
tu bois
nous buvons
vous buvez

Gerund and past participle

Form French
Gerund en buvant
Past participle bu

When to use each tense

Present indicative

The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. With boire this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Je bois un café.” — “I drink a coffee.”

Passé simple

The passé simple is used for completed actions in the past, mainly in written and literary French. With boire this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Je bus un café hier.” — “I drank a coffee yesterday.”

Imperfect

The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and background description. For example: “Je buvais un café avant.” — “I used to drink a coffee before.”

Future

The future is used for what will happen, predictions and plans. With boire this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Je boirai un café demain.” — “I will drink a coffee tomorrow.”

Conditional

The conditional is used for what would happen, polite requests and hypothetical situations. With boire this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Je boirais un café un jour.” — “I would drink a coffee one day.”

Present subjunctive

The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after que. With boire this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Bien que je boive un café” — “Although I drink a coffee.”

Imperfect subjunctive

The imperfect subjunctive is used for the past subjunctive: wishes and hypotheticals about the past, in formal and literary French. With boire this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Bien que je busse un café” — “Although I drink a coffee.”

Present perfect

The present perfect is used for recent past actions and life experience; this is the everyday spoken past tense, the passé composé. For example: “J'ai bu un café cette semaine.” — “I have drunk a coffee this week.”

Pluperfect (past perfect)

The pluperfect (past perfect) is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “J'avais bu un café avant la fête.” — “I had drunk a coffee before the party.”

Future perfect

The future perfect is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “J'aurai bu un café pour demain.” — “I will have drunk a coffee by tomorrow.”

Conditional perfect

The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “J'aurais bu un café hier.” — “I would have drunk a coffee yesterday.”

Imperative (affirmative)

The imperative (affirmative) is used for direct commands and instructions. With boire this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “bois un café !” — “Drink a coffee!”

Imperative (negative)

The imperative (negative) is used for prohibitions and negative commands. With boire this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Ne bois pas un café !” — “Don't drink a coffee!”

Gerund and past participle

The gerund en buvant is used after en for an action in progress, and the past participle bu builds the perfect tenses with avoir. For example: “J'ai bu du thé cette semaine.” — “I have drunk some tea this week.”

Example sentences

Ten natural sentences with boire, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the French and try to produce it from the English.

  1. “Je bois de l'eau.” — “I drink water.”
  2. “Tu bus un café hier.” — “You drank a coffee yesterday.”
  3. “Il buvait du thé avant.” — “He used to drink some tea before.”
  4. “Je boirai un verre de jus demain.” — “I will drink a glass of juice tomorrow.”
  5. “Tu boirais de l'eau un jour.” — “You would drink water one day.”
  6. “Il a bu un café cette semaine.” — “He has drunk a coffee this week.”
  7. “J'avais bu du thé avant la fête.” — “I had drunk some tea before the party.”
  8. “Tu auras bu un verre de jus pour demain.” — “You will have drunk a glass of juice by tomorrow.”
  9. “Bien que il boive de l'eau” — “Although he drinks water.”
  10. “bois un café !” — “Drink a coffee!”

Common mistakes

1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Je boire de l'eau.”

✓ Right: “Je bois de l'eau.”

The infinitive boire never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated present form bois.

2. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Je buvons un café.”

✓ Right: “Je bois un café.”

buvons is the nous form. With je the present form is bois — check the person in the table before you speak.

3. Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Hier, je bois de l'eau.”

✓ Right: “Hier, j'ai bu de l'eau.”

The present bois describes now. For something finished yesterday, use the passé composé ai bu.

4. Using the passé simple in everyday speech

✗ Wrong: “Hier, je bus du thé.” (in casual conversation)

✓ Right: “Hier, j'ai bu du thé.”

The passé simple bus belongs in novels and formal writing. In everyday speech, say the passé composé ai bu.

5. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger

✗ Wrong: “Bien que je bois de l'eau.”

✓ Right: “Bien que je boive de l'eau.”

After bien que French needs the subjunctive, so use boive here, not the indicative bois.

6. Using the imperfect for a single finished action

✗ Wrong: “Je buvais un verre de jus avant.” (said of one finished moment)

✓ Right: “J'ai bu un verre de jus avant.”

The imperfect buvais describes something ongoing or repeated in the past. For one finished action, use the passé composé ai bu.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on boire. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.

  1. What is the je form of boire in the Present indicative?

    • A) bois
    • B) buvez
    • C) buvons
    • D) boivent

  2. What is the il/elle form of boire in the Passé simple?

    • A) bûmes
    • B) burent
    • C) but
    • D) bus

  3. What is the nous form of boire in the Imperfect?

    • A) buvais
    • B) buvait
    • C) buvaient
    • D) buvions

  4. What is the tu form of boire in the Future?

    • A) boirons
    • B) boira
    • C) boirez
    • D) boiras

  5. What is the je form of boire in the Conditional?

    • A) boiraient
    • B) boirais
    • C) boirions
    • D) boiriez

  6. What is the il/elle form of boire in the Present subjunctive?

    • A) buviez
    • B) boivent
    • C) boives
    • D) boive

  7. What is the je form of boire in the Imperfect subjunctive?

    • A) busse
    • B) busses
    • C) bût
    • D) bussiez

  8. What is the gerund of boire?

    • A) buvant
    • B) dormant
    • C) ouvrant

  9. What is the past participle of boire?

    • A) bu
    • B) dormi
    • C) ouvert

  10. What does boire mean in English?

  • A) open
  • B) close
  • C) drink
  • D) sleep

Answer key

  1. A) bois — The je form of boire in the present indicative is bois.
  2. C) but — The il/elle form of boire in the passé simple is but.
  3. D) buvions — The nous form of boire in the imperfect is buvions.
  4. D) boiras — The tu form of boire in the future is boiras.
  5. B) boirais — The je form of boire in the conditional is boirais.
  6. D) boive — The il/elle form of boire in the present subjunctive is boive.
  7. A) busse — The je form of boire in the imperfect subjunctive is busse.
  8. A) buvant — The gerund of boire is en buvant; it is used after en for actions in progress.
  9. A) bu — The past participle of boire is bu; perfect tenses use avoir + bu.
  10. C) drink — boire means “drink” in English.

Frequently asked questions

What does boire mean in English?

boire means “drink”. You use it for ordering a drink in a café, for talking about daily habits at the table, and for describing what you drank yesterday. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.

Is boire regular or irregular?

boire is irregular, and it is irregular in these tenses: present, passe-simple, future, conditional, present-subjunctive, imperfect-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative, gerund, past-participle. The gerund is en buvant and the past participle is bu.

What are the gerund and past participle of boire?

The gerund is en buvant — use it after en for actions in progress. The past participle is bu — use it with avoir for the perfect tenses, as in ai bu.

How do I say “I drink” in French?

Say “Je bois de l'eau.” — “I drink water.” The je form of the present is bois, and it is the form you will use most often.

What is the difference between boire and manger?

boire means “drink” while manger means “eat” — they describe different actions, so they are not interchangeable. Compare the full table for manger and check the meaning in context before you choose.

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