---
title: "Boire conjugation: all tenses with examples"
description: "Boire in every French tense: je bois, j'ai bu, je boirai, que je boive. Full tables, examples and TCF/TEF Canada tips."
canonical: https://francaisprep.com/french-conjugation/boire
---

French conjugation

# Boire conjugation

Boire (“to drink”) in every tense you need, from the présent to the subjonctif, with example sentences and how it shows up in the TCF and TEF Canada.

[Take the free level test](/tools/french-level-test)[See the tables](#tables)

-   Every tense on one page
-   Tables generated from an open French lexicon
-   Notes for TCF and TEF candidates

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In short

Boire (“to drink”) is an irregular verb of the third group. In the présent: je bois, tu bois, il/elle boit, nous buvons, vous buvez, ils/elles boivent. Its passé composé is formed with avoir and the past participle bu, and its futur simple is built on the stem boir-.

## Boire at a glance

Meaning

to drink

Type

Irregular verb (third group)

Auxiliary

avoir

Past participle

bu

Present participle

buvant

Future stem

boir-

## Boire in every tense

### Présent

Present

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

[When to use the présent](/blog/french-verb-tenses-for-tcf-tef)

### Passé composé

Compound past

-   j'ai bu
-   tu as bu
-   il/elle a bu
-   nous avons bu
-   vous avez bu
-   ils/elles ont bu

[When to use the passé composé](/blog/passe-compose-vs-imparfait)

### Imparfait

Imperfect

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

[When to use the imparfait](/blog/passe-compose-vs-imparfait)

### Futur simple

Simple future

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

[When to use the futur simple](/blog/french-verb-tenses-for-tcf-tef)

### Conditionnel présent

Present conditional

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

[When to use the conditionnel présent](/blog/french-verb-tenses-for-tcf-tef)

### Subjonctif présent

Present subjunctive

-   que je boive
-   que tu boives
-   qu'il/elle boive
-   que nous buvions
-   que vous buviez
-   qu'ils/elles boivent

[When to use the subjonctif présent](/blog/le-subjonctif)

### Impératif

Imperative

-   bois
-   buvons
-   buvez

### Passé simple (literary)

Simple past, used in written narrative

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

### Participles

Present and past participles

-   Present participle: buvant
-   Past participle: bu, bue, bus, bues

TCF and TEF Canada

## How boire shows up in the TCF and TEF

Boire changes stem in the plural (nous buvons, ils boivent) and has the past participle bu. It is frequent in everyday situations in the listening section.

-   Je bois un café avant de partir. _I drink a coffee before I leave._
-   Nous avons bu un verre après le travail. _We had a drink after work._

## From conjugation tables to an exam score

Knowing the forms of boire is the easy part. The TCF and TEF Canada mark whether you use the right tense, under time pressure, in your own sentences.

-   Check your level
    
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-   Prepare the exam
    
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-   Talk to a teacher
    
    [Book a free 15-minute call](/book) with Adèle to find out what to work on first.
    

Questions

## Boire conjugation: questions

### How do you conjugate boire in the present tense?

In the présent, boire is: je bois, tu bois, il/elle boit, nous buvons, vous buvez, ils/elles boivent.

### What is the passé composé of boire?

Boire forms the passé composé with avoir and the past participle bu: j'ai bu, tu as bu, il/elle a bu, nous avons bu, vous avez bu, ils/elles ont bu.

### Is boire conjugated with être or avoir?

Boire takes avoir in the passé composé and the other compound tenses: j'ai bu.

### What is boire in the futur simple?

The futur simple of boire is built on the stem boir-: je boirai, tu boiras, il/elle boira, nous boirons, vous boirez, ils/elles boiront.

### What is the imperfect of boire?

The imparfait of boire is: je buvais, tu buvais, il/elle buvait, nous buvions, vous buviez, ils/elles buvaient.

### What is the subjunctive of boire?

The subjonctif présent of boire is: que je boive, que tu boives, qu'il/elle boive, que nous buvions, que vous buviez, qu'ils/elles boivent.

### What is boire in the passé simple?

The passé simple is a literary tense you will read in narratives and biographies but rarely need to write. For boire: je bus, tu bus, il/elle but, nous bûmes, vous bûtes, ils/elles burent.

### What is the imperative of boire?

The impératif of boire has three forms: bois, buvons, buvez (tu, nous and vous).

### What is the past participle of boire?

The past participle of boire is bu (feminine bue, plural bus, bues). Its present participle is buvant.

## More French verbs

-   [être](/french-conjugation/etre)
-   [avoir](/french-conjugation/avoir)
-   [aller](/french-conjugation/aller)
-   [faire](/french-conjugation/faire)
-   [dire](/french-conjugation/dire)
-   [pouvoir](/french-conjugation/pouvoir)
-   [vouloir](/french-conjugation/vouloir)
-   [devoir](/french-conjugation/devoir)

[All 64 verbs](/french-conjugation)

Conjugation tables are generated from the Lefff (Lexique des formes fléchies du français, Benoît Sagot, Inria), packaged as french-verbs-lefff@3.4.0 and distributed under the [LGPL-LR licence](https://www.labri.fr/perso/clement/lefff/licence-LGPLLR.html). Compound forms are built from its auxiliary and participle forms.

Next step

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